Ups and Downs With CB9: Despite a Rocky Past, CU-CB9 Discourse Increased Over M�ville

Subject: Fwd: Spectator on Columbia/CB#9 Interaction?
Date: 10/14/2005 10:52:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time
To: reysmontj@aol.com

Note: forwarded message attached.

Anne Z. Whitman, President
Hudson North American
3229 Broadway, New York, New York 10027
Tel: 212-678-4862 Fax: 212-678-4617
Mobile: 917-705-2922
www.moving-storage.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[As an observer here who has lived in this neighborhood since my
Columbia graduate student days in the 1960s, it looks as though Columbia
is proceeding with a somewhat Jekyll/Hyde approach to Manhattanville.
It wants the approval of the community for its land takeover, but is not
offering much of anything in compensation and looks to be marching along
determinedly with community meetings designed more to placate some
community members than to resolve the very real conflicts of interests
involved -- particularly the terrible impact of gentrification on the
neighborhoods to be impacted.

Were Columbia to offer real compensation for the potential losses to
people in the area (e.g. expulsion of thousands from 3333 Broadway?) and
a willingness to share (leaving existing businesses that provide
employment for many in place and providing low cost housing to those who
will be expelled from their homes), its expansion could serve as a model
of synergistic cooperation between a major university and its community
(See Penn and many others for comparisons.). But I see none of this
either in Columbia's reports of its blight designation and eminent
domain threats or its on-going moves in Morningside Heights where it has
a history of putting its interests above those of residents all too
frequently expelled by its expansions there. Ed Kent]


Ups and Downs With CB9
Despite a Rocky Past, CU-CB9 Discourse Increased Over M�ville

By Lindsay Schubiner
Spectator Staff Writer

October 14, 2005

Despite elevated tensions over Columbia�s plans for expansion, many
veteran Community Board 9 members say the current level of University
communication with the board is an improvement over past years. Members
disagree, however, over whether the increased number of exchanges has
improved the quality of Columbia�s overall relationship with the board
and the district nine community.

�Now it�s the best that I have seen it in years,� board member Dr. Vicky
Gholson said of the board�s contact with Columbia. Gholson also
mentioned that she thought Columbia had shown respect by agreeing to do
a series of five presentations to the board about the expansion plans.

�Columbia didn�t have to do presentations,� Gholson said. But she added,
�In terms of an ongoing presence and developing relationship between
Columbia and the community board, I have not seen evidence of that. I�ve
never witnessed a cohesive communication between the two [institutions].�

George Goodwill, board chair from 2000 to 2004, stressed the
historically difficult relationship between Columbia and the board. �The
relationship has always been very contentious, way before I got there,�
Goodwill said. �When I was chair I tried to reduce any animosity that
existed.�

Most members agreed that community relations soured in the years
following the campus protests of 1968 but began to turn around in the
mid-1990s�if not sooner�with the start of University President George
Rupp�s tenure and the coinciding appointment of Emily Lloyd as
Columbia�s executive vice president for government and community affairs.

�There was a big gap between �68 and when Rupp came in, and things
weren�t so good,� said Maritta Dunn, a current board member and former
chair. �During the tenure of President George Rupp, things increased and
became better tremendously, but it was clear that his mandate coming in
was to forge a bridge with the community. ... That�s why it�s so
unfortunate that the new administration doesn�t appear to have the same
mandate.�

Board member Carolyn Kent credited Lloyd with turning around relations
between Columbia and CB9. �We felt involved, we felt listened to, we
felt our concerns were being taken seriously, and we felt on the other
side the University would benefit,� Kent said.

Seasoned board members diverge in their opinions about the implications
of the present period in terms of the board�s history with the
University. Carlotta Damanda, who was first appointed to the board in
1965 when she was a student at Columbia, said, �I think Columbia�s come
a long, long way. ... There are always going to be things about which
people disagree.�

Dunn said she believes that �we�re back to where we were now� in terms
of University involvement and community trust. Jordi Reyes-Montblanc,
the board�s current chair, agreed. �Columbia is back to their old ways
and is trying to shove their plan down the community�s throat.�

But Theodore Kovaleff, a community board member and former dean of
Columbia�s law school, stressed that relations today were better than
when he first became a board member in 1976 and downplayed the current
tensions.

�[Before,] there was no dialogue, and that�s important because if you
cannot sit down and talk, there�s no way you can possibly resolve
anything.� Kovaleff said he had worked hard when he was chair of the
board in the mid-1980s and for several years in the 1990s to pave the
way for better interaction between Columbia and the board. �[In the
past] things would have been done behind the scenes by both sides,�
Kovaleff said. �It�s so much better to work together and to work towards
something.�

Even Reyes-Montblanc agreed that there was hope for Columbia. �I hope
that its only a temporary bump in the road. Once Columbia learns its
lesson and embraces the community as a true partner, the relationship
will be fruitful and smooth,� he said.



--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort
to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy)
--
Ed Kent 718-951-5324 (voice mail only) [blind copies]

http://BlogByEdKent.blogspot.com/
http://www.bloggernews.net/