PUBLIC HEARING on the ULURP Committee Vote on the CB9M 197-a Plan

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04 PUBLIC HEARING
05 on the
06 ULURP Committee Vote
07 on the 197A Plan
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11 530 West 133rd Street
12 New York, New York
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14 July 9, 2007
15 6:30 p.m.
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19 Reported by: Judeen M. Denniston
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02 A P P E A R A N C E S
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05 JORDI REYES-MONTBLANC - CHAIR, COMMUNITY
06 BOARD 9
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08 PATRICIA JONES - CO-CHAIR of ULURP COMMITTEE,
09 CB9
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11 YVONNE STENNETT - CO-CHAIR of ULURP
12 COMMITTEE, CB9
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00003
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02 MANHATTAN COMMUNITY BOARD #9
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05 Sign-in and Open House (6:30 p.m.)
06 Presentation (7:00 p.m.)
07 Welcome & Introductions
08 JORDI REYES-MONTBLANC - CHAIR,
09 COMMUNITY BOARD 9
10 PATRICIA JONES - CO-CHAIR of ULURP
11 COMMITTEE, CB9
12 YVONNE STENNETT - CO-CHAIR of ULURP
13 COMMITTEE, CB9
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00004
01 MR. REYES-MONTBLANC:
02 Good evening. Thank you for coming. We
03 have set all this meeting on the 197A for
04 Community Board 9, your support is great
05 that you came.
06
07 We are going to try to proceed as fast as we
08 can, and everybody please cooperate. We
09 have to be out of here by 0930 and we would
10 like to have everybody who has signed up, to
11 have a chance to speak. Again, thank you
12 for coming.
13
14 MS. JONES:
15 Good evening my name is Pat Jones, Co-Chair
16 of the 197A New York Committee of Community
17 Board 9.
18
19 Just a few words for background. The
20 Community Board 9 and the Community Basic
21 Plan, known as the 197A Plan, was practiced
22 and finalized to an open public involvement
23 process, after almost two decades. The 197A
24 Plan was essentially focused on land use and
00005
01 zoning related issues, considering the
02 entire community district, with a particular
03 focus on Manhattanville, given it is the
04 most likely area for intensive Future
05 Development.
06
07 The 197A Plan sets forth a frame work to
08 achieve the following goals: promote the
09 interest of the long time area residence,
10 protect and improve the natural environment
11 and architecture of our community, preserve
12 the existing supply and provide for new
13 affordable housing, the creation of good
14 jobs for community residence, no primary or
15 secondary displacement as a result of any
16 developments or public or private actions,
17 protect and enhance the important arts and
18 cultural community of Community District 9,
19 and finally, no use of eminent domain to
20 transfer property from one private party to
21 another private party.
22
23 The 197A Plan was referred for public review
24 by the Department of City Planning, on June
00006
01 18, 2007. On that same date, the Columbia
02 University 197C Plan was referred for public
03 review technically, not as the first one.
04 Tonight is the first of several public
05 hearings, where you will be given an
06 opportunity to give on the record, public
07 testimony on the plans. Community Board 9
08 will cover two such testimonies of 197A
09 Plans tonight. On August 15, 2007 in this
10 same location, the Community Board 9 will
11 conduct a public hearing on the Columbia
12 University Plan. This is not the evening to
13 give your opinions on the Columbia Plan.
14 Please do not set aside the importance of
15 the Community 197A Plan by focusing on the
16 Columbia Plan.
17
18 The Manhattan Borough President Scott
19 Stringer, will also conduct public hearings
20 in September. The City Planning
21 Commissioner will conduct a public hearing
22 on October 3rd, and the City Counsel will
23 conduct a public hearing in December. It is
24 extremely important that you participate in
00007
01 each of these public hearings. Your voices
02 need to be heard.
03
04
05 With that, I will call this public hearing
06 on the 197A Plan to order, and will begin
07 with the roll call of the Community Board 9
08 197A Forum Committee.
09
10 (Whereupon, roll call for
11 Community Board 9 197A Forum
12 Committee was conducted by Ms.
13 Jones.)
14
15 MS. JONES:
16 PAT JONES?
17
18 MS. JONES:
19 Present.
20 Yvonne Stennett?
21
22 MS. STENNETT:
23 Present
24 MS. JONES:
00008
01 Callie Branche?
02
03 MS. BRANCHE:
04 Present.
05
06 MS. JONES:
07 Carlotta Damanda?
08
09 MS. DAMANDA:
10 Present.
11
12 MS. JONES:
13 Tisha Jackson?
14
15 MS. JACKSON:
16 Present.
17
18 MS. JONES:
19 Ted Kovaleff?
20
21 MR. KOVALEFF:
22 Present.
23
24 MS. JONES:
00009
01 Christina Lee?
02
03 MS. LEE:
04 Present.
05
06 MS. JONES:
07 Francis Mack?
08
09 MS. MACK:
10 Present.
11
12 MS. JONES:
13 Savona Bailey McClain?
14
15 MS. BAILEY-MCCLAIN:
16 Present.
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18 MS. JONES:
19 Carmen Perez?
20
21 MS. PEREZ:
22 Present.
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24 MS. JONES:
00010
01 Norma Ramos?
02
03 MS. RAMOS:
04 Present.
05
06 MS. JONES:
07 John Reddick?
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09 MR. REDDICK:
10 Present.
11
12 MS. JONES:
13 Walter South?
14
15 MR. SOUTH:
16 Present.
17
18 MS. JONES:
19 Linda Walters?
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21 MS. WALTERS:
22 Here.
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24 MS. JONES:
00011
01 Ernestine Welch?
02
03 MS. WELCH:
04 Present.
05
06 MS. JONES:
07 Diane Wilson?
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09 MS. WILSON:
10 Present.
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12 MS. JONES:
13 Brenda Faust?
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15 MS. FAUST:
16 Here.
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18 MS. JONES:
19 There are sixteen members of the 197A Forum
20 Committee present. I will now turn the
21 hearing over to Yvonne Stennett, Co-Chair of
22 the CB9 197A Forum Committee.
23
24 MS. STENNETT:
00012
01 What an introduction. Good evening,
02 everyone.
03
04
05 THE AUDIENCE:
06 Good evening.
07
08 MS. STENNETT:
09 It is our role this evening to accommodate
10 all who wish to give public testimony;
11 however, since we must leave by 9:30, if you
12 would like to give public testimony you must
13 complete and submit the public testimony
14 form which is on the back table. This is
15 the form, (indicating). If you wish to
16 speak you must have this form completed.
17
18 There are some rules this evening that you
19 must follow and I am going to read them to
20 you. Each speaker will be given three
21 minutes to speak. You will be timed, and at
22 the end of the three minutes you will be
23 asked to stop your comments, and we ask that
24 you please obey. Each speaker should state
00013
01 your name first and then spell it. Please
02 try to be very clear, the transcriber is
03 going to be taking minutes. Please state
04 any affiliation you may have, also state
05 your position on the plan, whether you are
06 in favor or opposed. We ask that all
07 speakers respect these guidelines that have
08 been set forth. We would like to hear from
09 as many individuals as possible and we will
10 only be able to do so if we respect the
11 three-minute rule, okay, so we will begin.
12
13 MS. JONES:
14 Frank Pizzo, P-I-Z-Z-O.
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16 MR. PIZZO:
17 Hello my name is Frank Pizzo, P-I-Z-Z-O, I
18 am from Pizzo Brothers Contracting. My shop
19 is at 624-628 West 131st Street. My brother
20 and I are partners in the local construction
21 company, and we are third generation in the
22 contracting business, with two generations
23 in the Columbia Community for the past 45
24 years. We presently employ over 50
00014
01 employees year round, and seasonally
02 increase our work force by 10 to 15 more.
03
04 We historically employ minority men from the
05 community and offer everything from entry-
06 level positions such as laborers, helpers,
07 skilled carpenters, painters, and
08 plasterers. We offer an opportunity for our
09 young unskilled workers to be part of the
10 trade, and be given an opportunity. All of
11 our employees are paid more than a living
12 wage. They are paid sick days, 10 holidays,
13 two weeks for vacation, and overtime after
14 40 hours a week.
15
16 THE AUDIENCE:
17 (Applauding.)
18
19 MR. PIZZO:
20 In 1999, we had an opportunity to purchase
21 our present building which we are in the
22 process of doing when Columbia University
23 real estate institution approached us and
24 offered to purchase our property in return
00015
01 for a long term 20 year old lease.
02
03 Our relationship with this department, dated
04 back to my dad's generation way back in
05 1967, and I felt a level of trust in them.
06 We were asked to purchase it, we agreed to a
07 20 year lease, but subsequently we have been
08 told now that we didn't buy it that under
09 the new administration we were told that our
10 lease could be voided at any time that they
11 could not honor the full length of the
12 lease.
13
14 Now, we live in an uncertainty, that our
15 work force will no longer have a shop or a
16 place to come to work. It will not be
17 fairly compensated, we will certainly suffer
18 a major financial loss and have a major
19 effect on our work force and on our
20 community. I just want to go on notice that
21 the Manhattan Working Community, is alive,
22 functioning, employees are real, honest, and
23 hardworking people. Thank you.
24 MS. STENNETT:
00016
01 Again, when you come up please state your
02 name and spell it for the record, please.
03
04 MR. MAZZONI:
05 Hi my name is Mario Mazzoni, M-A-R-I-O M-A-
06 Z-Z-O-N-I. I am a West Harlem resident and
07 I am here today to urge all City officials
08 to approve the Community's 197A Plan. The
09 planning process included all segments of
10 the community, even though the Community of
11 District 9 has people of such varied
12 background and interests, this plan was
13 approved by unanimous vote by our community
14 board. I challenge anyone to show me
15 another neighborhood, as diverse as ours,
16 that has come to such a consensus, about its
17 future. This is democracy for us. Through
18 perpetual voting, the 197A would preserve
19 the tremendous housing stock already in our
20 neighborhood, many of the larger apartments
21 particularly in Hamilton Heights, that have
22 such historic importance lack those
23 perfections.
24 The 197A Plan will protect those buildings
00017
01 and also as we know there is an
02 affordability crisis in our community.
03 Landlords have too much incentive to drive
04 out low income tenants, and developers have
05 too much incentive to cater only to the
06 luxury market. This community board has
07 recognized that exclusionary zoning cannot
08 be optional, it must be mandatory for all
09 new construction or the tenants will not be
10 cheated. The 197A Plan calls for half of
11 the units in all new buildings to be set
12 aside for people whose income reflect the
13 existing neighborhood. Throughout the city,
14 the programs have income requirements that
15 are double or triple with local residence in
16 accord. In the 197A Plan, affordable means
17 affordable to the people who live in the
18 community now and the 197A Plan does that.
19
20 Finally, a brief statement about economic
21 development, if you have a plan to encourage
22 business growth, you cannot be at the same
23 time destroying another persons business,
24 that is why the 197A Plan does not allow a
00018
01 private institution to use eminent domain.
02 The 197A Plan also recognizes, that a
03 healthy economy is a diverse one.
04 Manhattanville is the last manufacturing
05 district in Manhattan of a substantial size
06 and what the 197A rightly does, is increase
07 the allowable bulk of the manufacturing
08 buildings so that this sector can grow. All
09 of New York's great industry, like design,
10 marketing, and entertainment, depend on
11 local manufacturers to produce the prototype
12 to assess the products and from market
13 atmosphere to the other brands in the
14 industry were made locally as the selling
15 point, so ladies and gentlemen our community
16 knows what it needs, all we need is for the
17 city to let us make it happen.
18
19 Thank you.
20
21 MS. JONES:
22 (Several names were called to speak.)
23
24 MS. GAYER:
00019
01 Hi, I am Margaret Gayer, G-A-Y-E-R.
02 Community Board 9 and the United
03 Manhattanville Center and I am an artist and
04 I am in Manhattanville. I have been there
05 for ten years and some of you may know that
06 there is the art and industry have always
07 gone together very well in New York City.
08 Because artists have always used the
09 services, welders, printers, and the other
10 way around and being able to be in
11 Manhattanville for the past 10 years
12 certainly influenced my work to grow and my
13 career to grow and so I would like to speak
14 for the recommendations 197A to talk about
15 the diversity, the economic diversity, not
16 only allowing residence to stay in terms
17 they could stay but also allow commercial
18 features, various businesses and artistes to
19 stay in places that they have been inhabited
20 for a long time, way before anyone else
21 wanted to be there and turn them into
22 something entirely different. So that's it.
23
24 MS. JONES:
00020
01 (Several names were called to speak.)
02 MS. ALLEN:
03 Good evening, my name Gloria Allen, and I am
04 the vice president of the John Brad
05 Residential Association. I have lived in
06 this community for 50 years. The community
07 board has worked with this community to have
08 affordable homes, to create jobs, and
09 entertain the works of life here in our
10 community. The community board has been
11 working over this plan for many years,
12 approximately about 10 years along with the
13 LCC, CCT, and the community we finally have
14 a plan, and the 197A Plan I urge everyone to
15 join me in agreeing. I am in agreement with
16 the 197A Plan, and I hope that the community
17 will support it and join me in support for
18 the 197A Plan.
19
20 MS. POWELL:
21 Good evening everyone, my name is Kim
22 Powell, I am a long time three generation
23 resident of the Harlem community. I am also
24 president of buyers and rented United States
00021
01 Forum. I have had a chance to review the
02 Community Board 9 197A Plan regarding the
03 proposed expansion of the Columbia
04 University and support the plan 100 percent.
05 I am here to highlight some points addressed
06 in that plan. One of the goals of the
07 plans, was to achieve future physical and
08 demographic profile of the community if not
09 altered to the point where it takes away the
10 sense itself in place.
11
12 Years ago, the concept of eminent domain was
13 introduced in a developing and creating
14 changes that serves the interests of the
15 public at large; making parks, roads,
16 highways, and other concepts of expanding
17 like taking away from the poor and giving to
18 the rich for the benefit of the rich. Lets
19 not forget Columbia University history, the
20 historical site where Malcolm X was killed,
21 the university owns the property. It
22 proceeded to intend to join force with the
23 community and then decides to preserve it as
24 a landmark and then allowed it to rot and
00022
01 blamed it on the landlord some years later.
02 Stating that there is not a thing we can do
03 for the property and then allowed it to be
04 reconfigured to a medical facility leaving
05 Mr. Malcolm's resting place a memorable 2 x
06 2 --
07
08 My meaning of preservation in retaining and
09 keeping and revitalizing those businesses
10 that exists. Columbia University who had
11 ownership of some of the properties taken
12 down today. If we continue to let them --
13 like Columbia define and speak for us that
14 history means his story but 197A Plan does
15 and will allow the future growth that is
16 compatible with the existing historic facts
17 of the community, this includes preserving
18 affordable housing, economic practical
19 commercial businesses that benefit
20 currently. It sets reasonable limits on the
21 heights of varied obstruction preserving the
22 integrity of the community, so that we do
23 not find ourselves living in a densely
24 populated community. A community that does
00023
01 not lose touch with its cultural sticks out,
02 a place that has been continued to look out
03 of our windows to past which is promising
04 and contributes growing and depraving
05 community in its present stay and being able
06 to say it is my home. Land use,
07 architecture --
08
09 MS. STENNETT:
10 Time.
11
12 MS. POWELL:
13 Thank you.
14
15 SENATOR PERKINS:
16 Good evening. So I promise not to talk
17 about Columbia because I know it is a ground
18 rule, but I do want to make sure that, and I
19 promise not to be long either, I want to
20 make sure that you know that the State
21 Senator that represent you, is 100 percent
22 plus in support of this 197A Plan.
23
24 Please give a round of applause to the
00024
01 Community Board and their consultants for
02 the wonderful job that they have done. It
03 is very responsive to what I believe are
04 real concern of the people of the community
05 in terms of affordability, in terms of scale
06 and I mean affordability by what is in the
07 pockets of the people in this neighborhood.
08 Not affordability by what is in the pockets
09 of the people that might want to get into
10 this neighborhood. So I think it is very
11 responsive from that point of view. But the
12 most important thing right now, I believe,
13 and I am not going to talk about Columbia is
14 the wonderful work that you have done with
15 respect to the notion of eminent domain.
16 Eminent domain has the tool as we were
17 sitting these days it is sort of like
18 negotiating with a gun, where one has the
19 gun and the other one doesn't and it is not
20 in response to the needs of the community,
21 and it is not neighborly.
22
23 So I want to commend you for recognizing how
24 that tool can be misused if it is not
00025
01 clearly expressed in this document, how you
02 see it not with your support. So I want to
03 thank you for the wonderful work you have
04 done, I know this has not been an easy task
05 and I know it is just a beginning of a long
06 road, but I think it is an important
07 beginning for the majority of the folks in
08 this community today and for tomorrow and
09 with the community and the current
10 participation that we see here this evening
11 I am sure we will be successful in getting
12 this plan will be the one that is actually
13 implemented as used as a guide for
14 developing a good community.
15
16 Thank you so much.
17
18 MR. FAVANT:
19 Hello my name is Peter Favant, F-A-V-A-N-T,
20 I am a long time resident of this community.
21 Members of the Community Board 9, this 197A
22 Plan represents a voice in community
23 district, and represent a template for
24 responsible city planning by respecting the
00026
01 needs of the existing community, while also
02 looking for a responsible growth in the
03 entire community. According to the New York
04 City 2005 housing data, approximately 46% of
05 the population of the Community District 9,
06 earns less than $33,000 annually and the
07 average resident of the Community District
08 9, spends about 32% of their annual income
09 on rent. This indicates that roughly 46% of
10 the population of the Community District 9
11 requires low income rent. New York City is
12 continually using rent to stabilize
13 apartments and subsized housing. There is
14 clearly a need in Community District 9 for
15 preservation and replacement of affordable
16 housing style. There is supportive housing
17 issues is supported in the 197A Plan. The
18 rent is obviously at a premium in New York
19 City is a highly developed area. This area
20 is driving businesses and stable homes. The
21 Community District 9 proposal for the use of
22 eminent domain represents for property and
23 home owners in New York City and in New York
24 State as well. The voices of the community
00027
01 clearly exists 197A Plan and recommend
02 eminent domain.
03
04 The 197A Plan is structural and lot of them
05 responsible development and growth for the
06 entire community not just for one group of
07 people who lives in the community or by one
08 developer with a self centered view of what
09 is good for the overall community. I have
10 talked about the many important points in
11 the 197A Plan because I believe that these
12 two points represents two of the most
13 important issues to support the community
14 business line as New York City seems to
15 grow, one the loss of affordable housing and
16 two the loss of private property and the use
17 of eminent domain in the name of private
18 development; both of these critical issues
19 may be avoided through responsible permanent
20 planning. Community Board 197A enhances and
21 represents a feasible template for
22 responsible, urban planning, and community
23 district and again represents the voice and
24 needs of this community.
00028
01
02 Thank you for your time.
03
04 MS. JONES:
05 (Several names were called to speak.)
06
07 MS. LEVINE:
08 Good evening, my name is Joan Levine, L-E-V-
09 I-N-E, I am co-chair of the Morningside
10 Heights/West Harlem Sanitation Coalition and
11 I have been looking through the 197A Plan,
12 because I wanted to pick out some of the
13 ideas that I thought were most important and
14 let me say right now in case my three
15 minutes is up at the end that I supported it
16 very strongly. The first thing that caught
17 my eye, and I think the very bedrock of the
18 plan, is that this would not allow the use
19 of eminent domain and I think that is the
20 most important thing and that it would
21 maintain affordable housing for the people
22 who are living here now and provide jobs for
23 local residents and also preserve historical
24 buildings and preserve the whole idea of
00029
01 Manhattanville and West Harlem which may get
02 bulldozed away without a trace left.
03
04 Another part was that the 197A Plan would
05 maintain contextual zoning so that the
06 buildings were not built so high that they
07 would dwarf all the rest of the community
08 and block out the sun and just make a lot of
09 shadows. As co-chair of the Sanitation
10 Coalition, I also want to mention another
11 part of the plan that I think is very
12 important and that is, this would be plan
13 that would be first placed in the city to
14 have a zero waste zone, our organization has
15 been involved for over 10 years in trying to
16 get an equitable solid waste plan for the
17 city and a plan that would decrease the
18 amount of waste that there is to the land
19 build certainly be a wonderful thing as well
20 as the use of rebuilding and sustainable
21 development also in the plan which is very
22 much like the Mayor's plan NYC and that,
23 okay.
24
00030
01 Thank you.
02
03 MS. WHITMAN:
04 Good evening my name is Ann Duhusky-Whitman,
05 last name is D-U-H-U-S-K-Y-W-H-I-T-M-A-N, my
06 family is 35-year owner occupants of 3229
07 Broadway. We presently have a third
08 generation in our family and our business
09 and I am certified -- enterprise I employee
10 100% minority of the woman. I am a union
11 company and I pay real living wages and my
12 employees make middle-class income. My
13 business houses a live mix of artist and
14 designers as well as the shipping company
15 and we serve the art capital of the world.
16 I have front row seat on Broadway Manhattan
17 and there is only one Broadway and I can't
18 reproduce what we have and I am not willing
19 to let go. We are listed on the New York
20 State national registered historic building.
21 The 197A Plan preserved to manufacturing
22 protected with the businesses and job and
23 promote diverse economic development. It
24 maintains scale and character of our little
00031
01 village in the city of Manhattan.
02
03 The 197A protects the most historically and
04 culturally significant buildings and
05 landmarks and it provides for a wide range
06 of opportunity and not for single
07 institution. We believe we are very against
08 the developments made and reports
09 displacement of any resident or business
10 within our community. I support the 197A
11 Plan and I urge my community to support it.
12
13 Thank you.
14
15 MS. DUHUSKY:
16 My name is Judy Duhusky, D-U-H-U-S-K-Y, and
17 if you have not figured it out, I happen to
18 be involved in the same family business
19 although we are at another building at 3247
20 known as dispatch. Also a historic
21 business, also in its third generation also
22 owner occupied. We have been members of
23 this community for 35 years. We have been
24 working and tax paying members of this
00032
01 community and I will not stand for anybody
02 suggesting that I am not a member of this
03 community. We provide living wages and we
04 provide duty and opportunities for our
05 employees who are majority of people who are
06 minorities. As a community member and a
07 property owner, my family, the Duhusky
08 family supports the 197A Plan which calls
09 for preservation of existing jobs and
10 businesses, protects and sustains public and
11 affordable housing, and support the people
12 in the community and residence at large as
13 you renounced the use of eminent domain any
14 and all displacements in conforming to the
15 197A Plan.
16
17 Thank you I urge to the officials to vote
18 for this plan and please come out.
19 Thank you.
20
21 MS. RAMOS:
22 My name is Norma Ramos, R-A-M-O-S, and I am
23 an Environmental Rights attorney and a human
24 rights advocate as well. I think it is so
00033
01 wonderful that so many people came out here
02 tonight. I think a lot of us didn't expect
03 this large a turnout, so thank you all of
04 you for coming out and showing how you much
05 care about our community.
06
07 The 197A Plan is the result of a lengthy and
08 thoughtful democratic process and it sets
09 forth key values and recommendations in
10 number of areas and I support this 197A Plan
11 in each of the areas and I urge everyone to
12 support this plan and I also urge Columbia
13 University to amend their 197C Plan to
14 conform to the values that the 197A Plan
15 shows. I am saying that because I am aware
16 that the 197C Plan reflects the same
17 democratic process that Allan did. I think
18 that is a very important question.
19
20 I want to call special attention to the
21 environmental section because this section
22 acknowledges that here in our community,
23 there has been environmental activists that
24 has called attention to the unfair
00034
01 concentration of polluting entities in our
02 neighborhood which has put our children at a
03 unacceptable risk for asthma, it has put our
04 elderly and unacceptable risk for emphysema
05 and it has put all of us at risk for cancers
06 and heart attacks, because it is the
07 pollution that comes from all of the
08 facilities in our neighborhood and this 197A
09 Plan sets forth key language that urges that
10 developers use and adopt a high threshold of
11 review for any of their intentions to
12 introduce for instance a biotech or a power
13 plant, because we cannot have another power
14 plant in this community. We cannot have
15 even one more polluting entity in this
16 community. We need more trees, we need
17 clean parks, we do not need developers
18 coming in and introducing more pollution and
19 I think this is what the 197A does in that
20 environmental section and in all of the
21 sections, it embraces the wishes of the
22 community and that is what democracy looks
23 like.
24
00035
01 So I urge everyone in this room to support
02 this plan and to urge Columbia to do the
03 socially just thing and do not support the
04 197C to the wishes of our community.
05
06 MR. DEMOTT:
07 Good evening, Tom DeMott of the coalition of
08 the reserve community. If you know that it
09 is wrong everybody may not have been at
10 every Community Board 9 meeting, some of you
11 might have not been at any of them, but you
12 know the people who have and the values that
13 have come out, these major goals of the 197A
14 Plan like promote the interests of primary
15 residents and protect improvement
16 substantially enhancing natural environment
17 and architecture of the area and provide new
18 affordable housing, preserving existing
19 supply of public and affordable housing.
20
21 All these kind of goals and they are many
22 more are the basis of maintaining the heart
23 and soul of our community and if you look at
24 what is going over there at 12th Avenue with
00036
01 the restaurants, there always good things
02 cooking and moving, because there is great
03 potential here, if you look at the
04 businesses that have not been driven out by
05 that other party that we are not supposed to
06 mention tonight even those businesses were
07 expanding and the empowerment zone didn't do
08 anything to get an incubator business
09 initiative and yet -- and that is exactly
10 what they are working on and they are going
11 anywhere in program because they are going
12 to expand and the businesses they are not
13 going anywhere, they are going to expand and
14 they are going to expand onwards to the
15 context of the 197A.
16
17 The people of the Manhattanville are not
18 going to be victimized by the privatization,
19 because this 197A Plan looks out for
20 everyone and it says "no," we tell the city
21 we are not going anywhere. The people of
22 the rent stabilized apartments are not going
23 anywhere, the people who are at the Columbia
24 houses that have been controlled by
00037
01 institution and are loosing because of
02 Columbia regulations because their
03 apartments we want to do something about
04 that.
05
06 The 197A is a plan that not only has us at
07 its heart a really well imagined a well sort
08 out and a well plan concept the way the
09 community is developed, everybody in the
10 city knows that there is another kind of
11 development going on and it does not improve
12 the people living here. That is fact the
13 197A does and that is why we all support
14 this plan.
15
16 Finally, the 197A does not use eminent
17 domain, it does not support to have biotech
18 lab increased, it does not withhold
19 secondary displacement issues or acknowledge
20 that well there is going to be 3, 4, or 5
21 and 10 to 12000 people displaced over the
22 next 25 or 30 years, so we need to support
23 our community plan a true community plan
24 with 197A Plan with and their continued
00038
01 meetings over the Community Board 9 and I
02 would ask you all come out and support them.
03
04 Thank you very much.
05
06 MR. MERCER:
07 Hi, my name is Bryan Mercer, M-E-R-C-E-R, I
08 am also a member of the Student Coalition on
09 expansion and jurisdiction and I am here to
10 urge all city officials to approve the 197A
11 Plan. I support the land use and zoning
12 recommendations prescribe the use of eminent
13 domain because the use of state powered by
14 large developers, workers, and economic
15 diversity and affordable housing in Harlem.
16
17 In light of the recent drastic environmental
18 impact taken for Columbia University and its
19 inadequate study of the 197A Plan and also
20 support Columbia Developers and I also voice
21 my support to the 197A Plan's goals for the
22 preservation and expansion of manufacturing
23 in Manhattanville. I would like to improve
24 two research articles on the liability of
00039
01 manufacturing in New York City with my
02 testimony. These two articles one is
03 entitled the nature of work exploring the
04 length of this case, the second by the New
05 York Industrial Retention Network is titled
06 The Little Manufacturer That Could,
07 opportunities and challenges were
08 manufactured in New York City. Both of
09 these articles provide research that support
10 the goals of the 197A Plan for the growth of
11 the manufacturing and highlights the
12 destruction and this calls for the community
13 who needs industries a lot.
14
15 Next, I support the 197A Plan's goals for
16 mandatory exclusionary zoning and all new
17 developments, because in order for
18 Manhattanville to develop, you must include
19 the working people that make up this
20 neighborhood not wholesale **00:44:28** and
21 with that I would like to add, that the
22 goals for the preservation of affordable
23 should improve 3333 Broadway Riverside Park
24 Community, because it is vulnerable to rent
00040
01 increases and displacement especially to the
02 Columbia University's plan. Columbia
03 developed that more than 40 years ago, it
04 was apparent that today they want that
05 building back and then I would to reiterate
06 my support to the 197A Plan because it
07 requires the accountable development by any
08 developer within the community.
09
10 MR. KOVALEFF:
11 Brothers and sisters my name is Ted
12 Kovaleff, K-O-V-A-L-E-F-F, We have been part
13 of a struggle that is going on for a very
14 long time. When I first got appointed to
15 the Community Board 9 in 1976, the struggle
16 had been going on.
17
18 The 197A Plan is the combination of the
19 community struggle to ensure that those who
20 have been working to standard the community,
21 will be able to enjoy the fruits of the
22 sweat of our collective crops. The 197A
23 Plan which I am happy to say started when I
24 was chair of Community Board 9 over a dozen
00041
01 years ago, is an unbelievable document in
02 that, all of you folks and I did a quick
03 count, we have over 400 people in this room
04 and I am so proud of you. All of you have
05 come together and we have compromised and
06 put something together that will be a
07 convincing document.
08
09 I urge all of you to continue your
10 involvement and ensure that we make certain
11 that our elective officials who up to this
12 point have supported it so well, continue to
13 do that, and that they reach out to the rest
14 of the workers officials, who we will have
15 to make that major decision when the 197A
16 comes to the city counsel. We want a
17 unanimous vote like the unanimous backing we
18 have here.
19
20 Thank you.
21
22 MS. MARTIN:
23 Good evening everybody. My name is Sarah
24 Martin, S-A-R-A-H M-A-R-T-I-N, I am the
00042
01 president of the Grand Houses, I am a co-
02 chair of Morningside Heights Coalition, I am
03 under Local Health Cooperation Board, but
04 the 197A Plan I commanded the Community
05 Board 9 the community and all those involved
06 in the plan as soon as it comes to stay
07 where it is. There is a lot that has been
08 put into it, a lot of people, the CBC for
09 the community was greatly involved. Thanks
10 to the leadership of Tom Demott. I have
11 come to learn a lot more than I knew before
12 coming abroad on that particular
13 involvement.
14
15 As the 197A Plan, it is a plan for our
16 community to preserve what we have now and
17 to add more into it things that would
18 benefit us, affordable housing, in order for
19 people to live there. We are people and we
20 have to live. The 197A Plan protects us
21 from things of that nature. Otherwise
22 people like that have come into our
23 community and sucked the very life out of
24 us. Without that we have nothing, nothing
00043
01 to live with, so that is why is important
02 that everything is here and those who are
03 not here to support and continue to support
04 the 197A Plan especially I am looking
05 forward to all our elected officials to step
06 up and say what it would take us to believe
07 that they truly support this plan in our
08 community.
09
10 Based upon for those who believe upon the
11 support, looking back on our community,
12 please continue to support the 197A Plan.
13
14 Thank you.
15
16 MS. EISENBERG:
17 Hi, my name is Ruth Eisenberg, E-I-S-E-N-B-
18 E-R-G, and I am a member of the Coalition
19 Preserve Community, I have a website,
20 www.stopcolumbia.org. I was very interested
21 in one provision of 197A Plan, I am here to
22 urge to all those community 9 board members
23 and all elective officials to vote in favor
24 of and the provision that I want to talk
00044
01 about tonight is one that says the 197A
02 creates the condition to generate and
03 protect good job and ensures that it is a
04 diverse set of opportunity for employment
05 continue to grow and flourish in the area.
06
07 I am interested in this notion of a
08 diversity of economic opportunity, which I
09 think can only happen if there is a
10 diversity of the ownership with a diversity
11 of you. There is something nutty about
12 condemning businesses to which in this case
13 are well owned and a manner of which are
14 employed with ordinary workers at wages that
15 allows them to support their family in
16 exchange for -- of jobs in the future from
17 eminent domain who have no history of that.
18
19 Some individuals say that there is no future
20 for manufacturing in Manhattan, we don't
21 believe that, and we have a history of
22 incredibly creative and advanced bright
23 manufacturing community and we want to
24 continue that that is the work that we have
00045
01 been providing living wages for members of
02 our community. We want people in the future
03 coming to Manhattanville because they live
04 there and because they work here. Members
05 of the present community coming because they
06 are still engaged in that community, we
07 don't want to upset coming to press their
08 noses against transparent high rise the last
09 building that has nothing to do with their
10 needs or their lives. Today at a hearing in
11 downtown in Columbia, the party that cannot
12 be named was presenting plans for the City
13 Plans Commission and the chair says to them,
14 you are depending on a real concentration of
15 buildings in one industry, Biotech, the
16 funding for that is dried up, what makes you
17 think that this has a future --
18
19 MS. STENNETT:
20 Time.
21
22 MS. EISENBERG:
23 -- if you have a diversified community, that
24 is not an issue.
00046
01
02 Thank you.
03
04 MR. PALMA:
05 Good evening everyone, my name is Michael
06 Palma, P-A-L-M-A. I am a member of the
07 Community Board 9, I worked on getting the
08 197A Plan and I think we have a lot of
09 community members here and as of yesterday,
10 I am a 44 year resident of West Harlem, and
11 I am also the member of the HDFC coalition
12 which represents and serves more than 138
13 HDFC buildings in the district. I know many
14 of you live in HDFC or will live in an HDFC
15 because they are still building them, that
16 represents one of the largest affordable
17 housing stocks in the district.
18
19 I am here tonight to support of the 197A
20 Plan precisely because it deserves existing
21 affordable housing and increases opportunity
22 for affordable housing development. I would
23 like to remind everybody in the room and
24 obviously what everyone has been talking
00047
01 about however, there are other developments
02 happening in the district, on 143rd there
03 has a development and 145th Street there
04 will be a development and I will remind
05 everybody that in support of the 197A Plan
06 in support of affordable housing and those
07 development and any development that happens
08 in the district not just in Manhattanville
09 alone and so I am to support the 197A Plan
10 but that is because to support the
11 affordable housing community.
12
13 Thank you very much.
14
15 MR. KAPPNER:
16 I am Allen Kappner, K-A-P-P-N-E-R. I am
17 with the Coalition to Preserve Community and
18 speaking on behalf of and in support of 197A
19 Plan.
20
21 The first thing I want to say, if I look out
22 on this room I am really proud of being part
23 of this community. And I am proud of the
24 197A I really am. Let me tell you why,
00048
01 first of all the process provides you
02 reporting. It was the most democratic
03 process, and I have been around for a long
04 time in community organizing. This was
05 really a process that took everybody's needs
06 and interest into account where everybody
07 had a chance to be part of it and rake in
08 and the end results was truly reflective of
09 this community.
10
11 And also I think, you know, this is a very
12 smart community and we have learnt from the
13 past and that is what the 197A does, it
14 learns from the mistakes of the past in
15 order not to repeat them and we have had our
16 share of mistakes in the past in this
17 community and I won't mention the
18 institution that was largely responsible for
19 that, in the past expansion plan, but you
20 know, in the sixties there was a large
21 conversey about Bob Moses, how the
22 developers he exemplify, the developers that
23 is at the cost of the community and it can
24 only happen by virtue of destroying the
00049
01 community and that is exactly what we must
02 support what we want and what we must
03 support what Bob Moses approach and --
04 Jacobs approach and that is what the 197A
05 does.
06
07 What does it do? It builds on the strength
08 of the community and it builds on what is
09 sound of about use, our diversity and
10 capacity for survival from living together
11 and I could say in all areas of the 197A --
12 I am going talk about housing very quickly.
13 It supports jobs and local businesses,
14 thought our the borough preservation and
15 true about the environment. The 197A,
16 learns from the past, builds on the
17 community's strength.
18
19 Let me just mention the housing part, the
20 housing is at a precondition for the
21 sustainability of a healthy and stable
22 community, without housing you can't have a
23 healthy and stable community. And we are
24 experiencing an acute housing crises in this
00050
01 community, largely at the result of that
02 institution policy. I lived in Columbia's
03 housing, I have been there for over 40
04 years. I represent --
05
06 MS. STENNETT:
07 Time.
08
09 MR. KAPPNER:
10 All right, let me just say preservation is
11 very important. The housing part has three
12 components preservations, about the
13 affordability for this community, and about
14 creating new houses for the people who live
15 here.
16
17 Thank you.
18
19 MR. KAHN:
20 Good evening, my name is Elliott Kahn. I am
21 a resident of Community Board 9, K-A-H-N. I
22 am a member of the Old Broadway Synagogue,
23 just down the block. And I have the
24 privilege of serving on Columbia's Community
00051
01 Advisory Community where I have so many
02 bright and very, very wonderful and talented
03 people.
04
05 I support the 197A Plan, specifically very
06 concern of the housing committee on Columbia
07 Advisory Community. We are very, very
08 concerned about the most secondary
09 displacement whereas unable to identify this
10 area and all the well to do people come into
11 the area that obviously people who lived in
12 non-protected housing nor did they have
13 specific goal. I am very, very especially
14 concerned about 3232 Broadway which is no
15 longer here.
16
17 So I certainly support the 197A Plan which
18 guarantees that 50% of the housing that
19 would be built in this area would be of the
20 mixed income people. I also support the
21 continuation of the manufacturing jobs. I
22 am particularly supportive of new job for
23 the auto and repair industry, because it was
24 very, very important, over by the Westside
00052
01 Highway. Many of who work in these jobs,
02 these are skill job. And they make a
03 living.
04
05 I also support the height of the building,
06 I'm very concerned, because they had the
07 initial presentation and the buildings were
08 like almost 30 story high, of course we
09 couldn't get a straight answer as to how
10 tall it was, well it so many feet blah,
11 blah, blah, be very, very careful I am not
12 here to run down Columbia University, I am
13 just here to tell you that this look like
14 enormous land bread to me.
15
16 And finally, I would like to say that I
17 recognize so many diversity people in this
18 room. We all have a fight ahead of us now
19 let's stay together.
20
21 Thank you.
22
23 MR. KOOPERCAMP:
24 Hi I am Earl Kooperkamp. I am a pastor of
00053
01 Saint Mary's Church. So let me tell you a
02 story, anyway my wife says that yesterday
03 sermon was too long, so I am going to try to
04 be brief.
05
06 My wife was born and raised in this
07 community, so I married a local girl, so
08 meanwhile the reason I am here is to support
09 the 197A Plan and I represent the faith
10 based organization of West Harlem local
11 developing corporation and I am very, very
12 pleased to see that we have got people from
13 Annunciation Church, St. Mary's Church,
14 Riverside Church, Saint Joseph's --
15
16 THE AUDIENCE:
17 (Applauding.)
18
19 MR. KOOPERCAMP:
20 First of all, thank you Ms. Stennett and Ms.
21 Jones for sharing this 197A committee on the
22 Community Board. Thanks for all the members
23 of this community, this represents a lot of
24 hard work and they deserve a real round of
00054
01 applause for this.
02
03 THE AUDIENCE:
04 (Applauding.)
05
06 MR. KOOPERCAMP:
07 And second of all, and I want to thank you
08 for being here, it is so important that you
09 come out and support this. When I look out
10 I can't tell you how beautiful you look and
11 you represent the village of this community
12 and that is why I support this 197A Plan, it
13 both preserves and enhances and strengthens
14 the village of West Harlem and that is why
15 it is so important in all of its aspects.
16
17 To contrast this 197A Plan with other plans
18 you either have a village or you have a
19 plantation, a plantation has a single
20 potential crop that they grow there and so
21 if you want to visit a village where people
22 work together where there is diversity or do
23 you want to live on a plantation.
24
00055
01 THE AUDIENCE:
02 (Applause.)
03
04 MR. KOOPERCAMP:
05 All right, come back out here on August 15th
06 and where we will fight the plantation plan.
07
08 Thank you.
09
10 MR. CAVERA:
11 Good evening my Francisco Cavera. I am
12 asking everyone here please to support this
13 plan. This is a plan that has to do with
14 the support for a single citizen of this
15 community. I am asking to everyone that is
16 here to support this plan.
17
18 Thank you and good night.
19 MR. SOUTH:
20 Hello my name is Walter South, S-O-U-T-H. I
21 am not going to tell you how long I have
22 living in this community, but it has been a
23 couple of years at least, but I will say
24 this, I am a grad student in Urban Planning,
00056
01 and I think that the difference between this
02 plan and the plan which the other people are
03 presenting, that this is not a plan for
04 private community here in our city. This is
05 a plan that the other plans will eventually
06 lead to a fenced all community, which we now
07 see in existence at a 116th Street.
08
09 Our plan calls for modern planning, this is
10 not a Retrofitted Robert Moses Plan, this
11 calls for a mixed youth community, a
12 community where is now being mugged by
13 eminent domain.
14
15 Thank you.
16
17 MS. HENRIQUEZ:
18 My name is Luisa Henriquez, H-E-N-R-I-Q-U-E-
19 Z. I am one of the tenants at 602 West 132nd
20 Street and the 197A Plan is the only one
21 that is going to keep us in this area.
22
23
24 THE AUDIENCE:
00057
01 (Applauding.)
02
03 MS. HENRIQUEZ:
04 We could bet on that with the 197A Plan we
05 are going to stay and fix this area, we are
06 going to stay here. Please support the plan
07 and please come to all the meetings, all the
08 Community Board meetings and please support
09 the 197A Plan.
10
11 Thank you.
12
13 MR. CREA:
14 Thank you Ms. Jones. Michael Vincent first
15 name, Crea, C-R-E-A. I passed from my own
16 decent justice ministry, but I have distinct
17 blessing to work this with the faith
18 community of St. Mary's Episcopal Church
19 lead by Reverent Earl Kooperkamp.
20
21 I want to thank the board and I do support
22 wholeheartedly 197A, you have to forgive me
23 I am going to need your help because I am a
24 little tired, I just won a 40 month rent
00058
01 strike against two slumlords, one of whom
02 who said he was going to do everything from
03 Harlem and is sitting Federal detention for
04 swindling Andrew Cuomo. So what's the
05 guarantee that Columbia is not going to do
06 the same thing.
07
08 I really appreciate the fact that this
09 document we discussed tonight, this is very
10 important, each and everyone of you have
11 what we need to overcome these forces
12 against us, right inside of you, right
13 inside of this room, right inside of the
14 document, we the people are the power. The
15 other people that are in positions only have
16 been put there either by us putting them
17 there and they already are not leading or
18 representing us or they gotten in because
19 too many of us did not take the time to vote
20 them in. This is the vote of confidence in
21 the community. This is a vote of confidence
22 in the heritage of Harlem, I beg to differ
23 as I respect the families who employs people
24 here, be proud you are employing black
00059
01 Americans with a city with 50% of black
02 American men unemployed. Be proud if you
03 are employing Hispanic American with 43% of
04 Hispanic unemployed. Be proud if you
05 employing woman or lesbians or gays, none of
06 us are a minority all of us are majority.
07 When you have memberships with especially
08 memberships in the community, the ABC's are
09 this, that you are accepted, that you
10 belong, and that you are counted upon. We
11 can count on 197A and I beg to differ with
12 the other plan that is coming before us.
13
14 Thank you.
15
16 MR. FITZGERALD:
17 Hello good evening my name is Greg
18 Fitzgerald, F-I-T-Z-G-E-R-A-L-D. I am from
19 the Manhattan Borough President's office and
20 we are so exited to see as many people who
21 came out tonight, to hear your comments and
22 your support of the 197A Plan.
23
24 First I would like to say a special thanks
00060
01 to the Manhattan Community Board 9 Chair,
02 Jordi and to Pat Jones and to Yvonne
03 Stennett and the rest of the Community Board
04 for their tired less work.
05
06 THE AUDIENCE:
07 (Applauding.)
08
09 MR. FITZGERALD:
10 I would also like to say thank you to you as
11 a community. As you know 197A section of the
12 City Charter guides, gives the Community
13 Board the power to guide all future actions
14 of city agency within their community and
15 this is such a critical, critical, critical
16 part or section of the City's Charter and
17 also we applaud the fact that Community
18 Board 9 is taking the acting leadership
19 role, a very proactive leadership role in
20 really developing the 197A Plan.
21
22 In September the Borough President's office
23 will have as a part of the formal process
24 will review and as well as hold a public
00061
01 hearing on the 197A Plan. As you know the
02 Borough President has also come out with a
03 proposal that supports many of the goals of
04 the 197A Plan to the West Harlem Central
05 District.
06
07 We are extremely supportive of community
08 based planning. We hare excited to be a
09 part of this process and we are planning to
10 continue work with the community board on
11 implementing or developing vehicles to
12 implement the 197A Plan.
13
14 So again, I invite you in September
15 hopefully it will be in mid September to
16 come out hopefully 400 strong plus to again,
17 talk about all your support for the 197A
18 Plan and the process.
19
20 So again thank you to the Community Board
21 and it's leadership and we look forward to
22 hearing from you back in September.
23
24 Thank you.
00062
01
02 DR. BURLAGDE:
03 Hello I am Dr. Robb Burlagde, B-U-R-L-A-G-D-
04 E, I am convener of the West Harlem Health
05 Forum which is supported by minister --
06 association and Rev. Jesse Jackson of
07 rainbow coalition
08
09 I and we are in favor of the 197A Plan for
10 all the reasons that people have discussed,
11 but we are for it, because it is a healthy
12 thing to do and the right thing to do, but
13 its provision for community facility is very
14 important, this very dense residence of
15 Manhattanville Houses, Nichols Houses, Grant
16 Houses, should have ten health care clinics
17 across this area, instead the Manhattanville
18 Health Center was closed down supposedly for
19 renovation right down the way and still has
20 not been open and so that is a major need.
21 But the biggest health problem historically
22 is the destruction of low and modern income
23 community of color across the country in the
24 name of development and the name of urban
00063
01 renewal and in the use of eminent domain.
02
03 THE AUDIENCE:
04 (Applauding.)
05
06 DR. BURLAGDE:
07 The destruction of the community is the
08 biggest health issue in West Harlem. The
09 prevention of the worlds largest
10 neuroscience laboratory complex, eight
11 stories down and twenty flights up on the
12 flood planes and the earthquake fault of the
13 Hudson River, simply cannot be allowed to be
14 built, especially at 125th and Broadway and
15 so I think you should not only support the
16 197A Plan, but given the resources, the City
17 Counsel has already made a commitment to
18 Health Care Planning across the city for
19 areas of greatest need. West Harlem is the
20 area of greatest need for healthcare, for
21 special services, for opening linguistic
22 confident services for special needs in the
23 city and certainly Manhattan, as documented
24 by the Department of Health and refuses to
00064
01 open that health center and I ask you to
02 support the 197A Plan.
03
04 Thank you.
05
06 MR. DOTY:
07 Hi my name is Cynthia Doty, D-O-T-Y, and I
08 am here a member of the Coalition Preserved
09 Community and the Morningside Heights/West
10 Harlem Sanitation Coalition and I am here in
11 support of the 197A Plan, mainly because it
12 is in fact a community plan, this came out
13 of the community as the City Chartered
14 mandate and outlined, it came out of years
15 of planning, and years of meeting, many,
16 many meetings, many, many conversations,
17 sometimes debate, sometimes argument, but as
18 a result it came up with the consensus for
19 the people who live and work in this
20 community to plan how they want to live, to
21 continue to live and work in this community.
22
23 There was an extensive examination of the
24 need and there are a lot of needs. This
00065
01 community has housing needs, it has help
02 needs, it has a lot of things that this
03 outline that can help provide for us it does
04 not exclude anybody, it does not displace
05 anyone, it allows people who are here now,
06 to continue and to improve their lives. It
07 wasn't hatch downtown and in some corporate
08 boardroom, it wasn't hatch in Ivory Tower's
09 drawing room. It came out of the people who
10 lives and work here in this community. It
11 is their vision for how they see how their
12 future and we demand that the elected
13 officials support this plan.
14
15 It does not have eminent domain an
16 opportunity for tremendous potential for
17 this plan, we can have more jobs, more
18 industries and lots of work to support the
19 art, buildings that reflect the nature of
20 this community and the rest of Harlem. It
21 allows for the people who are living here in
22 public housing to have better lives and it
23 allows for a diversity and instead of what
24 other plans are potentially offering which
00066
01 will be top down plans that pushes peoples
02 out, and provides all the more really
03 developed the future of the new people
04 coming in.
05
06 I urge all our elected officials to come on
07 board with the community and help this plan
08 to become approved by City Counsel first, it
09 could be the frame work any developer that
10 wants to come in, if they can fit into this
11 plan it is great there is room for them, but
12 this is the guideline. This 197A Plan
13 should be the Bible for how any new
14 developer comes in and how they integrate
15 with this community.
16
17 Thank you.
18
19
20 MS. BURTON:
21 Good evening, my name is Caroline Burton and
22 I lived in Community Board 9. I have lived
23 in Community Board 9 for about 20 years and
24 I am here with a couple questions, one of
00067
01 them is for our politicians who have not
02 come on board with 197A, I don't know why
03 but I have a hunch that they have been
04 paying attention to their own people and
05 they have been listening to a very extensive
06 public relation plan and maybe they just
07 don't understand some of the words that the
08 197A have been using and depriving and I
09 would like to over some of those.
10
11 One of them is safe plan, safe community, I
12 think that the idea is that a community a
13 that sit above sea level can support biotech
14 labs is ridiculous, obviously somebody does
15 not understand what safe plans and safe
16 community means. So may be we should be
17 educating some of the politicians about what
18 the word actually means.
19
20 Another problem is the board information,
21 information is what 197A reminded about this
22 community, information why you are here
23 tonight, why you all are here. Information
24 does not mean a smoke stream, it means
00068
01 straight up information and our politician
02 needs to look at the information and what is
03 not being said.
04
05 Another term that needs defining is good
06 neighbors, good neighbors are not afraid of
07 putting up a website initially and other
08 colored handouts, good neighbors are who are
09 doing what they are doing here tonight,
10 fighting for each other homes and jobs
11
12 Another term that is being misused is
13 educational institution and industrial park
14 is not a educational institution. It may be
15 a tax benefit because some people are afraid
16 to challenge the term educational
17 institution, but we at the University would
18 not respect the people there and destroys
19 homes and destroys jobs and put in place
20 profit not so profit, raise profits ,
21 organization and institution in the form
22 companies coming in. An educational
23 institutional is not an industrial park and
24 vice versa and I think that a politician
00069
01 really needs to understand the difference --
02
03 MS. STENNETT:
04 Time.
05
06 MS. BURTON:
07 Thank you. I would like to close that
08 people united can never be defeated.
09
10 MR. TEJAUA:
11 Good evening, my name is Luis Tejaua. I am
12 here to say tonight to all of you also to
13 Columbia University that they are no plans
14 to see and can be other than 197A Plan.
15 This is the only plan that we need to see,
16 it is the only plan that will continue the
17 heart if West Harlem. Why? Because Columbia
18 think because they have a lot of money that
19 they can but all of you.
20
21 In all the faces I see tonight, I see
22 leaders. Not only for the future for the new
23 generation for those who don't have anyone
24 to defend themselves. So we are here
00070
01 tonight to step ahead and stop them. In the
02 place we are here tonight, the place where
03 we are right now. If we allow Columbia to
04 move in we are going to lose uptown on
05 Manhattan.
06
07 We are here going to 9135 because they know
08 how to consider the event against working
09 community. We are here most of you this is
10 the time -- on so why you have to let
11 Columbia go uptown Manhattan and take the
12 place, they think that we are blind, I don't
13 think that we are blind, deaf, or mentally
14 retarded. To allow Columbia to say we have
15 a new plan for you, because you don't think,
16 you don't know, because you are, you know,
17 minority, we have the right to think in your
18 head, no get out of Columbia we don't need
19 any other plan but the 197A Plan.
20
21 This is the only plan, And I don't think we
22 need a more plan, I don't think we need a
23 more a public hearing to speak about the
24 issue, it is done already, the community has
00071
01 answered, The 197A Plan is for the
02 community. This plan represents us 100
03 percent community that are fighting for the
04 right to stay here. All together I think we
05 can win.
06
07 Thank you very much.
08
09 MS. DUNN:
10 My name is Maritta Dunn, M-A-R-I-T-T-A D-U-
11 N-N. I am the elected representative of the
12 residence of the Manhattanville Houses to
13 the West Harlem Housing Development
14 Corporation and we welcome you to our brand
15 new resident community center.
16
17 I am the former chair Community Board 9 and
18 I am listed in two of this three community
19 based 197A Plan prepared and submitted to
20 the City plan by Community Board 9. The
21 197A Plan currently under review with the
22 comprehensive plan that reflects and
23 represents many years of Community inputs
24 and involvement that identifies and speaks
00072
01 to address the major concerns put forth by
02 the West Harlem Community and it offers and
03 inclusive win when approach for current and
04 future development and expansion in the West
05 Harlem area.
06
07 Many of the people that I had the pleasure
08 of working besides over these many years are
09 here tonight. But more regrettably many
10 have passed on and our unable to lend their
11 voice to support of this effort, therefore I
12 will do it for them. Several voices of the
13 community 197A Plan was submitted to the
14 city planning the final version consisting
15 of some 200 pages was submitted in May 2004
16 though the City Planning Commission is
17 required and reports to be interested in the
18 community's 197A Plan the reality is that
19 their desire is simply to address the
20 interests and concerns of Columbia
21 University.
22
23 Having made this statement let me explain
24 further, the New York City Plan commission
00073
01 instructed Community Board 9 and Columbia
02 University to meet and identify the
03 similarity and differences between the
04 Community's plan and Columbia plan. Over
05 the next 10 months of series of meetings
06 were held all of which I attended excepted
07 for two. At the final meeting with
08 Commissioner Matt Burke and seniors members
09 of her staff, it was evident that little to
10 no intention had been paid to the number of
11 submission that were made during the -- that
12 was made including the 14 page final
13 submission dated June 19, 2006. No
14 meaningful comments were expressed and
15 distinguish I emphasized the words "City
16 Agency," displayed no interests in answering
17 or addressing --
18
19 MS. STENNETT:
20 Time.
21
22 MS. DUNN:
23 -- the questions put to them.
24 THE AUDIENCE:
00074
01 Continue talking.
02
03 MS. DUNN:
04 I am. I want everyone in this room to
05 support this plan and I want everyone in
06 this room to tell your friends to support
07 this plan.
08
09 Thank you.
10
11 MS. HESTER BAILEY:
12 Nellie Hester Bailey, N-E-L-L-I-E H-E-S-T-E-
13 R B-A-I-L-E-Y. I am the co-founder and
14 director of the Harlem Tennis Counsel and I
15 am also a member of Coalition to Preserve
16 Community.
17
18 The 197A is infact our waterloop, its impact
19 is historic and far reaching. It really
20 addresses the life of New York City and what
21 kind of city this is going to be, not going
22 back into the probes of history to talk
23 about Jane Jacobs, because we in fact
24 represent that vision which is about a city
00075
01 that represents an economic and racial
02 mosaic which is the life of this city, which
03 is why people come here. What is so ironic
04 about Columbia University's expansion and
05 197A is in fact it gives support to Columbia
06 University's plan, but it does not give
07 support to Columbia University's greed.
08 It's greed of all or nothing. "We got to
09 get it from you either we take it through
10 eminent domain or we will wear you down
11 without blocking a way of our -- what would
12 you call these folk? The consultants.
13
14 In fact we have created a whole mind of
15 affirmative action, but I have fear my
16 problem because this represents the ultimate
17 and what we are talking about here and that
18 is the racial and ethnic divide, the income
19 divide in this city. At the top of this
20 flyer, this poster I have here is the home
21 of Columbia University's President Lee
22 Bollinger (indicating). It looks like a
23 building, in of itself. Below is the
24 building 602 West 131st, a till building, a
00076
01 building that is participating in the tenant
02 in a Release program of HPD. It is a
03 building for home ownership, it is a
04 building that gives opportunity for poor and
05 working class people to get a piece of the
06 American dream that Bollinger chokes on
07 every day in is fine dining room.
08
09 What we are talking about here is coming
10 together in a way that would make a
11 difference and send a sounding message
12 throughout this city. This is the largest
13 development project in Manhattan, it is the
14 largest development project and if we don't
15 stand together here tonight and put this
16 197A Plan throughout the public review
17 process and demand that businesses --
18
19 MS. STENNETT:
20 Time.
21
22 MS. HESTER BAILEY:
23 -- and alternative we are going to be lost.
24 MS. STENNETT:
00077
01 Time.
02
03 MS. HESTER BAILEY:
04 But let me tell you one other thing.
05
06 MS. STENNETT:
07 Time.
08
09 MS. HESTER BAILEY:
10 Public housing here in New York City just
11 decided that it will sell all its vacant lot
12 and vacant space --
13
14 MS. STENNETT:
15 Time. Thank you.
16
17 MS. HESTER BAILEY:
18 -- if they don't do it Columbia University
19 is going to do it for them. Time is of the
20 essence.
21
22 Thank you.
23
24 MS. BUJICH:
00078
01 Bisnja Bujich, B-I-S-N-J-A B-U-J-I-C-H.
02 I recently graduated from Columbia, and my
03 five years of living in New York. I have
04 worked for community based group here in
05 Manhattan and also in Brooklyn working on
06 issues of homelessness, hunger and youth
07 development and all of these issues among
08 others are all related to the true
09 identification. Indemnification is a
10 strategy, self disguised as economic
11 development, but it has been implemented
12 across the neighborhoods of the city, for
13 the goal cleaning up the city, but what it
14 is really doing it is replacing the people
15 that have lived here through the City's
16 roughest time.
17
18 The 197A is a fundamental necessity for
19 protecting the people in this community.
20 The changes that we are seeing across the
21 city today, whether you call it economic
22 development or whether you call it
23 identification are happening. And they are
24 moving in a much wealthier population and
00079
01 seem ready to ignore the people who are
02 already living here.
03
04 The 197A step-by-step guide for how the city
05 can help the community protect themselves
06 through this time change and to set the
07 rules for its own development.
08
09 So I encourage the city to unite itself to
10 listen and embrace this Community's plan of
11 its own. I support the Community Board 9
12 197A Plan.
13
14 Thank you.
15
16 MR. ADAMS:
17 My name is Michael Henry Adams, A-D-A-M-S.
18
19 Now there is nothing else tonight you have
20 learned that amongst the staff and CB-9, we
21 have a community to --
22
23 MS. JONES:
24 Please talk into the mic, sir.
00080
01
02 MR. ADAMS:
03 -- that we all know how to and like to talk.
04 One of those people, who so many of you who
05 were members, because so many people enjoyed
06 talking that's what made it such a hard,
07 long, brought out process, but it was so
08 worth it and one of the people who really
09 like to talk, my good friend, Ms. Carol
10 McCance who is not here, but Carol as many
11 of you know is very, very ill she was not
12 just a talker, she is a doer.
13
14 And one of the things that she did was to
15 show how with our community if we were
16 downtown we wouldn't be having this problem
17 the same way we do now, because here is a
18 document that is produced by students of
19 Columbia University School of Architecture
20 Preservation and Planning. In which they
21 call for much of West Harlem and Hamil
22 Heights and Manhattanville to be protected
23 by landmarks. And that didn't happened
24 even though we look at Manhattanville, what
00081
01 does it resemble, it resembles nothing so
02 much as the meat packing district of the
03 west side downtown. And then you have an
04 historic district and you have economic
05 development and this is the thing it that
06 killed me about Columbia University where I
07 was a graduate student. That they pretend
08 as if we lived in a blind area that just
09 want to sit down and let it run down. When
10 we know better than that.
11
12 We have the supermarket in the city where
13 people come through from all over the Tri-
14 state area and we have done -- barbecue, we
15 Hudson Moving and Storage that's used by
16 people who want to have their valuable art
17 objects shipped all over the world, they
18 used it. People are not going to let
19 Manhattanville stay and be neglected and
20 become a slum. We are going to improve it
21 just the way Columbia wants to improve it
22 for themselves. Only the 197A Plan is one
23 that allows us to create enhance
24 Manhattanville, a better Manhattanville for
00082
01 ourselves and not and our future generation.
02
03 When I look at this document, the thing of
04 course is ironic about it, is where are the
05 students who wrote this? The did a good
06 thing when they wrote it, but are they here
07 defending Manhattanville now? No.
08
09 MS. STENNETT:
10 Time.
11
12 MR. ADAMS:
13 Now I am begging you if Columbia takes over
14 Manhattanville no matter what they do there,
15 it won't make a difference, because when the
16 going get tough we will be out of our
17 community.
18
19 Thank you.
20
21 MR. GREEN:
22 Good evening.
23
24 THE AUDIENCE:
00083
01 Good evening.
02
03 MR. GREEN:
04 My name is John-Martin Green, G-R-E-E-N.
05 I am co-founder and co-artistic director of
06 Black Berry Productions Theater Company.
07 And I am here this evening on behalf of
08 local artist and arts institutions in favor
09 of the 197A Plan's proposals to recognize,
10 reinforce, and reintegrate our ethnically
11 diverse community.
12
13 Subsequently, with respect to recommendation
14 18D around promoting the work of local
15 artists and art institutions. Now, mind
16 you that is a single sentence in the 197A
17 Plan, which will require some
18 contextualizing and further collaboration
19 which we look forward to taking up over the
20 coming weeks and months.
21
22 Also with respect to the provision within
23 the 197A around the community facilities.
24 Now, I will read to you the statement of our
00084
01 community facility that regards art and
02 culture in West Harlem.
03
04 Reading: It is says community facility lack
05 of information on arts and cultural
06 facilities and there it points us to
07 recommendation 34, which reads: Prepare a
08 feasibility study to retain and improve
09 existing facilities and develop new
10 community facilities including daycare
11 centers for children and seniors, schools
12 and other educational and cultural
13 institutions that respond to the need of
14 Community District 9.
15
16 Those are capital ideas, which also require
17 further development. Lets read again art
18 and culture is the last smokestack industry.
19 A smokestack industry, is one that creates
20 jobs and it is private inducement investment
21 to attract retail, street life, and other
22 remedies that draw business to the area.
23 Among leading community facilities that
24 likely support it under the 197A, multi use
00085
01 facility that might house galleries, studio
02 time for visual artist and so on.
03
04 So again we support the 197A Plan. Thank
05 you.
06
07 MS. YANIRYS:
08 Okay my name is Jenny Yanirys, Y-A-N-I-R-Y-
09 S, and I am part of the -- youth group. I
10 support the 197A Plan because it prohibits
11 large institutions like Columbia University
12 from building dangerous research labs.
13 Building these dangerous facilities makes it
14 difficult for a resident to preserve their
15 health as well as their children's health.
16
17 Thank you.
18
19 MS. MARTINEZ:
20 Hi my name is Maria Martinez, M-A-R-T-I-N-E-
21 Z. I support 197A Plan, because it prevents
22 Columbia and other real estate corporation
23 to push away families whose homes have been
24 here for generations. The 197A Plan also
00086
01 contemplates for those to build affordable
02 housing for low income families.
03
04 Thank you.
05
06 MS. Rodriguez:
07 Good evening -- Rodriguez, R-O-D-R-I-G-U-E-
08 Z. I am the director of community
09 development for Broadway Housing Community
10 and housing renovation in Northern Manhattan
11 for the past 24 years. I was going to read
12 a statement, but it is getting late, I want
13 to reinforce the cause that many of the
14 other people has come before and made to
15 you. We must support the only plan that
16 should be on this table, the 197A Plan is
17 the only plan. We should not be considering
18 any other voices, we have the voice, we are
19 the people, let's move forward in enforcing
20 this plan.
21
22 Thank you.
23
24 MS. MELLEN:
00087
01 My name is Elizabeth Mellen, M-E-L-L-E-N.
02 Long time 45 may be years resident, proud
03 member to the community and long time member
04 of St. Mary's Church. In support of 197A
05 Plan, I would like to say this, after
06 current process for Columbia University 197C
07 Plan, the New York City planning commission
08 last week, their presenters said this "That
09 if they did not get all the many acres of
10 land and the zoning changes they want and
11 the state exercise of eminent domain so that
12 they can demolish a whole neighborhood, they
13 will be left being able to carry out only 54
14 percent of their plan. Considering their
15 development plan and destructive break it on
16 the ground approach, I would welcome a 54
17 percent.
18
19 In this target area, which is home too many
20 or workplace for many more and is my
21 neighborhood and yours and yours. And I
22 note that Columbia shouldn't -- have to cut
23 to just 54 percent. And should that -- and
24 do that 54 percent within the guidelines of
00088
01 this 197A Plan, then we would still be
02 seeing development on a scale rarely seen
03 anywhere, but as this is the plan as it is
04 still would be a scale down 54 percent plan
05 would be if contain within these guideline
06 of the 197A Plan can be something that we
07 can live with here. Columbia plans might
08 then need to be focused on the academic then
09 on housing for students with their buildings
10 intermits with them here and there, with
11 other things going on in Manhattanville.
12 They might have to give up that new side of
13 income from retail stores and restaurants
14 they rent their excess space under a bigger
15 plan. Might forgo the income from running a
16 hotel or having apartment building built on
17 land which now belongs to other people.
18
19 I say let's go for that 54 percent built
20 within this far more interesting and
21 carrying the thought to 197A Plan so
22 carefully, so caring and thought through in
23 terms of any real well-being of this
24 neighborhood. Let's go for a 54 percent
00089
01 vision of Columbia's present plan and I hope
02 the elected officials catch that great
03 vision --
04
05 MS. STENNETT:
06 Time.
07
08 MS. MELLEN:
09 Thank you.
10
11 MR. DIAZ:
12 Hello, my name is Luiz Diaz. I totally
13 support the 197A Plan, because it protects
14 existing housing, because the 197A Plan is
15 for affordable to low income residents.
16
17 Also the 197A Plan prohibits land use. I
18 support 197A Plan because it does not allow
19 any institution like Columbia to build
20 another biotech lab that are dangerous to
21 the health and safety of our community
22 members. We demand to stop Columbia Plan to
23 displace our community. Please support this
24 Plan.
00090
01
02 MS. DOBSON:
03 Hi, good evening. My name is Dale Dobson.
04 I am second generation resident of -- D-A-L-
05 E D-O-B-S-O-N.
06
07 I am a second generation resident of Harlem
08 Community and I am mostly specifically
09 interested in portion of the plan that
10 preserves the historically extends historic
11 districts within the area. I think we have
12 to really understand the connection that it
13 is not just superficial thing that the
14 architectural history of these building have
15 the direct correlation to the fact that if
16 don't keep them preserve it will be easier
17 for them to say that they are less value and
18 the whole subject of eminent domain is a lot
19 easier to take place.
20
21 So right now, on Riverside Drive there are
22 two amazing buildings, that are virtually
23 being destroyed. The balcony is dropped,
24 the copper sheeting gone from 706 Riverside
00091
01 Drive and we have got to stop it.
02
03 So please support the plan as if, you know
04 works to preserve this and make sure this
05 area from 153rd to 135th remains the same,
06 as past 100 years.
07
08 Thank you.
09
10 MS. JONES:
11 (Calls several names to speak.)
12
13 MR. BALESA:
14 Hello, my name is Fred Balesa, B-A-L-E-S-A.
15 I am a member of CBC and I have been living
16 in this community for over 35 years. I
17 support the 197A for a few reasons.
18
19 First, is that it is risen growth of this
20 community. Part of it is that it is a
21 wonderful neighborhood in the world, Harlem.
22 I support this Plan reason because it is a
23 reason that supports what has to be known as
24 the people's well being which is for
00092
01 enabling them to become rich and super rich
02 and whether -- what benefits the lower
03 classes. It has a vision that supports the
04 community only prosper through it's
05 struggle.
06
07 The second reason I support this plan
08 because it is proposal to eminent domain. I
09 think anybody who has read the provision of
10 the constitution that the state shall not
11 take property for public use even for public
12 use without the compensation which includes
13 that doesn't mean that they anyway has the
14 right even with compensation to have on
15 behalf of the powerful come down with the
16 crushing power of the state on those who are
17 referring to the powerful when they cannot
18 buy what they want even with the big pockets
19 that they have.
20
21 I think it takes a certain kind of
22 shamelessness to construe that portion of
23 the constitution being on behalf of the
24 powerful against the powerless. I tell you
00093
01 that it is the preservation of manufacturing
02 area, not only for the fact that this city
03 needs a manufacturing area, but I thing the
04 improving destruction of the manufacturing
05 area throughout the nation --
06
07 MS. STENNETT:
08 Time.
09
10 MR. BALESA:
11 Thank you.
12
13 MR. SERAYREGEM:
14 My name is Nick Serayregem, S-E-R-A-Y-R-E-G-
15 E-M. I am here to represent my family and
16 my company, we have been in this
17 neighborhood for almost 30 years, we serve
18 for approximately 2500 local residents and
19 businesses and we would like to stay and
20 continue to stay here.
21
22 I am here very quickly to tonight that I
23 firmly support the principles and goals of
24 the 197A Plan. It is crucial that this
00094
01 community stand together behind the basic
02 concepts of this plan. It has been put
03 together for our community, by our
04 community. It is the only real plan that
05 there is around.
06
07 Finally, it is only by our community
08 standing together even with our technology
09 that we do have great diversity amongst
10 ourselves that we can stand and talk to the
11 present forces placed by the true outsiders
12 Columbia University.
13
14 Thank you.
15
16 MR. SEIGEL:
17 My name is Norman Siegel, S-E-I-G-E-L, I am
18 a civil rights attorney I represent the
19 businesses in West Harlem.
20
21 Now, the members of the West Harlem district
22 business group supports the principle and
23 values of the 197A Plan. I would like to in
24 my short time to address the issues of no
00095
01 displacement meaning no one has to leave the
02 area if they don't want and no eminent
03 domain.
04
05 What is eminent domain? Eminent domain is
06 when the government takes somebody's private
07 property, if you live in your home or you
08 own a business in America and in New York
09 from the United States constitution are
10 revised and under the New York State
11 constitution the government cannot take your
12 property unless it is for public use. We
13 grow up under that system, it is the --
14 government that comes in and to take your
15 property not America.
16
17 Again there is an abuse of eminent domain.
18 Columbia is a private institution, it is not
19 a City University of New York, it's not for
20 public highway, it's not for a public
21 library, it's for s private benefit and
22 eminent domain does not apply when there is
23 a private benefit. I have heard what the
24 chairperson of CB-9 said two years, he said
00096
01 not over my dead body. So we don't want
02 make sure that does that do we, so we have
03 to oppose eminent domain.
04
05 This community foremost voted 29 to 0 in
06 opposition to eminent domain. We had a
07 meeting in November two years ago, 84 people
08 spoke and they all said "No displacement and
09 no eminent domain" and tonight some 40
10 people spoke and not a single person got up
11 here and spoke against 197A. What does that
12 tell us, it tells us what this man said
13 before, if we the people its what I call
14 people power.
15
16 People power can prevail, it prevails in the
17 civil rights movements, it prevails in
18 social justice movement, from Dr. King to
19 Rosa Parks. We walk in their footsteps, we
20 walk in their shoes on this issue.
21
22 Let me talk about the elected officials,
23 Bill Perkins stood here and spoke clearly,
24 Robert Jackson sitting up on the wall over
00097
01 there, I want to hear him say what Perkins
02 said. We need to fight together black,
03 brown, red, yellow or white together and we
04 will overcome.
05
06 Thank you.
07
08 MS. CHEN:
09 My name is Lorene Chen, and I am here to
10 represent the Hamilton Heights West Harlem
11 Community Preservation Organization. I am
12 also member of the Hamilton Heights Home
13 Owners Association and I am here to say that
14 I support for the community based 197A Plan
15 and I also state that, that the Columbia's
16 expansion plan must be done within the
17 framework of the 197A Community based plan.
18
19 Also I have not heard tonight that -- I am
20 would like that this plan is acted out. It
21 will be nothing but a wonderful document
22 sitting on a shelf someplace. Once the plan
23 is approved, if we do not act under various
24 components within that plan then all our
00098
01 hard work would be for nothing.
02
03 So having said that, I urge that the
04 community board committee, the various
05 committees and those community groups who
06 have invested interest in the various
07 performance of the plan to start working on
08 issues such as affordable housing, making
09 sure that affordable really means affordable
10 housing for the working class.
11
12 Two, that we start land marking, extending
13 the land marking historic district and look
14 at structures that make the eligible report
15 to the individual land marking. Even as
16 recently as last week, the Hamilton Heights
17 Community had lost two historic structures,
18 one which I am told is being used for a huge
19 medical complex on the 150th Street between
20 St. Nicholas -- and I don't believe that was
21 brought to the Community Board. One day
22 there is this beautiful historic
23 architectural structure the next date it was
24 a whole with a pile of dirt.
00099
01
02 So I think that it is important for us to
03 begin working on expanding the historic
04 district and protecting our historic
05 structures. And another thing that I would
06 asked to, the first meeting that I attended
07 on Columbia's presentation, Bollinger
08 described Manhattanville as --
09
10 MS. STENNETT:
11 Time.
12
13 MS. CHEN:
14 -- particularly interesting because of the
15 historic structure.
16
17 Thank you.
18
19 MS. JONES:
20 (Several speakers name were call to speak.)
21
22 MS. RODRIGUEZ:
23 Hi, my name is Nelly Rodriguez. I am from
24 the Coalition Preserve Community. I support
00100
01 the 197A Plan, because it's for low income.
02 It supports affordable housing in this
03 community taking into account the
04 identification that is destroying this city
05 and this country by the use of eminent
06 domain.
07
08 The 197A Plan is an all including plan. It
09 preserve -- it speaks to preserve a rich
10 community, rich in its diversity and in its
11 multicultural. The 197A Plan proposes to
12 support education of all. It does not
13 support including Columbia. It does not
14 support however the greed of Columbia
15 corporation.
16
17 The 197A Plan proposes to accept our
18 committed businesses that have been in the
19 community for so many years, that employees
20 the vast range of rich and beautiful
21 community. The 197A Plan supports open
22 space for all, not just for one homogenous
23 group. The 197A Plan supports our artist,
24 it supports art institutions, which are
00101
01 enriched by the diversity of its people.
02 The 197A Plan supports job for all. It
03 supports all ages particularly the group I
04 am very fond of consisting elderly, who has
05 been in this community, who has given their
06 blood, their sweat, and tears and for many
07 of them are sick. And now, this other plan
08 poses to them away, to throw them out. They
09 have their foundation of this neighborhood.
10
11 I call for the politicians and the New York
12 City Planning Commission to support the
13 people in this neighborhood and not the huge
14 corporation and I want to emphasize that the
15 197A Plan well supports the public housing,
16 which Columbia has made in its agenda to get
17 rid off.
18
19 Thank you.
20
21 MS. DABBY:
22 My name is Flora Dabby. I talk a lot and I
23 am not going to talk a lot today. I am a
24 student at Columbia doing a master in Public
00102
01 Health, and I am also a member of the Corpus
02 Christi Church on 121st Street.
03
04 I am here today just to voice my support for
05 the 197A Plan. Throughout my studies and
06 throughout my life, I have come to
07 understand that a place is fundamental to
08 people's mental health and to the way people
09 live their lives and for me this is the most
10 important thing that the people who live in
11 the community can stay in the community.
12
13 I support 197A Plan, because it proposes to
14 protect the existing and housing side, to
15 create new housing side. From a public
16 health standpoint this is exactly what you
17 want. Other plans that I won't mention
18 propose to demolish all of them and
19 essentially it is a public health nightmare.
20
21 So I am urging the public officials who will
22 be making this decision to accept the 197A
23 Plan. This is why you went into public
24 service, to serve the public. This is what
00103
01 the public wants.
02
03 Thank you.
04
05 MR. CORBIN-MARK:
06 Hey, good evening everyone. My name is
07 Cecil Corbin-Mark, C-O-R-B-I-N-M-A-R-K. And
08 I am here representing VI for environmental
09 justice.
10
11 I think it is critically important that we
12 say we support the 197A Plan not only for
13 specific recommendation, but because the
14 planning process to get us all here was one
15 that incorporated diversity and voices.
16 Through our collective work, we must send a
17 strong message to the city planning, the
18 mayor, and all other elected officials that
19 resident of CB-9 should never be planned
20 over by big developers. And the Community
21 Board and the community base planning needs
22 to be the hallmark of how we develop
23 probably our neighborhood but this city and
24 that is an election that all should a lead
00104
01 from our CB-9 book.
02
03 Another clear reason we support this 197A
04 Plan because it does oppose eminent domain
05 and I am here to say to the people that we
06 not only say no to eminent domain use in the
07 197A Plan, we can't just stop there but we
08 really do have to take this message to the
09 state office and make sure that the state
10 elected officials understand that the laws
11 of eminent domain needs to be reformed so
12 that communities are not subjected to
13 eminent domain use.
14
15 This plan also looks at the community --
16 And seeks to spore economic development in
17 CB-9 especially in the Manhattanville which
18 is not a blinded area contrary to what
19 others might have to believe. In fact the
20 public needs where there it's Fairway or
21 Dinosaur Barbecue, Hudson River Grill or the
22 Riverside -- or Hudson Moving and Storage or
23 any of the other activities or economic
24 activities that are going on in this
00105
01 neighborhood. These things especially the
02 new ones didn't just occurred because of
03 some miracle, they occurred because of the
04 process that was put in place through our
05 efforts in this community called Harlem on
06 the River. And it is through that plan that
07 created and forced the city to think about
08 developing waterfront park that many
09 businesses, new businesses in the area
10 decided was an attracted place to look into.
11
12 We should not let that being -- through our
13 efforts that this new economic activity came
14 about and not because they were some CBC
15 planning or some other economic development
16 plan that were put in place.
17
18 Finally, we support the plan because there
19 are number of environmental regulation which
20 we must look at and seek support.
21
22 Thank you.
23
24 MR. SCHPOVINER:
00106
01 Hi my name is Lindsay Sechpoviner, L-I-N-D-
02 S-A-Y- -S-C-H-P-O-V-I-N-E-R. I am a recent
03 graduate of Barney College and I also a
04 member the Student Coalition on Expansion
05 and defecation. I want to voice my support
06 for CB-9 197A Plan and our city officials to
07 approve it. I support the 197A Plan because
08 I think that preserving and creating a
09 living wage job in housing and its
10 affordable for current resident through
11 Community Board 9. It's the best way to
12 protect this community.
13
14 By preserving current manufacturing zoning
15 in Community District 9, the 197A Plan with
16 many consisting manufacturing jobs. It also
17 allows for a mixture of commercial, retail,
18 residential, and also uses the current
19 economic development while preserving the
20 neighborhoods character. The 197A Plan also
21 directs the direct displacement of long-term
22 resident and businesses by not allowing use
23 of eminent domain by private developers.
24
00107
01 In addition, the 197A Plan supports the
02 attacks of justification by supporting the
03 preservation and affordable housing, and
04 creation of new affordable housing through
05 eminent domain. To protect the community of
06 Community District 9 and I urge everyone to
07 support CB-9 197A Plan.
08
09 Thank you.
10
11 MR. TOMPKINS:
12 My name is Christian Tompkins, C-H-R-I-S-T-
13 I-A-N T-O-M-P-K-I-N-S. I am a Columbia
14 student, I will be a senior this year but
15 more importantly I represent our community
16 in San Francisco, a community much like this
17 one community which is called blighted, a
18 community that faces many of the same
19 problems of employment and with health
20 issues. The community where the powers
21 would be decided that an answer is a new
22 stadium for San Francisco 49ers, without
23 considering the community input and so I
24 think about Columbia's Expansion Plan and
00108
01 the 197A Plan, I think who do I trust,
02 should I trust the institution where I did
03 my three years studying there, it has
04 disrespected the will of student of color
05 and I ask for classes that respect their
06 history and I ask for advisory structure
07 that all the other Ivy league universities
08 have for their student of color through. Do
09 I trust the university and institution that
10 has displaced tens of thousands of people
11 over the past decades and the surrounding
12 community have promoted sale corporate
13 culture amongst their students. Do I trust
14 the community that reminds of what my
15 community needs at home that natures me,
16 that brought me up or go to a church like
17 St. Mary's or CTC that reminds of the church
18 that I grew up in back home, a community
19 that shows me what the democratic process
20 should look like and for the city official
21 everybody that has some kind of say over
22 this, which is most important for the
23 community itself and continue to show me
24 that Columbia or any other money ventures
00109
01 cannot just come in and run over this
02 community, that democracy works that when I
03 go home I have something that I can look
04 through that inspires me that shows me that
05 when a community comes together we can win.
06
07 Thank you.
08
09
10 MS. JONES:
11 I have a couple of points. To the extent
12 that anyone would like to submit written
13 testimony or knows someone who would, there
14 are some handouts on the back table, but
15 just let me tell you such written testimony
16 may be submitted on or before July 19th,
17 such comments should be submitted to The
18 Honorable Yvonne Stennett, co-chair of the
19 ULURP Committee, Community Board 9, 565 West
20 125th Street, New York, New York 10027, you
21 can mail it or you can drop it off that
22 location.
23
24 Another reason that we are here tonight, we
00110
01 are asking the Community Board 9, 197A ULURP
02 Committee to vote on a resolution with
03 regard to the 197A. Over 300 people
04 attended this evening and Yvonne will take
05 you to the rest of the way and it would be
06 our call to adjourn this session.
07
08 For those who are interested including board
09 members the CB-9 executive committee meeting
10 will be held tomorrow, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
11
12 MS. STENNETT:
13 You wouldn't believe me, we had 50 speakers
14 and every single one of them has been in
15 favor of the 197A Plan.
16
17 THE AUDIENCE:
18 (Applauding.)
19
20 MS. STENNETT:
21 And the members of the committee that we
22 have in Manhattanville we will propose the
23 revolution and I would like to read that
24 resolution before the rest of the community
00111
01 and then we will note if there are comments
02 or issues and we vote on a resolution.
03
04 THE AUDIENCE:
05 Roll call?
06
07 MS. STENNETT:
08 Do you want it know Jordi?
09
10 MR. REYES-MONTBLANC:
11 Yes.
12
13 MS. JONES:
14 This is the roll call of the 197A ULURP
15 Committee.
16 (Whereupon, roll call for
17 Community Board 9 197A Forum
18 Committee was conducted by Ms.
19 Jones.)
20
21 MS. JONES:
22 PAT JONES?
23
24 MS. JONES:
00112
01 Present.
02 Yvonne Stennett?
03
04 MS. STENNETT:
05 Present
06
07 MS. JONES:
08 Callie Branche?
09
10 MS. BRANCHE:
11 Present.
12
13 MS. JONES:
14 Carlotta Damanda?
15
16 MS. DAMANDA:
17 Present.
18
19 MS. JONES:
20 Tisha Jackson?
21
22 MS. JACKSON:
23 Present.
24 MS. JONES:
00113
01 Ted Kovaleff?
02
03 MR. KOVALEFF:
04 Present.
05
06 MS. JONES:
07 Christina Lee?
08
09 MS. LEE:
10 Present.
11
12 MS. JONES:
13 Francis Mack?
14
15 MS. MACK:
16 Present.
17
18 MS. JONES:
19 Savona Bailey McClain?
20
21 MS. BAILEY-MCCLAIN:
22 Here.
23
24 MS. JONES:
00114
01 Carmen Perez?
02
03 MS. PEREZ:
04 Present.
05
06 MS. JONES:
07 Norma Ramos?
08
09 MS. RAMOS:
10 Present.
11
12 MS. JONES:
13 John Reddick?
14
15 MR. REDDICK:
16 Present.
17
18 MS. JONES:
19 Walter South?
20
21 MR. SOUTH:
22 Present.
23
24 MS. JONES:
00115
01 Linda Walters?
02
03 MS. WALTERS:
04 Here.
05
06 MS. JONES:
07 Ernestine Welch?
08
09 MS. WELCH:
10 Here.
11
12 MS. JONES:
13 Diane Wilson?
14
15 MS. WILSON:
16 Present.
17
18 MS. JONES:
19 Brenda Faust?
20
21 MS. FAUST:
22 Here.
23
24 MS. JONES:
00116
01 Jordi Reye-Montblanc?
02
03 MR. REYES-MONTBLANC:
04 Here.
05
06 MS. JONES:
07 I know there are other CB9 Board Members
08 here, but this is just the Forum committee.
09 Thank you.
10
11
12 MS. STENNETT:
13 Proposed resolution in favor of the CB-9 and
14 197A Plan, whereas CB-9 has a true and open
15 public involvement process, a practice of
16 CB-9 and 197A Plan, which will serve as a
17 framework to guide all future developments
18 in Community District 9 and whereas CB-9, by
19 the CB-9 and 197A Plan with the New York
20 City Department Planning and whereas CB-9
21 and 197A Plan pass thresholds review October
22 17, 2005 and whereas the CB-9 and 197A Plan
23 was referred for public review on June 18,
24 2007, and whereas the public review process
00117
01 began June 27, 2007, and whereas a public
02 hearing was conducted by Community Board 9
03 on July 9, 2007 to solicit public testimony
04 on CB-9 and 197A Plan, and whereas such a
05 public testimony overwhelmingly supported
06 and affirmed that the CB-9 and 197A Plan is
07 the true design and vision for the Community
08 Board District 9. Now therefore we have
09 resolved that the ULURP Committee of
10 Community Board 9 Manhattan unanimously
11 adopts support and endorses the CB-9 and
12 197A Plan to be the desired vision to
13 address the future of this community
14 district and to build on its strength and to
15 encourage the growth of a healthy, viable,
16 diverse, and sustainable community. And
17 further recommend it's endorsement and
18 adoption by the full Board of Community
19 Board 9, all the city and the city agencies
20 and offices that have further reviewed and
21 vote on the CB-9M 197A Plan for Community
22 Board 9.
23 Jordi?
24
00118
01 MR. REYES-MONTBLANC:
02 It is my pleasure to propose this
03 resolution, but I will suggest a small
04 change on the last whereas such public
05 testimony unanimously. There wasn't anybody
06 speaking against it, so let's make it
07 unanimous.
08
09 MS. STENNETT:
10 Any other comments from any CB-9 board
11 members have comments?
12
13 THE AUDIENCE:
14 No.
15
16 MS. JONES:
17 We will vote.
18 PAT JONES?
19
20 MS. JONES:
21 Yes.
22 Yvonne Stennett?
23
24 MS. STENNETT:
00119
01 Yes.
02
03 MS. JONES:
04 Callie Branche?
05
06 MS. BRANCHE:
07 Yes.
08
09 MS. JONES:
10 Carlotta Damanda?
11
12 MS. DAMANDA:
13 Yes.
14
15 MS. JONES:
16 Tisha Jackson?
17
18 MS. JACKSON:
19 Yes.
20
21 MS. JONES:
22 Ted Kovaleff?
23
24 MR. KOVALEFF:
00120
01 Absolutely.
02
03 MS. JONES:
04 Christina Lee?
05
06 MS. LEE:
07 Yes.
08
09 MS. JONES:
10 Francis Mack?
11
12 MS. MACK:
13 Yes.
14
15 MS. JONES:
16 Savona Bailey McClain?
17
18 MS. BAILEY-MCCLAIN:
19 Yes.
20
21 MS. JONES:
22 Carmen Perez?
23
24 MS. PEREZ:
00121
01 Affirmative.
02
03 MS. JONES:
04 Norma Ramos?
05
06 MS. RAMOS:
07 Yes.
08
09 MS. JONES:
10 John Reddick?
11
12 MR. REDDICK:
13 Yes.
14
15 MS. JONES:
16 Walter South?
17
18 MR. SOUTH:
19 Positively, yes.
20
21 MS. JONES:
22 Linda Walters?
23
24 MS. WALTERS:
00122
01 Yes.
02
03 MS. JONES:
04 Ernestine Welch?
05
06 MS. WELCH:
07 Yes.
08
09 MS. JONES:
10 Diane Wilson?
11
12 MS. WILSON:
13 Yes.
14
15 MS. JONES:
16 Brenda Faust?
17
18 MS. FAUST:
19 Yes.
20
21 MS. JONES:
22 Jordi Reyes-Montblanc?
23
24 MR. REYES-MONTBLANC:
00123
01 I
02
03 MS. JONES:
04 This resolution passes unanimously through
05 the CB9 Forum. So full board of Community
06 Board 9 will be asked to vote on this
07 resolution at a special meeting on Monday,
08 August 20, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. at this
09 location.
10
11 Having said that any CB-9 board members who
12 would like to have their vote on this
13 resolution on record tonight, could just
14 raise your hand I will count you and get
15 your notes.
16
17 Are there any other Community Board 9
18 members who would like their vote on this
19 acknowledge this evening. I think I might
20 have all the response, but if I can get a
21 show hand of community members.
22
23 Any other Community Board 9 members present
24 who would like to vote on this resolution
00124
01 with regard to the public members that are
02 here can I have a show hand for those of you
03 who support this resolution that we set
04 forth tonight. Not the overall response I
05 wanted. Let me put it this way, if you
06 could just be patient for just a second,
07 because we are going to leave momentarily
08 and surprisingly pretty as scheduled.
09
10 Are there any public members here this
11 evening that oppose the adoption of the
12 resolution that was read to you this evening
13 with regard to ULURP Committee's
14 recommendation that the 197A Plan to be
15 fully endorsed and adopted by Community
16 Board 9, elective officials, and all city
17 agencies. Does anyone oppose this?
18
19 THE AUDIENCE:
20 No.
21
22 MS. JONES:
23 Okay. Thank you very much for participating
24 with us this evening.
00125
01
02 MS. STENNETT:
03 This meeting is now adjourned.
04
05 (Time noted at 9:35 p.m.)
06
07
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15
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24
00126
01
02 C E R T I F I C A T E
03
04 I, JUDEEN M. DENNISTON, a reporter
05 and Notary Public within and for the
06 State of New York, do hereby certify:
07 That the within transcript is a true
08 and accurate record of the statement
09 taken by me.
10 I further certify that I am not
11 related to any of the parties to this
12 action by blood or marriage, and that I
13 am in no way interested in the outcome
14 of this matter.
15
16
17 ____________________
18 JUDEEN M. DENNISTON
19
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24