|
|
Letters to the editor Little Britain? Balderdash! “Little Britain” is one of the most misguided ideas to come along in awhile. The area described by its proponents may have a few Brits, but also includes businesses owned or run by Belgians, Italians, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Greeks and assorted Middle Easterners, Caribbean Islanders and Southeast Asians. And how can an area that includes both Greenwich Ave. and Greenwich St. “lessen the confusion” between the two? Businesses come and go. When I lived above what is now Perry and Kavanagh-Dowsett’s Tea & Sympathy a few years ago, the block contained a butcher, a shoe-repair shop, a dry cleaner and several antique dealers. “The West Village” tells it like it is. Leave it alone. Miriam Sarzin Schwarz, Trump and company have been engaging in some pretty impressive verbal acrobatics in their effort to convince anyone that their development — where individuals will own their units and get to stay in them for long periods of time — is not a residence or a residential hotel, which is prohibited under the law at this location. In his letter, Schwarz tries to blame “unauthorized” others for spreading the word that this development will, in fact, be used as residences. What he does not mention is that he himself was previously quoted in The Villager describing the development as more “pied-a-terre” than short-stay hotel, and saying that every unit will be sold to buyers who might live there year-round, from time to time or seasonally, which would clearly violate the zoning restrictions against residences or residential hotels at this location. Nor does Schwarz mention that as recently as three weeks ago, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation caught Bayrock advertising the units in this planned development as “living spaces” on their Web site, and found an ad in New York magazine for the development that referred to the units as “residences” that owners can “opt” to rent out when they are away — in direct contradiction of what Mr. Schwarz’s letter said and what the law allows. It’s not surprising that Schwarz and Trump are trying to do an end run around the law, since they will profit mightily from it, even at our neighborhood’s expense. What is surprising is that some city officials seem willing to twist logic and buy the developers’ claim that individuals can own their units in this development, and live in them for at least three to five months a year, but that it is still not really a residence or a residential hotel. It sounds kind of like believing someone who claims to be “just a little bit pregnant.” Virtually no one buys this argument. That’s why about a dozen elected officials, five different community boards and scores of business and community groups from across the city have asked city officials not to issue building permits for this development. Were the city to do the right thing in this case and tell Trump and Schwarz that their project violates the zoning, the developers would be forced to seek a zoning change if they wanted to continue with their condo-hotel plans. Through the public process of a zoning change — in which everyone gets a say, environmental reviews are conducted, and elected and appointed officials get to vote on the final outcome — the project could be blocked, approved or modified to address community concerns. Instead, if the city does let Bayrock/Sapir and Trump move ahead with their sham development, zoning protections for many of our neighborhoods will be undermined. This type of high-rise, luxury development will be allowed for the first time ever in areas where it was previously prohibited, without any of the public review or approval such major changes in land use are supposed to require. Chelsea Neighbors United to End the War would like to set the record straight: We are unaffiliated. We came together to work against the war in Iraq, we welcome everyone who wants to work against the war and in the neighborhood of Chelsea. Also, to mount Chelsea Stands Up Against The War, which takes place every Tuesday from 6 to 7 p.m. on the northwest corner of Eighth Avenue and 24th Street, takes more than the “15 to 20 members” Chris Lombardi’s states in the article. Chelsea Neighbors United to End the War is a true grassroots group that functions by consensus, our mailing list is more than 400, and the numbers of people who have participated in Chelsea Stands Up Against The War totals in the hundreds. We applaud the coverage that Chelsea Now has given to the anti-war movement in Chelsea; it is a true community service. CNU believes in the big-tent approach to protesting the war. Anyone, regardless of affiliation or not, is welcome to participate with us.
|
View our previous issues >our latest family addition:
|
|
Chelsea Now is published by |
Written permission of the publisher must be obtainedbefore any of the contents |
