Thursday, July 01, 2004
News from Community Board 6 and the Zeckendorf escalator
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
Community Board 6 meets every month on the 2nd Wednesday, at the NYU
Medical Center, 550 First Avenue. The territory of CB6 is from 14th to 59th
Streets, East of Irving Place/Lexington Avenue, more or less. The District Manager’s office is at 866 UN Plaza, Suite 308,NY, NY 19917, (212-319-3750), staffed by salaried city employees, keeping the Board’s books, fulfilling requests, accepting routing our complaints, protecting the privacy of the volunteer board members and maintaining liaison. This column will attempt to report on the meetings monthly, using the approved minutes (one month late) as the basic source. Matters outside the T&V Country will be skipped.
The May 12th meeting opened with the customary Public Session.
Representatives of our elected officials reported on their activities: Sen.
Krueger sponsored a Seniors’ Health Forum on May 13, Speaker Gifford Miller
co-sponsored free mammogram screenings on May 20, Congressmember Carolyn
Maloney supports NY veterans in their opposition to the closing of the VA hospital, seeks full accounting of 9/11 recovery funds, and is pushing the DoD to deal with sexual assault problems in the military.
In the Business Session, District Manager Toni Carlina reported that the 14th Street-Union Square BID’s attempt to expand has run into residential and business resistance, and will be redefined. A street fair directory is available onwww.nyc.gov/html/cau/home.html (CB6 itself can be accessed at www.cb6mnyc.org). Transportation Committee reported that 2nd Avenue Subway power work will start late in 2004, at 92nd Street.
Land Use Committee offered resolutions pertaining to a number of zoning rule changes regarding rear yard definitions for libraries, hoses of worship, hospitals, schools and other community facilities and their distance from any wide street. A further tough resolution recommended limiting adult facilities beyond 500 feet from any houses of worship.
Business and Governmental Affairs dealt with liquor licenses and sidewalk cafes, including the latter for the Banc Café at 30th Street and 3rd Ave (not opposed), Dunkin’ Donut at 32nd and 2nd (opposed), and Mono Café at 17th and Irving (opposed). Ohter actions included transfer of the liquor license from the former Stuyvesant Town Café, 1st and 18th, to its new owner, Quigley’s New York Grill, (not opposed) and the licensing for Mark Café 140 East 27th (request an SLA hearing to consider remedies, due to residents’ complaints).
Parks, Landmarks and Cultural Affairs committee reviewed proposed modifications at 22 Gramercy Park South (not opposed), proposed landmarking of historic manhole covers (not opposed). Their ambitious request to have the NYS Department of Landmarks and Historic Preservation reconsider a refusal to grant landmark status to the Con Ed Waterside Plants 1 and 2 (scheduled for development by FSM East River Associates) was politely turned down by Commissioner Castro. On the Stuyvesant Park concession, it was noted that the date for RFP has passed.
A major discussion ensued regarding the proposed resolution nominating the National Arts Club building, 15 Gramercy Park South, to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It resulted in a vote to send a letter instead. In the background of this event, not covered in the discretely written minutes, appears to be a recommendation from members of the Gramercy Park Block Association to have the club building placed on the list of 11 most endangered places, discussed in committee, with its contested decision carried to the full CB6 meeting. The opposition stemmed from the fact that the NAC had not been invited to the meeting, and resulted in a proposal to postpone any recommendation until a formal meeting involving the NAC. The proponents objected, observing that a postponement would carry the decision beyond the “most endangered” nomination deadline. The above comments were offered to me by some participants, representing both sides of the issue.
Some Questions You Asked Me On The Street: One: Why is Zeckendorf Towers getting away with leaving the subway escalator broken, if they were given a tax break for installing and maintaining it ?
Miraculously, the up escalator recovered late in June. About six weeks earlier I had called the management corporation to complain about a five months’ hiatus in service, and was cheerfully informed that a new engineering firm had been hired. Getting the repair done on the essential up escalator is good, keeping it in service will be better.
Since my original blast early in the year about Zeckendorf Towers shirking their obligations, I have been informed by two independent observers that the big problem has been an onslaught of high school students from Washington Irving and other high schools, arriving at 3 PM full of beans and ready for mischief and sabotaging the escalators. Given the large numbers of New York’s Finest on duty at that precise hour in the station, it would seem appropriate that any miscreants would be reprimanded, but maybe that is not in the PD’s protocol of staying cool and not creating riots. Go figure.
Two: No, Don Berry of the NY Times is not related to Dave Barry of the Miami Herald Tribune.It’s the spelling, dear reader. NC
Community Board 6 meets every month on the 2nd Wednesday, at the NYU
Medical Center, 550 First Avenue. The territory of CB6 is from 14th to 59th
Streets, East of Irving Place/Lexington Avenue, more or less. The District Manager’s office is at 866 UN Plaza, Suite 308,NY, NY 19917, (212-319-3750), staffed by salaried city employees, keeping the Board’s books, fulfilling requests, accepting routing our complaints, protecting the privacy of the volunteer board members and maintaining liaison. This column will attempt to report on the meetings monthly, using the approved minutes (one month late) as the basic source. Matters outside the T&V Country will be skipped.
The May 12th meeting opened with the customary Public Session.
Representatives of our elected officials reported on their activities: Sen.
Krueger sponsored a Seniors’ Health Forum on May 13, Speaker Gifford Miller
co-sponsored free mammogram screenings on May 20, Congressmember Carolyn
Maloney supports NY veterans in their opposition to the closing of the VA hospital, seeks full accounting of 9/11 recovery funds, and is pushing the DoD to deal with sexual assault problems in the military.
In the Business Session, District Manager Toni Carlina reported that the 14th Street-Union Square BID’s attempt to expand has run into residential and business resistance, and will be redefined. A street fair directory is available onwww.nyc.gov/html/cau/home.html (CB6 itself can be accessed at www.cb6mnyc.org). Transportation Committee reported that 2nd Avenue Subway power work will start late in 2004, at 92nd Street.
Land Use Committee offered resolutions pertaining to a number of zoning rule changes regarding rear yard definitions for libraries, hoses of worship, hospitals, schools and other community facilities and their distance from any wide street. A further tough resolution recommended limiting adult facilities beyond 500 feet from any houses of worship.
Business and Governmental Affairs dealt with liquor licenses and sidewalk cafes, including the latter for the Banc Café at 30th Street and 3rd Ave (not opposed), Dunkin’ Donut at 32nd and 2nd (opposed), and Mono Café at 17th and Irving (opposed). Ohter actions included transfer of the liquor license from the former Stuyvesant Town Café, 1st and 18th, to its new owner, Quigley’s New York Grill, (not opposed) and the licensing for Mark Café 140 East 27th (request an SLA hearing to consider remedies, due to residents’ complaints).
Parks, Landmarks and Cultural Affairs committee reviewed proposed modifications at 22 Gramercy Park South (not opposed), proposed landmarking of historic manhole covers (not opposed). Their ambitious request to have the NYS Department of Landmarks and Historic Preservation reconsider a refusal to grant landmark status to the Con Ed Waterside Plants 1 and 2 (scheduled for development by FSM East River Associates) was politely turned down by Commissioner Castro. On the Stuyvesant Park concession, it was noted that the date for RFP has passed.
A major discussion ensued regarding the proposed resolution nominating the National Arts Club building, 15 Gramercy Park South, to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It resulted in a vote to send a letter instead. In the background of this event, not covered in the discretely written minutes, appears to be a recommendation from members of the Gramercy Park Block Association to have the club building placed on the list of 11 most endangered places, discussed in committee, with its contested decision carried to the full CB6 meeting. The opposition stemmed from the fact that the NAC had not been invited to the meeting, and resulted in a proposal to postpone any recommendation until a formal meeting involving the NAC. The proponents objected, observing that a postponement would carry the decision beyond the “most endangered” nomination deadline. The above comments were offered to me by some participants, representing both sides of the issue.
Some Questions You Asked Me On The Street: One: Why is Zeckendorf Towers getting away with leaving the subway escalator broken, if they were given a tax break for installing and maintaining it ?
Miraculously, the up escalator recovered late in June. About six weeks earlier I had called the management corporation to complain about a five months’ hiatus in service, and was cheerfully informed that a new engineering firm had been hired. Getting the repair done on the essential up escalator is good, keeping it in service will be better.
Since my original blast early in the year about Zeckendorf Towers shirking their obligations, I have been informed by two independent observers that the big problem has been an onslaught of high school students from Washington Irving and other high schools, arriving at 3 PM full of beans and ready for mischief and sabotaging the escalators. Given the large numbers of New York’s Finest on duty at that precise hour in the station, it would seem appropriate that any miscreants would be reprimanded, but maybe that is not in the PD’s protocol of staying cool and not creating riots. Go figure.
Two: No, Don Berry of the NY Times is not related to Dave Barry of the Miami Herald Tribune.It’s the spelling, dear reader. NC
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 8:44 PM 
