Post by Yori Yanover on Nov 29, 2006 9:55:03 GMT -5
The next phase in the life of this eyesore scares everybody
Section 197-a of the New York City Charter authorizes community boards, as well as the Mayor, City Planning Commission, Department of City Planning, and any Borough President, and any community group, to sponsor plans for the development of the city. Proposed 197-a plans are reviewed by the affected community boards and borough presidents, and by the City Planning Commission and City Council.
Our own Community Board 3’s 197-a Plan Taskforce has both appointed board members and invited public members. And since the current CPC plan for the area just north of Houston Street involves a tremendous amount of zoning changes that could permanently alter the face of Houston Street, for instance, and also encourage the continued aggressive removal of poor tenants, this is an unusually vociferous arm of the board.
Board President David McWater, who chaired the taskforce meeting last month, opened by inviting the community to a presentation by the Planning Commission, at the October meeting of the committee, Monday, October 9, at 6:30 PM, at University Settlement, 273 Bowery, to be followed by a town hall presentation at the end of October. But at least half of the locals in the audience were there for the second item on the taskforce’s agenda, “Future potential areas for rezoning: 1. Seward Park Urban Renewal Area.”
When the item was originally placed on the agenda, it was presumed that the subject of rezoning would take only a few minutes, according to one board member, but as the very hot discussion of East Village re-zoning stretched to more than two hours, patience was growing thin. Especially since everyone waiting for the second agenda item was presumably there to advance a hard, uncompromising position on the 8-block eyesore between Delancey and It was a packed 197-a Taskforce meeting Broome Streets which has come to symbolize political stagnation in our neighborhood.
The taskforce then proceeded to debate the best way of eliciting views from the entire community on the future of SPURA, which didn’t go very far to calm an already suspicious audience.
“I’m a little disappointed,” said Jacob Goldman, one of this publication’s major advertisers, wondering aloud why the taskforce would relegate a barrel of TNT like SPURA to the end of the meeting and then spend 45 additional minutes on a discussion of how to conduct the discussion. “At 9 o’clock, with the representatives for local politicians gone, along with half the room, I don’t even know why I should get up and tell you what my opinion is regarding SPURA.”
McWater apologized, and Goldman may even be included in an expanded version of the taskforce, which will re-open the discussion in December. It was also clear to everyone in the room why taskforce members were so reluctant to begin the discussion after the discussion. They are obviously shell-shocked by that November 18, 2003 meeting at PS 120, when Grand Street Co-op dwellers and the GOLES folks brawled over SPURA in a frightening display of civil discontent. That elephant, sadly, is still calling the shots in the 197-a taskforce room.
Section 197-a of the New York City Charter authorizes community boards, as well as the Mayor, City Planning Commission, Department of City Planning, and any Borough President, and any community group, to sponsor plans for the development of the city. Proposed 197-a plans are reviewed by the affected community boards and borough presidents, and by the City Planning Commission and City Council.
Our own Community Board 3’s 197-a Plan Taskforce has both appointed board members and invited public members. And since the current CPC plan for the area just north of Houston Street involves a tremendous amount of zoning changes that could permanently alter the face of Houston Street, for instance, and also encourage the continued aggressive removal of poor tenants, this is an unusually vociferous arm of the board.
Board President David McWater, who chaired the taskforce meeting last month, opened by inviting the community to a presentation by the Planning Commission, at the October meeting of the committee, Monday, October 9, at 6:30 PM, at University Settlement, 273 Bowery, to be followed by a town hall presentation at the end of October. But at least half of the locals in the audience were there for the second item on the taskforce’s agenda, “Future potential areas for rezoning: 1. Seward Park Urban Renewal Area.”
When the item was originally placed on the agenda, it was presumed that the subject of rezoning would take only a few minutes, according to one board member, but as the very hot discussion of East Village re-zoning stretched to more than two hours, patience was growing thin. Especially since everyone waiting for the second agenda item was presumably there to advance a hard, uncompromising position on the 8-block eyesore between Delancey and It was a packed 197-a Taskforce meeting Broome Streets which has come to symbolize political stagnation in our neighborhood.
The taskforce then proceeded to debate the best way of eliciting views from the entire community on the future of SPURA, which didn’t go very far to calm an already suspicious audience.
“I’m a little disappointed,” said Jacob Goldman, one of this publication’s major advertisers, wondering aloud why the taskforce would relegate a barrel of TNT like SPURA to the end of the meeting and then spend 45 additional minutes on a discussion of how to conduct the discussion. “At 9 o’clock, with the representatives for local politicians gone, along with half the room, I don’t even know why I should get up and tell you what my opinion is regarding SPURA.”
McWater apologized, and Goldman may even be included in an expanded version of the taskforce, which will re-open the discussion in December. It was also clear to everyone in the room why taskforce members were so reluctant to begin the discussion after the discussion. They are obviously shell-shocked by that November 18, 2003 meeting at PS 120, when Grand Street Co-op dwellers and the GOLES folks brawled over SPURA in a frightening display of civil discontent. That elephant, sadly, is still calling the shots in the 197-a taskforce room.