Thursday, April 28, 2005
Secret and public Springtime pleasures in local parks
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
Secret and public Springtime pleasures in local parks
This was written on Earth Day April 22, 2005. This is the time of year to visit our local gardens, and enjoy the trees in bloom and the early flowers, a sure mood booster.
Entered from the subway, Union Square Park looks graceful, greeting spring with its riches of blooming crabapple trees, pink tulips around the flagpole and massed daffodils along the center crossway. Young Callery pear trees have been planted throughout the park, and the fenced in area around the Mahatma Gandhi statue at the southwest corner is particularly rich in greenery and flowers. There is, allegedly, a patch of tiny wild strawberries in the park, already producing tasty fruit, according to a friend, who wants to keep the location a secret.
In the Stuyvesant Square Park the trees have not yet reached their full splendor. The early blooming Callery pears on the streets and the magnolias in surrounding residential gardens mix their glory with the parks’ crab apple, cherry and apple trees. Around both of the fountains, busily pulsating their water charges skywards . White and pink tulips are still in bloom, soon to be replaced by other annuals and early-blooming roses, while the masses of yellow daffodils in the side plots enhance the riches of spring. There are also golden forsythias, along the edge in the East Park
On my way south to Stuyvesant Town, crossing First Avenue, the new cherry threes in the median are a joy to behold, well cared with supports and canvas-like watering bags around them, for slow release of the nutrition.
Around Stuyvesant Town proper the spooky black honey locust trees are still bare, reaching their knurled arms and fingers out, away from the buildings. Whoever designed the surrounds, after 1947, planted them close to the building line, probably not expecting the trees to prosper and last. But last they did, along with the London Plane trees inside the park, one of the best and spacious in a privately developed and designed environments. Today’s architects, forced skyward by narrow land plots, would have forced double if not triple the volume of living quarters into the space.
Gardens-wise, ST is a bit bare. The sparse daffodils have been and gone, the ground cover is partially eroded, crying for new grass seeds. It is hoped the new picnicking on the grassy areas will not result in further depletion.
Anyway, the rhododendrons and other bushes look a bit bare, but seem to be recovering from the winter’s depredations, while a goodly lot of deep purple azaleas dress up thee green-brown landscape. Magnolia trees on the periphery lend some brightness. If you want to see some great magnolia blooms, go the NYU’s Arthur Vanderbilt Law School and sit for a while in the small enclosed public park.
The fountain in the Sty Town Oval that dresses up the view has been repaired and adds its effect to the landscape. Some of the brightest highlights around the circle are the artificial blooming plants that hang from the lampposts, all year round. It may be a cheap way to decorate, but it gives pleasure.
Last but not least, Gramercy Park, seen from the street, has its usual red tulips and gorgeous blooming trees. Go look at the golden forsythia-like bushes at the east end.
An unwelcome Earth Day present from the Congress of the US was the broad Energy Bill, HR 6, at least parts of it, passed by a vote of 249-183, with 41 Democrats joining the majority party. In addition to opening the Alaska Wildlife Sanctuary for oil exploration expected to be effective in reducing our reliance on oil imports in 2010, it funneled more than $12B in tax breaks and subsidies to the oil industry.
Particularly costly will be the MTBE gas additives issue, shielding the producers from lawsuits The Democrats have stated that this chemical’s groundwater contamination has affected the water systems in more than 1,800 communities in 29 states, with a potential cleanup cost of $29B. The cost will be on states and municipalities. An amendment to remove this provision failed, by a vote of 219-213. This provision was a top priority for Tom DeLay, the majority leader, who had insisted on this provision, long under attack by the Democrats, stalled in the Senate when they launched a filibuster in 2003. But Mr Inartful (comes from the German unartig, meaning bad, or naughty, at best, William Safire to note) keeps trying.
The bill also authorizes extending the daylight saving hours for two more months and offering tax breaks for energy-efficient windows and insulation. Not a single word about reducing gas-guzzlers on the road by requiring better gas mileage. This type of bill has failed in the Senate twice in the past four years.
Wally Dobelis thanks Mary Orovan and the AP.
Secret and public Springtime pleasures in local parks
This was written on Earth Day April 22, 2005. This is the time of year to visit our local gardens, and enjoy the trees in bloom and the early flowers, a sure mood booster.
Entered from the subway, Union Square Park looks graceful, greeting spring with its riches of blooming crabapple trees, pink tulips around the flagpole and massed daffodils along the center crossway. Young Callery pear trees have been planted throughout the park, and the fenced in area around the Mahatma Gandhi statue at the southwest corner is particularly rich in greenery and flowers. There is, allegedly, a patch of tiny wild strawberries in the park, already producing tasty fruit, according to a friend, who wants to keep the location a secret.
In the Stuyvesant Square Park the trees have not yet reached their full splendor. The early blooming Callery pears on the streets and the magnolias in surrounding residential gardens mix their glory with the parks’ crab apple, cherry and apple trees. Around both of the fountains, busily pulsating their water charges skywards . White and pink tulips are still in bloom, soon to be replaced by other annuals and early-blooming roses, while the masses of yellow daffodils in the side plots enhance the riches of spring. There are also golden forsythias, along the edge in the East Park
On my way south to Stuyvesant Town, crossing First Avenue, the new cherry threes in the median are a joy to behold, well cared with supports and canvas-like watering bags around them, for slow release of the nutrition.
Around Stuyvesant Town proper the spooky black honey locust trees are still bare, reaching their knurled arms and fingers out, away from the buildings. Whoever designed the surrounds, after 1947, planted them close to the building line, probably not expecting the trees to prosper and last. But last they did, along with the London Plane trees inside the park, one of the best and spacious in a privately developed and designed environments. Today’s architects, forced skyward by narrow land plots, would have forced double if not triple the volume of living quarters into the space.
Gardens-wise, ST is a bit bare. The sparse daffodils have been and gone, the ground cover is partially eroded, crying for new grass seeds. It is hoped the new picnicking on the grassy areas will not result in further depletion.
Anyway, the rhododendrons and other bushes look a bit bare, but seem to be recovering from the winter’s depredations, while a goodly lot of deep purple azaleas dress up thee green-brown landscape. Magnolia trees on the periphery lend some brightness. If you want to see some great magnolia blooms, go the NYU’s Arthur Vanderbilt Law School and sit for a while in the small enclosed public park.
The fountain in the Sty Town Oval that dresses up the view has been repaired and adds its effect to the landscape. Some of the brightest highlights around the circle are the artificial blooming plants that hang from the lampposts, all year round. It may be a cheap way to decorate, but it gives pleasure.
Last but not least, Gramercy Park, seen from the street, has its usual red tulips and gorgeous blooming trees. Go look at the golden forsythia-like bushes at the east end.
An unwelcome Earth Day present from the Congress of the US was the broad Energy Bill, HR 6, at least parts of it, passed by a vote of 249-183, with 41 Democrats joining the majority party. In addition to opening the Alaska Wildlife Sanctuary for oil exploration expected to be effective in reducing our reliance on oil imports in 2010, it funneled more than $12B in tax breaks and subsidies to the oil industry.
Particularly costly will be the MTBE gas additives issue, shielding the producers from lawsuits The Democrats have stated that this chemical’s groundwater contamination has affected the water systems in more than 1,800 communities in 29 states, with a potential cleanup cost of $29B. The cost will be on states and municipalities. An amendment to remove this provision failed, by a vote of 219-213. This provision was a top priority for Tom DeLay, the majority leader, who had insisted on this provision, long under attack by the Democrats, stalled in the Senate when they launched a filibuster in 2003. But Mr Inartful (comes from the German unartig, meaning bad, or naughty, at best, William Safire to note) keeps trying.
The bill also authorizes extending the daylight saving hours for two more months and offering tax breaks for energy-efficient windows and insulation. Not a single word about reducing gas-guzzlers on the road by requiring better gas mileage. This type of bill has failed in the Senate twice in the past four years.
Wally Dobelis thanks Mary Orovan and the AP.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
CB5 acts on street fairs and Union Square redesign
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
New York is a summer festival, said the Visitors Bureau ads for years. Actually, the NY summer is a street fair experience. If you thought the CB6 East Side fairs' list exhilarating (T&V April 7), you should see the one from CB5, covering NYC west of Park Avenue South, 14th to 59th Streets. Only a few are in our area, such as the fair of Gramercy Park Neighborhood Association (Arlene Harrison, President), on PAS between 17th and 23rd Streets, on Sunday, May 14, the Gramercy Park Block Association’s event on the same PAS stretch on Saturday, Oct 8, and the 14th Street-Union Square LDC’s festivities on the selfsame landscape on Saturday, July 16 (I expect this is the Union Square Partnership under its old name). Regardless, old friends. There’s also a Union Square Hospitality Group event on Madison Square Park, Sat/Sun June 11/12, with a three block street activity. Also, the Muslim Foundation of America celebration, on Madison Ave between 23rd and 41st Streets, on Sunday September 25, an opportunity for an exchange of views, and a Sikh Cultural Society post-parade get-together in Madison Square Park on Saturday, April 30, cleanup guaranteed. This report omits the list of 26 more fairs north of our area. Why do we, the community, support these commercial activities outside our windows? Well, we know that the concessionaires’ fees are sometimes the one basic source of income to help pay the social service organizations’ overhead (postage is a big thing), and that the ethnic groups of new Americans want to show how they fit in.
CB5 has always been viewed by the preservationists as a real-estate friendly board. On February 10 theCB nearly unanimously (with no nays and three abstentions) passed a resolution favoring the proposed redesign of the North End of Union Square, after a public session of mostly opposing opinions. The main caveats in the resolution were in the choosing of a concessionaire for the restaurant. To keep you up to snuff, the 2-½ pages of the resolution boils down the updated design principles as follows:
Playground Consolidate two existing play spaces into one continuous, enlarged playground (enlarged from 5,100 square feet to more than 10,000 square feet) with distinct age-specific play areas that encourage creativity through landforms, play equipment and open spaces with child sized hills, and a planted perimeter. Sand, water and plants will be incorporated into the playground. The playground is designed to be accessible to wheelchairs as well as baby strollers. A unisex bathroom with changing table, accessible only from the playground for use by children and their guardians, will be located on the west side of the pavilion. Design was conceived with security and sight lines in mind. Parks security, Parks employees as well as a playground associate will be available as added security.
Northern Gateway Plaza. Addressing its history as an urban gathering space, the plaza will be repaved using materials able to withstand the greenmarket’s requirements as it relates to truck usage as well as drainage. Asphalt blocks are proposed to create an integration of the plaza perimeter with the park as a continuation of the southwest corner renovation. Along 17th street, 8 trees will be planted flush to the ground with improved drainage. Space between the trees will be a minimum of 20 feet. Addressing the requirement by Department of Transportation for a barrier along 17th street to inhibit mid-block crossing, temporary metal removable stanchions will be installed along the north end of the square. Style to be similar to the fencing currently being used within the park. Additional shaded public seating as well as trees will be placed along the north façade of the pavilion. Construction will be phased (working with the greenmarket) to minimize impact with operations. Public bathrooms accessible from the north side will be built along the east side of the pavilion for use by all park patrons as well as the greenmarket. Increased and historically sensitive lighting to be installed. The design has been developed in consultation with the managers of the greenmarket without objection.
Concession. Restoration of the pavilion with the main entrance on the south side, and seasonal terrace. The concessionaire will be responsible for a full restoration of the pavilion. The seasonal terrace will occupy less area than what is occupied currently by the concession. The area will be available to the public when the concession is closed. Additional public seating will be installed along the south side of the pavilion and in the vicinity of the Lincoln statue. Internal exhaust will go through an existing chimney. Waste bin storage has been positioned with little visual impact, minimal space requirements as well as keeping with park’s aesthetics.
Parks and Recreation Office and Storage. A smaller building will be added on to west side of the pavilion to increase storage for the Parks Department staff. A new basement of the building will be excavated of approximately 1,000 square feet to create locker rooms, showers, and increased office space.
But the preservationisits’ struggle continues. More to come.
New York is a summer festival, said the Visitors Bureau ads for years. Actually, the NY summer is a street fair experience. If you thought the CB6 East Side fairs' list exhilarating (T&V April 7), you should see the one from CB5, covering NYC west of Park Avenue South, 14th to 59th Streets. Only a few are in our area, such as the fair of Gramercy Park Neighborhood Association (Arlene Harrison, President), on PAS between 17th and 23rd Streets, on Sunday, May 14, the Gramercy Park Block Association’s event on the same PAS stretch on Saturday, Oct 8, and the 14th Street-Union Square LDC’s festivities on the selfsame landscape on Saturday, July 16 (I expect this is the Union Square Partnership under its old name). Regardless, old friends. There’s also a Union Square Hospitality Group event on Madison Square Park, Sat/Sun June 11/12, with a three block street activity. Also, the Muslim Foundation of America celebration, on Madison Ave between 23rd and 41st Streets, on Sunday September 25, an opportunity for an exchange of views, and a Sikh Cultural Society post-parade get-together in Madison Square Park on Saturday, April 30, cleanup guaranteed. This report omits the list of 26 more fairs north of our area. Why do we, the community, support these commercial activities outside our windows? Well, we know that the concessionaires’ fees are sometimes the one basic source of income to help pay the social service organizations’ overhead (postage is a big thing), and that the ethnic groups of new Americans want to show how they fit in.
CB5 has always been viewed by the preservationists as a real-estate friendly board. On February 10 theCB nearly unanimously (with no nays and three abstentions) passed a resolution favoring the proposed redesign of the North End of Union Square, after a public session of mostly opposing opinions. The main caveats in the resolution were in the choosing of a concessionaire for the restaurant. To keep you up to snuff, the 2-½ pages of the resolution boils down the updated design principles as follows:
Playground Consolidate two existing play spaces into one continuous, enlarged playground (enlarged from 5,100 square feet to more than 10,000 square feet) with distinct age-specific play areas that encourage creativity through landforms, play equipment and open spaces with child sized hills, and a planted perimeter. Sand, water and plants will be incorporated into the playground. The playground is designed to be accessible to wheelchairs as well as baby strollers. A unisex bathroom with changing table, accessible only from the playground for use by children and their guardians, will be located on the west side of the pavilion. Design was conceived with security and sight lines in mind. Parks security, Parks employees as well as a playground associate will be available as added security.
Northern Gateway Plaza. Addressing its history as an urban gathering space, the plaza will be repaved using materials able to withstand the greenmarket’s requirements as it relates to truck usage as well as drainage. Asphalt blocks are proposed to create an integration of the plaza perimeter with the park as a continuation of the southwest corner renovation. Along 17th street, 8 trees will be planted flush to the ground with improved drainage. Space between the trees will be a minimum of 20 feet. Addressing the requirement by Department of Transportation for a barrier along 17th street to inhibit mid-block crossing, temporary metal removable stanchions will be installed along the north end of the square. Style to be similar to the fencing currently being used within the park. Additional shaded public seating as well as trees will be placed along the north façade of the pavilion. Construction will be phased (working with the greenmarket) to minimize impact with operations. Public bathrooms accessible from the north side will be built along the east side of the pavilion for use by all park patrons as well as the greenmarket. Increased and historically sensitive lighting to be installed. The design has been developed in consultation with the managers of the greenmarket without objection.
Concession. Restoration of the pavilion with the main entrance on the south side, and seasonal terrace. The concessionaire will be responsible for a full restoration of the pavilion. The seasonal terrace will occupy less area than what is occupied currently by the concession. The area will be available to the public when the concession is closed. Additional public seating will be installed along the south side of the pavilion and in the vicinity of the Lincoln statue. Internal exhaust will go through an existing chimney. Waste bin storage has been positioned with little visual impact, minimal space requirements as well as keeping with park’s aesthetics.
Parks and Recreation Office and Storage. A smaller building will be added on to west side of the pavilion to increase storage for the Parks Department staff. A new basement of the building will be excavated of approximately 1,000 square feet to create locker rooms, showers, and increased office space.
But the preservationisits’ struggle continues. More to come.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Takeout food, a new concept for ai travelers
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
Air travel has taken a new turn. We all know about the increased security regulations; this article will try to update the T&V Country reader about changes in the in-flight services for short-distance air travelers.
In this era of air travel deregulation the established airlines are the heavy losers. Saddled with expensive union contracts and retirement payrolls, they have to fight off upstart competitors who grab the lucrative routes, such as New York – Miami, and underbid the regulars, who have utilized the income from these moneymaker routes to pay for the essential low-volume small market services. Traditional airlines are fighting back by cutting prices and services. That’s why you have difficulties getting live reservation clerks on the phone, all the booking traffic is slanted toward the Internet. Travel agent airline reservation services are also getting to be history.
While the passengers are reaping the benefits of lower airfares, the in-flight services we once received are fading. On short trips do not expect much beyond soft drinks and a bag of pretzels or peanuts to sustain the body. You can sometimes buy a premade sandwich, but the more knowledgeable travelers (that’s us, the T&V Country bunch) will either pack a brown bag or buy food at the expanding airport food service franchises. Take-out airplane food, if you will.
At LaGuardia Airport, the entrance to Dock D, gates 1-10 serving mostly American Airlines, has a food galleria, a dining area with several name brand vendors surrounding it.
There’s Au Bon Pan, with the customary fare of coffees, pastries and sandwiches, slightly marked up, as are all airport goods aimed at the traveler, vacationer or business.
Wendy’s, a chain we respect, offers its standard 99 cent goods – a baked potato with sour cream and chives, a burger, a Caesar salad - at a minimally marked up $1.50, and a muffin with cheese and sausage at $2.20, excellent filling meals at the price.
Famiglia, an Italian food vendor, serves pizza, pasta and salads. Here you can buy a small slice for $2.29-2.69, a bagel at $4, garden and fruit salads for $4 – 6.50, and a Caesar salad at $4.49.
The galleria also features a Sunglass Hut, airport sine-qua-non, a Sprint PCS office selling nearly instant phone services for the forlorn traveler, a Hudson News stand with periodicals and newspapers at standard prices (save your NYTimes, it costs $2.50 in San Juan and a whopping $4.75 in the Virgin Islands, if at all available; don’t look for a newsstand in the Old Town of Charlotte Amalie, where only diamond dealers and boutiques can afford the rent). If you would prefer to bring a noodle dish or other Oriental delicacies on board, a nearby Thai shop will pack a plastic dish for you.
There are also signs directing you upstairs, to a standby dentist’s office (hours unknown), and Volunteers of America, to help travelers in distress.
Once you pass the security gate and enter the actual Dock D, servicing gates 1-10, more takeout food purveyors are at your service.
To feel you back at home, step into Figs, Food and Drinks, a branch of Todd English’s Olives, the restaurant at the W Union Square Hotel. There the Weather Channel keeps the bar trade up to date while sipping beer and munching sandwiches (they will wrap ‘em up for you as desired, here as well as at the sit-down Figs restaurant at Dock B).
Newsbreak, another sandwich bar, stands ready to provide you with warm or cold meals for the trip. Twenty ounce bottles of water are available everywhere, to supplement the canned sodas, seltzer and fruit juices the impoverished airlines still provide, along with a bag of peanuts or chips, during the flight.
There are stores for all the other essentials a vacationing traveler should desire. A miniature Brookstone’s stand teases the passersby with a talking pedometer ($25), wristwatch with an MP3 player ($200), electronic games for playing poker and the perennially popular Russian-invented Tetris, also boards with accessories for backgammon enthusiasts, binoculars that take color pictures and movies ($200), beepable luggage tags (I’m told; did not actually see one), neck pillows and comfort slippers (I still carry mine, from a trans-Pacific trip, handed out by a benevolent airline with instructions to take a walk once in a while, to avoid deep vein thrombosis. This instruction applies also to long-distance car riders). Their goods include a mysterious noise cancellation machine, and a portable air purifier (alas, too hefty for the average traveler’s lap), for the worriers concerned about the germs in recirculated air.
Duty Free Americas has a major shop on Dock D, providing such luxuries as Godiva chocolates, Chanel and Isey Miyake cosmetics and, for international travelers only, Glenlivet and Laphroaig single malt whiskeys, two for $50. Another Hudson News offers books as well as periodicals, and the ubiquitous snacks, candy bars and gum. Air travel still provides for basic comforts – unless you are bothered by tight airplane seats. But that’s another story.
Air travel has taken a new turn. We all know about the increased security regulations; this article will try to update the T&V Country reader about changes in the in-flight services for short-distance air travelers.
In this era of air travel deregulation the established airlines are the heavy losers. Saddled with expensive union contracts and retirement payrolls, they have to fight off upstart competitors who grab the lucrative routes, such as New York – Miami, and underbid the regulars, who have utilized the income from these moneymaker routes to pay for the essential low-volume small market services. Traditional airlines are fighting back by cutting prices and services. That’s why you have difficulties getting live reservation clerks on the phone, all the booking traffic is slanted toward the Internet. Travel agent airline reservation services are also getting to be history.
While the passengers are reaping the benefits of lower airfares, the in-flight services we once received are fading. On short trips do not expect much beyond soft drinks and a bag of pretzels or peanuts to sustain the body. You can sometimes buy a premade sandwich, but the more knowledgeable travelers (that’s us, the T&V Country bunch) will either pack a brown bag or buy food at the expanding airport food service franchises. Take-out airplane food, if you will.
At LaGuardia Airport, the entrance to Dock D, gates 1-10 serving mostly American Airlines, has a food galleria, a dining area with several name brand vendors surrounding it.
There’s Au Bon Pan, with the customary fare of coffees, pastries and sandwiches, slightly marked up, as are all airport goods aimed at the traveler, vacationer or business.
Wendy’s, a chain we respect, offers its standard 99 cent goods – a baked potato with sour cream and chives, a burger, a Caesar salad - at a minimally marked up $1.50, and a muffin with cheese and sausage at $2.20, excellent filling meals at the price.
Famiglia, an Italian food vendor, serves pizza, pasta and salads. Here you can buy a small slice for $2.29-2.69, a bagel at $4, garden and fruit salads for $4 – 6.50, and a Caesar salad at $4.49.
The galleria also features a Sunglass Hut, airport sine-qua-non, a Sprint PCS office selling nearly instant phone services for the forlorn traveler, a Hudson News stand with periodicals and newspapers at standard prices (save your NYTimes, it costs $2.50 in San Juan and a whopping $4.75 in the Virgin Islands, if at all available; don’t look for a newsstand in the Old Town of Charlotte Amalie, where only diamond dealers and boutiques can afford the rent). If you would prefer to bring a noodle dish or other Oriental delicacies on board, a nearby Thai shop will pack a plastic dish for you.
There are also signs directing you upstairs, to a standby dentist’s office (hours unknown), and Volunteers of America, to help travelers in distress.
Once you pass the security gate and enter the actual Dock D, servicing gates 1-10, more takeout food purveyors are at your service.
To feel you back at home, step into Figs, Food and Drinks, a branch of Todd English’s Olives, the restaurant at the W Union Square Hotel. There the Weather Channel keeps the bar trade up to date while sipping beer and munching sandwiches (they will wrap ‘em up for you as desired, here as well as at the sit-down Figs restaurant at Dock B).
Newsbreak, another sandwich bar, stands ready to provide you with warm or cold meals for the trip. Twenty ounce bottles of water are available everywhere, to supplement the canned sodas, seltzer and fruit juices the impoverished airlines still provide, along with a bag of peanuts or chips, during the flight.
There are stores for all the other essentials a vacationing traveler should desire. A miniature Brookstone’s stand teases the passersby with a talking pedometer ($25), wristwatch with an MP3 player ($200), electronic games for playing poker and the perennially popular Russian-invented Tetris, also boards with accessories for backgammon enthusiasts, binoculars that take color pictures and movies ($200), beepable luggage tags (I’m told; did not actually see one), neck pillows and comfort slippers (I still carry mine, from a trans-Pacific trip, handed out by a benevolent airline with instructions to take a walk once in a while, to avoid deep vein thrombosis. This instruction applies also to long-distance car riders). Their goods include a mysterious noise cancellation machine, and a portable air purifier (alas, too hefty for the average traveler’s lap), for the worriers concerned about the germs in recirculated air.
Duty Free Americas has a major shop on Dock D, providing such luxuries as Godiva chocolates, Chanel and Isey Miyake cosmetics and, for international travelers only, Glenlivet and Laphroaig single malt whiskeys, two for $50. Another Hudson News offers books as well as periodicals, and the ubiquitous snacks, candy bars and gum. Air travel still provides for basic comforts – unless you are bothered by tight airplane seats. But that’s another story.
Thursday, April 07, 2005
MTA, street fair and licensing iss us at CB6
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
The monthly Community Board 6 meeting on February 9 had issues galore. After our elected officials’ reps informed us of their activities in moving the Legislative Reform Package and protection of Mitchell-Lama tenants (A/M Jonathan Bing), support for the ST/PCV Historic District (Sen. Thomas Duane), objections to MTA’s computer-controlled trains (C/M Margarita Lopez), the business session offered some excitement.
To begin with, the Parks, Landmarks and Cultural Affairs Committee found the National Arts Club in flagrant violation of the Landmarks law, once more, and will seek a violation order. Next, it was MTA’s turn, when the Public Safety Committee’s resolution opposing the closing of token booths in subway stations as a safety hazard was nearly unanimously accepted. NYCTA had indicated that it will close 164 token booths, nine in the CB6 area The committee found that this will impede the access for the handicapped and for people with strollers, and reduce safety (token clerks open the gates in emergencies, summon emergency services, and direct tourists and visitors).
Another related issue, NYCTA’s testing of a driver-less system based on a computerized Communications–Based Train Control system (CBTC) on our L (Canarsie) line produced a resolution opposing the implementation of the system in its present form. However, should the TA go ahead, the CB urges the City Council to request adequate emergency evacuation plan, a redundant emergency communications program, and placement of trained conductors to aid in emergencies. The resolution was prompted also by apparent concerns about the System Safety Control Board, composed of TA employees, and the possibility that full implementation might lead to the discontinuance of conductors as well.
The vote was mixed, with 20 ayes, 10 nays and 5 abstentions, followed by a request by Lou Sepersky, chair of the Transportation Committee, that both issues be tabled and referred to his committee. Carol Schachter, chair of CB6, informed the meeting that the Borough President had requested action at this time, therefore the issue was placed in the Public Safety Committee, whose chair Fred Arcaro had found many safety concerns. Lou’s appeal of the decision was defeated, after a major floor discussion, in which he pinpointed that CB6 four years ago had essentially approved the automation by establishing a computer room at the 14TH Street and 3rd Avenue station. Lou’s remarks of the successful automations in London, Paris and Japan elicited responses from several members, affirming that the resolution was not a rejection of the automation but an attempt to make it better and safer. A proposal by Marty Barret, former CB6 chair, to move the issues to the next CB6 Executive Committee meeting was defeated after a roll call vote of 18 ayes and 17 nays. And you thought that the US Congress has all the drama!
After the excitement, the Business and Governmental Affairs Committee obtained approval for a clutch of sidewalk café (Bar 515, E.34/35th Streets), and liquor license resolutions, for Pure Food and Wine, 55 Irving Place (wine and beer only, expanding from a 74 to 100 seating), Tony’s Sushi and Grill (2nd Avenue at 39th Street) and AJI Sushi Inc. (3rd Avenue at 34/35th Streets) both making such promises as closing at 11PM and playing only background music. TJ’s NYC (27th Street between Lexington/3rd Avenues), replacement of the troublemaker Mark’s Café/ConceptsII, had to come up with a signed agreement to install a better sound system, smaller speakers, a bouncer, and dropping outsider sponsored promotions. The no-show applicant at 384 3rd Avenue (34/35th Streets) was nixed altogether.
It was also the day for street fairs. The full board voted consistent 30 ayes and 5 nays, with the naysayers objecting to this activity in principle. The usual familiar sponsors won, Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church for a fair on Sunday, May 1, on 2nd Avenue between 23rd and 34th Streets; Gramercy Visiting Neighbors on Saturday, May 7, on 3rd Avenue between 14th and 23rd Streets; Bellevue South Community Association, Saturday, June 4, on 2nd Avenue between 23rd and 34th Streets; Tilden Midtown Democratic Club, Sunday, June 12 on 3rd Avenue between 23rd and 34th Streets; Stuyvesant Park Neighborhood Association, Saturday, June 11 on 2nd Avenue between 14th and 23rd Streets; Kidney and Urology Association, Sunday, June 19 on Lexington Avenue between 23rd and 34th Streets; Friends of the 13th Precinct, Saturday, June 25, on 2nd Avenue between 23rd and 34th Streets; Seafarers and International House, Sunday, June 26th on 3rd Avenue between 14th and 23rd Streets; Meretz/Israel Civil Rights Education Fund, Sunday, July 10 on Lexington Avenue between 34th and 42nd Streets; East Side Rezoning Alliance (ESRA), Sunday, July 24th on 3rd Avenue between 42nd and 57th Streets: Albano Republican Club, Saturday, August 27 on 3rd Avenue between 14th and 23rd Streets; Church of Good Shepherd, Sunday, August 28 on 3rd Avenue between 23rd and 34th Streets; Manhattan East Community Association, Monday, September 5 on Lexington Avenue between 34th an 42nd Streets; Tudor City Association , Sunday. September 18 on 2nd Avenue between 43rd and 57th Streets; Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen’s Club , Sunday, October 9 on Lexington Avenue between 34th and 42nd Streets, and Our Lady of Scapular and St Stephan, Sunday, October 23rd on 3rd Avenue between 23rd and 34th Streets.
All applicants are recognized as community-based organizations, providing services to the community, capable of self-policing the event, and have submitted documentary proof (e.g. cancelled checks) of funds spent as approved by the Board. Each must have a booth dispensing community info, use a proven responsible fair producer, provide sanitary cleanup, and never, never permit the dispensing of free cigarettes and paraphernalia.
The monthly Community Board 6 meeting on February 9 had issues galore. After our elected officials’ reps informed us of their activities in moving the Legislative Reform Package and protection of Mitchell-Lama tenants (A/M Jonathan Bing), support for the ST/PCV Historic District (Sen. Thomas Duane), objections to MTA’s computer-controlled trains (C/M Margarita Lopez), the business session offered some excitement.
To begin with, the Parks, Landmarks and Cultural Affairs Committee found the National Arts Club in flagrant violation of the Landmarks law, once more, and will seek a violation order. Next, it was MTA’s turn, when the Public Safety Committee’s resolution opposing the closing of token booths in subway stations as a safety hazard was nearly unanimously accepted. NYCTA had indicated that it will close 164 token booths, nine in the CB6 area The committee found that this will impede the access for the handicapped and for people with strollers, and reduce safety (token clerks open the gates in emergencies, summon emergency services, and direct tourists and visitors).
Another related issue, NYCTA’s testing of a driver-less system based on a computerized Communications–Based Train Control system (CBTC) on our L (Canarsie) line produced a resolution opposing the implementation of the system in its present form. However, should the TA go ahead, the CB urges the City Council to request adequate emergency evacuation plan, a redundant emergency communications program, and placement of trained conductors to aid in emergencies. The resolution was prompted also by apparent concerns about the System Safety Control Board, composed of TA employees, and the possibility that full implementation might lead to the discontinuance of conductors as well.
The vote was mixed, with 20 ayes, 10 nays and 5 abstentions, followed by a request by Lou Sepersky, chair of the Transportation Committee, that both issues be tabled and referred to his committee. Carol Schachter, chair of CB6, informed the meeting that the Borough President had requested action at this time, therefore the issue was placed in the Public Safety Committee, whose chair Fred Arcaro had found many safety concerns. Lou’s appeal of the decision was defeated, after a major floor discussion, in which he pinpointed that CB6 four years ago had essentially approved the automation by establishing a computer room at the 14TH Street and 3rd Avenue station. Lou’s remarks of the successful automations in London, Paris and Japan elicited responses from several members, affirming that the resolution was not a rejection of the automation but an attempt to make it better and safer. A proposal by Marty Barret, former CB6 chair, to move the issues to the next CB6 Executive Committee meeting was defeated after a roll call vote of 18 ayes and 17 nays. And you thought that the US Congress has all the drama!
After the excitement, the Business and Governmental Affairs Committee obtained approval for a clutch of sidewalk café (Bar 515, E.34/35th Streets), and liquor license resolutions, for Pure Food and Wine, 55 Irving Place (wine and beer only, expanding from a 74 to 100 seating), Tony’s Sushi and Grill (2nd Avenue at 39th Street) and AJI Sushi Inc. (3rd Avenue at 34/35th Streets) both making such promises as closing at 11PM and playing only background music. TJ’s NYC (27th Street between Lexington/3rd Avenues), replacement of the troublemaker Mark’s Café/ConceptsII, had to come up with a signed agreement to install a better sound system, smaller speakers, a bouncer, and dropping outsider sponsored promotions. The no-show applicant at 384 3rd Avenue (34/35th Streets) was nixed altogether.
It was also the day for street fairs. The full board voted consistent 30 ayes and 5 nays, with the naysayers objecting to this activity in principle. The usual familiar sponsors won, Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church for a fair on Sunday, May 1, on 2nd Avenue between 23rd and 34th Streets; Gramercy Visiting Neighbors on Saturday, May 7, on 3rd Avenue between 14th and 23rd Streets; Bellevue South Community Association, Saturday, June 4, on 2nd Avenue between 23rd and 34th Streets; Tilden Midtown Democratic Club, Sunday, June 12 on 3rd Avenue between 23rd and 34th Streets; Stuyvesant Park Neighborhood Association, Saturday, June 11 on 2nd Avenue between 14th and 23rd Streets; Kidney and Urology Association, Sunday, June 19 on Lexington Avenue between 23rd and 34th Streets; Friends of the 13th Precinct, Saturday, June 25, on 2nd Avenue between 23rd and 34th Streets; Seafarers and International House, Sunday, June 26th on 3rd Avenue between 14th and 23rd Streets; Meretz/Israel Civil Rights Education Fund, Sunday, July 10 on Lexington Avenue between 34th and 42nd Streets; East Side Rezoning Alliance (ESRA), Sunday, July 24th on 3rd Avenue between 42nd and 57th Streets: Albano Republican Club, Saturday, August 27 on 3rd Avenue between 14th and 23rd Streets; Church of Good Shepherd, Sunday, August 28 on 3rd Avenue between 23rd and 34th Streets; Manhattan East Community Association, Monday, September 5 on Lexington Avenue between 34th an 42nd Streets; Tudor City Association , Sunday. September 18 on 2nd Avenue between 43rd and 57th Streets; Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen’s Club , Sunday, October 9 on Lexington Avenue between 34th and 42nd Streets, and Our Lady of Scapular and St Stephan, Sunday, October 23rd on 3rd Avenue between 23rd and 34th Streets.
All applicants are recognized as community-based organizations, providing services to the community, capable of self-policing the event, and have submitted documentary proof (e.g. cancelled checks) of funds spent as approved by the Board. Each must have a booth dispensing community info, use a proven responsible fair producer, provide sanitary cleanup, and never, never permit the dispensing of free cigarettes and paraphernalia.
