Jackson Secures 197-A Funding

Columbia Spectator
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Jackson Secures 197-A Funding
Money Should Finish Plan
By Jimmy Vielkind
Spectator Senior Staff Writer

July 25, 2005

Councilman Robert Jackson has secured $150,000 to complete Community Board 9's 197-A plan.
The money was secured from City Council funds in the 2006 fiscal budget and was announced to the Board in a letter dated July 19 and distributed at a public meeting Monday.

While conducting a town hall meeting in early June, Jackson (D-Washington Heights) reported that the Board was roughly $100,000 short of what it needed to complete the study, which will serve as a framework for any future development in West Harlem.

"It's a statement of need and a statement of possibilities," said Susan Russell, Jackson's chief of staff. She said the 197-A plan was historic, and that securing funding when constituents needed it for a worthy cause was his job.

"We're very pleased with our Council Member's support of and commitment to the completion and submission to ULURP of Community Board 9's 197-A Plan," said Pat Jones, chair of the Board's 197-A Plan Committee, and co-chair of the Manhattanville Rezoning Taskforce referring to the approval process.

The money will be used for technical assistance and other final costs of producing the report, which was approved by the community board in October and must be approved by several city entities.