Friday, June 26, 2015

Video: Protest of shady DOB permit approvals - June 25, 2015

NYC Councilmember Helen Rosenthal


P.S. 75 Parents & PTA


NYC Councilmember Helen Rosenthal

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Photos from today's school/tenant protest

Photo credit: Gerson Romero











Assemblymember O'Donnell's statement

 “This proposal is a recipe for disaster. There are so many red flags, from the idea of erecting a 10 story addition on top of a fully occupied building in the first place, to the presence of a school immediately across the street, to the dangerous highway exit running alongside the proposed construction. I have been strongly opposed to the development at 711 West End Avenue since I learned about the proposal. It is crucial that the City take a proactive stand to protect learning environments for students and the safety of all residents. Our children’s health and education, and our community’s safety should not be damaged in the interest of real estate development.”

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

UPDATED Thurs 6/25: Parents, tenants, electeds will protest planned construction

UPDATED: PRESS ADVISORY
Date: June 24, 2015

Contact: Emmaia Gelman (917) 517-3627, emmaia.gelman@gmail.com

UWS WILL RALLY TO OPPOSE LUXURY CONSTRUCTION THAT WOULD HOBBLE TWO PUBLIC SCHOOLS, SHRINK AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Parents demand answers on suspect DOB permit approval just the day before the Landmarks Preservation Commission vote that would have slowed development.

WHO:

Parents of P.S.75 & West Side Collaborative Middle School
Tenants of 711 West End Ave. and surrounding buildings
NYC Councilmember Helen Rosenthal
NYS Assemblymember Danny O’Donnell

WHAT:

RALLY to protest DOB’s suspect approval of permits construction at 711 West End Ave., and call for Mayor de Blasio to protect schools and communities against catastrophic effects of NYC’s luxury construction boom.

WHEN:

Thursday, June 25th, 8:10am
WHERE:

Rally: NW corner of West 95th Street and West End Ave.


BACKGROUND:
In the wake of DOB’s last-minute gimme to luxury developers, UWS community members call for the Mayor to engage DOB with city agencies responsible for the right to education, safety, environmental quality, and affordable housing.

Proposed experimental high-rise construction at 711 West End Ave. would overwhelm PS 75 and West Side Collaborative middle school, and exacerbate dangers at the deadly intersection where Mayor deBlasio launched Vision Zero. The construction as proposed will make it impossible for students to learn and create an exodus from the schools. Affordable housing is also threatened. Rent-stabilized apartments have been vacated and warehoused, and the disruption to surrounding buildings is expected to be shattering.

The Department of Buildings does not require developers to account for their impact on the community.

The community is calling on the Mayor to direct DEP, DOE, DOH, DOT, and HPD to engage with DOB to ensure safety, student rights, and tenant rights are addressed in permit applications. Such coordination is not unprecedented: Vision Zero requires most of the same agencies to collaborate on street safety. The city should implement Community Protection Plans for all such construction, parallel to the mandatory Tenant Protection Plan.

To date, the community’s requests for the Mayor’s help have gone unanswered.

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http://dontdestroyUWS.blogspot.com

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Sign the petition: Mayor de Blasio, we need your intervention!

PETITION THE MAYOR:
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-developers-from-destroying-uws-public-schools-affordable-housing

Although the proposed construction at 711 West End Ave. would be devastating, there's currently no law or policy that makes it illegal. Developers can apply to do projects that tear apart the community and make our schools, homes, and streets unusable -- and D.O.B. doesn't have too much latitude to reject them.

This particular developer has been tricky, submitting permits to DOB piecemeal to prevent DOB from considering the magnitude of its project. The developer has also outright lied, claiming that the construction project deals with an empty building.

In order to hold this developer accountable, we need the intervention of the Mayor and other city agencies -- DEP, DOE, DOH, DOT, HPD, and others -- to demand real scrutiny of the applications. We need the Mayor's intervention immediately to plug the giant hole in city policy that leaves tenants, public school kids, and residents vulnerable to developers' greed.

The Mayor has not responded to the community yet, so we need to raise our voices louder.

PETITION THE MAYOR:
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-developers-from-destroying-uws-public-schools-affordable-housing

Tuesday, June 9, 2015