Panic, protest over E. River Park plan
BY GABE HERMAN
At a June 11 public hearing about the city’s East
Side Coastal Resiliency plan, Lower East Side
residents mostly disapproved of the current
fl ood-protection plan and called for more community
input into the process.
Held by the Community Board 3 Parks, Recreation,
Waterfront & Resiliency Committee, the meeting was
part of the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure
(ULURP) for the application submitted for the plan.
The full board of C.B. 3 will ultimately weigh in with
its advisory opinion on the proposed project as part
of the public-review process. The scheme would raise
East River Park by about 8 to 9 feet.
Before the hearing, opponents decried the plan at a
rally organized by the East River Alliance.
Speakers expressed concerns about the impact
on air quality by the project’s construction and also
asked for a deck to be built over the F.D.R. Drive to
create more park space. There were also calls for a
longer-term plan beyond the currently proposed protections,
which are geared toward 2050 projected
water levels.
Also speaking at the rally was Laura Sewell, executive
director of the East Village Community Coalition.
She called for an independent, third-party panel
of experts to evaluate the plan, and to request needed
data about it and provide updates to the public.
“Given how critical the project is to our community,”
she said, “and how many questions remain
unanswered as the plan barrels forward, we deserve
nothing less.”
Sewell said the community needs temporary fl ood
protection during the construction period, currently
scheduled to last three-and-a-half years. During that
time, the park would be closed, and Sewell said there
need to be plans for alternative green spaces.
She added that the city needs to consider the Lower
PHOTO BY GABE HERMAN
Opponents hoisted signs slamming the city’s
new East Side Coastal Resiliency plan.
East Side Ecology Center, which has been in a building
in East River Park for years and is valuable to the
community and the environment, but “has inexcusably
gone unrecognized and unaddressed.”
The plan was presented at the meeting by Jamie
Torres-Springer, deputy commissioner of the Department
of Design and Construction, and by the Parks
Department’s Alyssa Cobb Konon, deputy commissioner
for Planning and Development.
There are 110,000 local residents who would be
protected by the resiliency plan, Springer said. He
noted that the projected $1.45 billion cost has been
fully funded and the project is set to begin next
March, after the review and voting processes.
In terms of closing the park during the 3.5 years
of construction, Springer said that decision was not
made lightly. Keeping parts of the park open during
some of the construction is being explored, to see if
that is possible without putting park users at risk.
He said there will be another public hearing on the
ULURP application on July 31.
Springer defended the plan, which would protect
the East Side up through 2050 projected water levels,
saying it could be adapted to changing conditions.
Konon said there are also plans to add more barbeque
grills and solar lights, in response to community
requests. Also, the track-and-fi eld house would
be rebuilt with a green roof, and there would be new
fi tness areas and equipment installed.
Konon stressed other efforts to green the community,
including planting 1,000 trees, adding 40 rain
gardens, improving the turf at seven fi elds and adding
fi ve new fi elds by the spring when construction starts,
and painting 16 local playgrounds by the spring.
Ted Pender, vice president of Friends of Corlears
Hook Park, said he was concerned about air quality
from all of the soil that would be dumped in the area.
He said people would breathe in particles, and that
the area already had high asthma rates. He held up
an illustration of his own plan, which included a deck
over the F.D.R. Drive to create more green space.
A woman echoed concerns about pollution from
the project, noting the area has high asthma rates.
“Let’s see you try this crap in a rich neighborhood,”
she accused.
But a Jacob Riis Houses resident said he wanted
fl ood protection from the effects of another potential
Hurricane Sandy. He said he wanted the plan to move
forward, with quarterly construction mitigation meetings
with local leadership, keeping the East River Park
Amphitheater the way it looks now, restoring BBQ areas,
giving priority to local youth sports leagues, and
looking at closing the park in phases.
“Everything said, I do support this plan because I
want fl ood protection,” he said, to some boos.
An East River Alliance member presented a petition
signed by more than 2,500 people, asking for
interim fl ood protections until the plan is complete,
building a park over the F.D.R. Drive, and doing the
project in stages to keep East River Park open.
Strand building landmarked over owner’s objection
BY GABE HERMAN
The Strand Book Store building was
landmarked by New York City on
June 11, despite ongoing objections
from the legendary store’s owner,
who also owns the building.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission
designated 826 Broadway, at E. 12th
St., home of the Strand since 1956. Six
other buildings were also landmarked in
that area of Broadway between E. 12 and
E. 14 Sts.
All of the buildings were constructed
between 1876 and 1902, and have “strong
architectural and historical signifi cance,”
according to Sarah Carroll, the L.P.C.
chairperson.
“Together they refl ect the history and
importance of Broadway’s development
south of Union Square,” Carroll said.
“They tell the history of the area, from its
industrial past with the garment industry
and labor rights movement to its cultural
signifi cance with the fi lm industry and
the internationally beloved Strand Book
Store.”
Strand owner Nancy Bass Wyden has
opposed the landmark designation, saying
it would put increased stresses on the
business.
An Instagram post by the store after
the June 11 designation, said, “For every
repair and every upgrade, Strand will
have to go through the slow bureaucracy
of the Landmarks Preservation Commission,
which adds to the expenses to keep
Strand alive.”
After the commission had weighed in,
Bass Wyden held a press conference.
“This was unfair from the start,” she
said. “We are fi ghting this at the grassroots
level. We need your support.”
Last year, an L.P.C. spokesperson responded
to Bass Wyden’s concerns about
bureaucratic issues with landmarked
buildings, saying that free technical expertise
was given to building owners, and
that the commission could process 95
percent of permits within 10 days.
“The Landmarks Preservation Commission
will continue to work with the
owner of 826 Broadway, home to the
Strand Book Store, to address her concerns
and ensure that this cultural institution
endures,” the spokesperson said.
The landmarking of the seven buildings
was strongly criticized by Andrew
Berman, executive director of Village
Preservation, who said it did not go far
enough to protect the neighborhood from
development. Last year, the City Council
approved zoning changes to allow construction
of a new “Tech Hub” on E. 14th
St. between Third and Fourth Sts. Fearing
the Tech Hub would only spark further
development in the area — especially
of more buildings geared toward tech
companies — Berman and his group had
pushed for zoning changes to safeguard
the surrounding area. But no rezoning
was forthcoming.
Berman accused Councilmember Carlina
Rivera and Mayor Bill de Blasio of
not fully acting on what he called their
commitment to more landmarking and
zoning protections for the district.
“Normally a...group like ours would
cheer the landmark designation of seven
buildings in our area,” Berman said after
the June 11 landmarkings. “But this
token gesture that does not even begin
to provide the protections this neighborhood
needs or was promised by our
councilmember when she ran for offi ce is
a huge disappointment.
“While the mayor and Councilmember
Rivera cherry-picked seven buildings to
landmark which are in no danger of going
anywhere, they refused to consider dozens
of other buildings of equal or greater historic
signifi cance all around them, which
are endangered or have been demolished
since this unseemly deal was cut.”
After last year’s Council vote, Rivera
wrote the Department of City Planning
asking for “immediate action to protect
the area south of Union Square.”
Rivera said, at the time, that the Tech
Hub, planned for 114 E. 14 St., at Irving
Place, would be a boon for the community.
She added that the city’s considering
the seven buildings for landmarking,
along with requiring special permits for
creating new hotels in the area, were good
fi rst steps toward increasing zoning and
landmarking protections for the area.
Rivera praised the L.P.C. vote.
“These buildings represent the pinnacle
of Industrial Age architecture south of
Union Square,” she said. “I look forward
to collaborating with the Commission
and local stakeholders on additional opportunities
to recognize the architectural
and cultural treasures in our neighborhoods.”
8 June 20, 2019 TVG Schneps Media