NYC Councilmember Helen Rosenthal
P.S. 75 Parents & PTA
NYC Councilmember Helen Rosenthal
Friday, June 26, 2015
NYT: Researcher tracks harmful impacts of noise, especially on students & schools
'[In the 1970s] someone suggested that she examine an elementary school near elevated tracks of the No. 1 line in Inwood, at Manhattan’s northern tip. Some students there were lagging in their studies. What Ms. Bronzaft found, in a widely publicized 1975 study, was that children in classrooms facing the tracks performed far worse than those on the other side of the building, the quieter side.
“Not only were the trains disruptive, the teacher had to stop teaching,” Ms. Bronzaft recalled. “Teachers stopped about 11 percent of the time.”
“Bottom line: By the sixth grade, the children were nearly a year behind those on the quiet side,” she said.
On the heels of that study, transit officials cushioned the rails with rubber pads, and school administrators put insulation panels on classroom ceilings. A few years later, Ms. Bronzaft returned to that school. Reading levels had equalized on both sides of the building, she found. “What it demonstrated,” she said at lunch, “is that when you correct for noise, you can help children.”'
Read the article:
Raising Her Voice in Pursuit of a Quieter City
Raising Her Voice in Pursuit of a Quieter City
Arline Bronzaft Seeks a Less Noisy New York
(New York Times, by Clyde Haberman, Oct. 6, 2013)
DNAinfo: Opponents of UWS Project Protest Last-Minute Construction Approval
"The tenants said they pooled funds and hired an engineer to evaluate the developer's Tenant Protection Plan, which typically outlines mitigation for factors like dust, noise and points of egress. The engineer found the plan inadequate, they claimed.
"Tenants officially submitted a challenge to the developer's plan, but a DOB examiner already approved the safety plan Monday. Opponents still have until Aug. 2 to submit other challenges to the project.
"Part of the problem is that not all of the developer's plans are publicly available, specifically the plan to excavate under the building, said tenant Terry Galo."
Read the article: http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150626/upper-west-side/opponents-of-uws-project-protest-last-minute-construction-approval
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
West Side Rag: [Some] construction permits approved under the wire
"A controversial proposed development at 711 West End Avenue received building permits just before the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to include it in a new historic district, a blow to opponents who had been trying to scuttle the project. The most recent design we’ve seen shows that the developers want to place a new building as high as ten stories on top of an existing seven-story rental building... In fact, some of the building permits for the building at 95th street and West End were issued on the exact same day as the landmark hearing. If the building had received historic designation prior to the permits being issued, the project would likely have been slowed or stopped."
Read the article: http://www.westsiderag.com/2015/06/24/controversial-building-gets-building-permits-approved-just-before-receiving-historic-status
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
52 Pedestrians Hit by Cars on West End Ave. in Past 2 Years (DNAinfo)
"As deadly accidents at two West End Avenue intersections this year prompt demands for change, a DNAinfo New York study found that 52 pedestrians have been hurt on the street in just two years."
Read the article: http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140730/upper-west-side/map-west-end-ave-plagued-by-crashes-with-pedestrians-past-2-years
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| DNAinfo.com |
Report Exposes Lying Landlords, Devious Developers (Chelsea Now)
"On April 16, the Housing, Health & Human Services Committee (HHH) of Community Board 4 (CB4) witnessed an eye-opening power point presentation from CRP’s Andra Mooney — who spoke in front of projections of actual online applications for building construction on which owners had indicated that buildings were not occupied and not rent-regulated, when they were indeed occupied and rent-regulated. The DOB has no digital check that will create a bounce-back for an incorrect filing, even though a building’s current status usually exists within DOB’s very own records.
"Since many vacated apartments are rent-regulated, the end result is that the number of the city’s affordable housing units are being systematically reduced as the vacated apartments are renovated and brought to market value, or transformed into co-ops. This practice, which runs counter to Mayor de Blasio’s drive to retain affordable housing, is moving across the city, throughout the boroughs, like a wave."
Read the article: http://chelseanow.com/2015/04/report-exposes-lying-landlords-devious-developers/
"Since many vacated apartments are rent-regulated, the end result is that the number of the city’s affordable housing units are being systematically reduced as the vacated apartments are renovated and brought to market value, or transformed into co-ops. This practice, which runs counter to Mayor de Blasio’s drive to retain affordable housing, is moving across the city, throughout the boroughs, like a wave."
Read the article: http://chelseanow.com/2015/04/report-exposes-lying-landlords-devious-developers/
"Upper West Side Sees Largest Jump in Pedestrian Deaths Despite Vision Zero" (DNAinfo)
"In 2014, the neighborhood's 10025 zip code saw six fatalities involving pedestrians compared to just one the previous year — representing the biggest increase anywhere in the city.
"'I am more cynical and disappointed than I ever have been,' said Jane Burbank, 64, a 32-year neighborhood resident. "Changes to local streets have not made the neighborhood feel safer and in fact have caused dangerous traffic backups, she said.
"And with major construction projects like the new Jewish Home Lifecare nursing home planned, Burbank worried the congestion will only increase and make things worse for pedestrians. "'We'll look like a battlefield. It will be very, very dangerous,' added Janet Wasserman, 80, who has lived in the neighborhood for the past 36 years."
Read the article: http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150218/upper-west-side/upper-west-side-sees-largest-jump-pedestrian-deaths-despite-vision-zero
"'I am more cynical and disappointed than I ever have been,' said Jane Burbank, 64, a 32-year neighborhood resident. "Changes to local streets have not made the neighborhood feel safer and in fact have caused dangerous traffic backups, she said.
"And with major construction projects like the new Jewish Home Lifecare nursing home planned, Burbank worried the congestion will only increase and make things worse for pedestrians. "'We'll look like a battlefield. It will be very, very dangerous,' added Janet Wasserman, 80, who has lived in the neighborhood for the past 36 years."
Read the article: http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150218/upper-west-side/upper-west-side-sees-largest-jump-pedestrian-deaths-despite-vision-zero
"2015 is looking to be a fatal year for construction" (Crain's)
"So far this year, at least seven people have died as a result of construction accidents in New York City. And despite constant efforts to improve safety, the data show workers and members of the public aren't necessarily better off than they were during the last real estate boom."
Read the article: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20150408/REAL_ESTATE/150409893/-2015-is-looking-to-be-a-fatal-year-for-construction
Read the article: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20150408/REAL_ESTATE/150409893/-2015-is-looking-to-be-a-fatal-year-for-construction
Saturday, June 6, 2015
West Side Rag on PS75 protest
"Parents at PS 75 on West 95th street are fighting a plan to build a 10-story building on top of an apartment complex at 95th street and West End Avenue. Tenants in the building and local politicians have also criticized the project, and the Buildings Department has so far denied its applications for a permit.
"The parent group held a protest Tuesday that was attended by Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell — they say that the intersection, where a woman was hit and killed by a vehicle last year, is already too busy for another large project."
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