Opinion
Don’t rubber stamp our garden!
BY EMILY HELLSTROM
I went to my daughter’s closet last Thursday morning
to dig through her art bin. I was looking for a rubber
stamp. As an Elizabeth St. Garden volunteer and supporter,
I decided to bring it to City Hall to hold in my hand
while giving testimony in favor of saving Elizabeth St.
Garden. You see, we had been told, “Don’t bother showing
up at the City Council hearing. They will never vote
against the local councilperson out of deference. They just
use the rubber stamp.”
This rubber stamp is a symbol of what is wrong with
the process. How else to explain how this got so far?
When land that has been public since the 1800s is sold
to a developer for a dollar, decided during a secret backroom
deal with former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver
without so much as a courtesy call to Community Board
2…rubber stamp.
After the residents held hearing after hearing where
hundreds of people turned out to show their support for
the garden…rubber stamp.
When thousands of letters have been written in support
of this stunning outdoor community center that many call
the soul of our historic Little Italy neighborhood…rubber
stamp.
The borough president came to our Harvest Festival,
saw the diversity of the community gathered together and
declared that this space should never be destroyed, but
PHOTO BY THE VILLAGER
Elizabeth St. Garden activists Emily Hellstrom,
left, and Jeannine Kiely with a banner
at hearing on funding for the city-sponsored
housing project slated for the garden.
then out came…rubber stamp.
So our grassroots coalition went further. We realized
how deep this housing crisis was and pleaded with our
elected offi cials to help us fi nd an alternative, so that green
space and housing would not be pitted against each other,
tearing our community apart. And they did! The leaders
of our community board found a piece of land that could
house up to fi ve times as many seniors and they passed
a resolution to allow that swap. And what do we get…
rubber stamp.
Did our councilmember ever even bother to visit the
Elizabeth St. Garden to see why this community has never
given up? Sit down with us work on a solution? Did she
forge coalitions, and fi nd a win-win compromise, actually
do the work of a leader, and harness the boundless energy
of garden supporters? She could save the garden and, in
return, demand that we unite our efforts in the charge for
making more affordable housing. But no, she did not.
She is simply relying on this rubber stamp.
But I have faith that the City Council knows better.
That they will put an end to this cynical process, that
robs people of their voice. At the Council hearing earlier
this month, joined by well more than 100 garden volunteers
and supporters, I asked the councilmembers to vote
against the destruction of our precious green space and
put away this dreaded rubber stamp. I said that, in doing
so, they would have a community ready to get to work.
Put away the rubber stamp, because we are ready to
participate!
Hellstrom is a board member, Friends of Elizabeth St.
Garden
Banning fur would be bad for New York
BY KAREN GIBERSON
A ban on any fur products is unacceptable.
The bill, which was
just introduced in late March,
is being inexplicably fast-tracked to the
hearing stage, which was scheduled for
May 15. This does not allow our industry
ample time to prepare or accurately
study the implications of this decision.
We are baffl ed why there is a sudden
rush to pass this legislation.
If government can pick and choose
to eliminate a specifi c material, then
what’s to stop politicians from telling us
what else we can’t wear, eat and create
moving forward?
As the fashion capital of the world,
we must work with textiles and fabrics
that our customers are demanding today.
Our industry has embraced a variety
of materials, including vegan leathers,
faux furs and other options that are
being developed every day.
That said, calf hair, shearling and fur
still play a signifi cant and sustainable
role in our designs – from shoes, handbags,
gloves and hats, to trim and cuffs
on coats.
Fur is already a heavily regulated industry,
with rules covering everything
from farming and trapping standards
to ethics to labeling. The animal byproducts
are used in a variety of other
products, from the beauty industry to
compost and fertilizers.
We encourage everyone to learn more
about the process. If you don’t like these
materials, you don’t need to use them,
to manufacture with them or buy them
as a consumer.
New York City is the hub of retail,
wholesale, trade shows and commerce
for many fashion accessory companies.
The ban preventing any sale of these
products would cut off one of designers’
largest markets, negatively impacting
their livelihoods and those of the suppliers
and retail shops they work with.
In all, a recent economic study commissioned
by the International Fur Federation
Americas found the ban would
result in $850 million in lost taxable
business revenue and cost New York
City 7,500 jobs in the fi rst year alone.
According to a survey we conducted
this month of accessory and outerwear
companies in Manhattan’s Garment
District, more than 90 of the factories
there use these materials, making
items such as gloves, handbags and
outerwear. One of them, Cockpit USA,
makes shearling coats for the United
States military.
These are specialized experts. If the
“fur ban” passes, some of them would
need to close their businesses, while
others would face signifi cant layoffs.
Let’s be realistic: If the law passes
and a manufacturer can’t sell in New
York City, the owner has two choices:
close up the business and fi re all employees
or lay off workers and rent
space in New Jersey, Yonkers or Nassau
County to ship the product. Either way,
once again New York City loses muchneeded
manufacturing jobs — but this
time it’s by its own direct action.
Losing valuable blue-collar jobs is
not the only unintended consequence
of this legislation. Councilmembers
have championed environmental issues.
In this case, they fail to recognize the
negative environmental impacts of synthetic
materials.
Most fake furs are petroleum-based
and are not biodegrade. One faux-fur
coat is the equivalent of thousands of
plastic straws.
My biggest concern, however, is that
a fur ban would be just the start. Animal
rights activists have made no secret
of the fact that their eventual goal is to
ban the use of all animal products. If
the City Council succeeds in banning
fur today, they will next take aim at
leather, feathers, wool and silk.
To wear fur, like any consumer product,
is a choice. It’s one New Yorkers
have been making for hundreds of
years and fur is a product that remains
in high demand today. It’s not the job
of City Council members to legislate
away livelihoods simply because fur is
a choice some of them wouldn’t make
for themselves.
Giberson is president of the Accessories
Council, a trade group for accessory,
eyewear and footwear brands.
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