Nat’l History Museum suit is history
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
A New York State Appellate
Court ruled in favor of the
American Natural History
Museum and the city in a lawsuit fi led
by park advocates who wanted to stop
the museum’s expansion into Theodore
Roosevelt Park.
The group sued the museum to
block it from building the Gilder
Center for Science, Education and
Innovation, a fi ve-story, 230,000-
square-foot learning and exhibition
space at 79th St. and Columbus Ave.
that would occupy a quarter-acre of
the park.
Community United to Protect Theodore
Roosevelt Park argued that the
project should have gone through the
city’s land-use review process, the
Uniform Land Use Review Procedure,
or ULURP, plus needed approval
from the state Legislature since the
public green space would be “alienated”
from park use by building the
center.
On April 18, a panel of fi ve justices
with the New York State Supreme
Court First Appellate Division ruled
that the museum did not require approval
Tennis icon Billie Jean King, right, joined Upper West Siders at a demonstration
against the American Museum of Natural History’s Gilder
Center project in February.
under the city’s ULURP process
to build the Gilder Center.
“It’s very disappointing,” said William
Raudenbush, the chairpeson of
Community United.
The ruling ends a year-long battle
between the museum and the community
group, which believes that the
PHOTO BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
project would take away too much of
the Upper West Side’s limited green
space, cause noise pollution and strain
local subway stations and service due
to the 1 million people expected to
visit the center in its fi rst year.
Although the group could appeal
the ruling to the Court of Appeals,
the state’s highest court, Raudenbush
said they unfortunately “lack the resources”
to do so.
For its part, the museum argued
that it is within its legal right to expand
because of its 140-year-old lease
with the city, which owns the land on
which the museum sits.
Now, advocates will wait to see if
their fears were founded or not.
According to Raudenbush, Community
United will make sure to hold
Borough President Gale Brewer and
Councilmember Helen Rosenthal accountable
for the multiple promises
they made that the expansion would
not overwhelm the park with foot
traffi c and worsen residents’ quality
of life.
Both local politicians have publicly
supported the project.
“We look forward to them keeping
those promises,” Raudenbush said.
The Richard Gilder Center for Science,
Education and Innovation is expected
to open in 2021.
Work is stopped on ‘Billionaires’ Row’ shelter
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
AND LAURA HANRAHAN
Construction on a planned homeless
shelter at 158 W. 58th St,
commonly referred to as “Billionaires’
Row,” has been temporarily
blocked.
According to the Commercial Observer,
on May 8, Appellate Division
Justice David Friedman granted an
interim stay to the W. 58th St. Coalition,
which has fi ercely pushed back
against the project. The stay would
allow the group to appeal Judge Alexander
Tisch’s April 29 ruling allowing
the city to transform the former Park
Savoy Hotel into a shelter.
Both supporters and opponents of
the homeless shelter have until May
20 to submit their arguments. Meanwhile,
the stay prevents any move-ins
to the shelter, expected to house 150
men.
The shelter’s opponents say it would
increase crime and decrease the affl uent
area’s property values. They also
claim that the shelter poses a fi re risk
because of the building’s narrow staircase,
a lack of sprinklers and too few
exits. But the Fire Department has approved
the building’s fi re-protection
plan. The Department of Buildings
has also approved the hotel’s use as
Neighbors rallied against the shelter more than a year ago.
a homeless shelter. The facility would
have a 10 p.m. curfew and be under
24-hour surveillance seven days a
week.
This is not the fi rst time the hotly
disputed homeless shelter has faced a
roadblock.
News quietly broke in mid-January
2018 that the former hotel would
eventually be turned into a homeless
shelter as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s
Turning the Tide plan. According to
the New York Post, residents of Billionaires’
Row were blindsided by the
announcement.
On Dec. 12, Justice Tisch ruled
against residents working to stop the
project, stating that a “mere distaste
for the presence of homeless men in
their neighborhood does not constitute
legally cognizable harm.”
But Appellate Judge Jeffrey Oing
gave the residents’ group temporary
relief just two weeks later on Dec. 26,
causing construction on the shelter to
be put on hold.
“We remain focused on opening
this site as soon as possible, so that we
can provide high-quality shelter and
employment services to hard-working
New Yorkers experiencing homelessness
as they get back on their feet,”
said a spokesperson for the city’s Department
of Homeless Services. “We
are confi dent that the court will recognize
our vital need for these additional
beds, and look forward to opening our
doors at this location.”
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