Horatio Street Blog » Community Issues

The Cobblestones Return

Horatio Street Blogger — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:01:17 +0000

Well, the re-construction of Gansevoort Street and Seravalli program is obviously a big embarrassing mess, nonetheless, it is nice to see that one promise is being kept: the cobblestones are being returned to their rightful place on Gansevoort Street, and the craftsmen are doing a beautiful job placing them just so. Welcome back cobblestones!

The Highline Opens

Horatio Street Blogger — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:48:14 +0000

Monday, the Highline opened to the public, and I managed to sneak my way up there on Monday night. And oh folks, I’m feeling so happy to have this odd little slice of park right out our backdoor!
For now, the only entrance is on Gansevoort street.
Go on up, bring a book and enjoy one of the deck chairs (i especially like the deck chairs on wheels – whee!!!!)… or sit in the viewing balcony and watch the cars go by…. or just smell all the oddly attractive (in a very weedy, overgrown, but lovely) kind of way. Photos posted below with apologies for my lack of camera skills!

Streetscapes in NYC

Horatio Street Blogger — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:38:00 +0000

The Village Alliance, which has been hosting some pretty cool events lately, will be having their Annual Meeting on June 18. It will feature DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan who will give a keynote address on Streetscapes in NYC & how they are & will continue to change in favor of more pedestrian usage & safety on the streets. Hurrah! See attached flyer for location and RSVP details.

Seravalli Park Update

Jo Ann — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:31:37 +0000

The DEP was supposed to have finished their work within 18 months of starting. Clearly this has not happened. There was a lot of discussion about when they actually started so they are anywhere from 2 years to 5 years late. In any event, they will be finished this portion of the work by the end of June and will begin restoring the fence – either the fence that was there or the fence that the Parks Department wants to put in for the new park.

The Parks Department has not yet received the funds they need to put out a bid. They expect to get the funds in a couple of weeks at which point they can put out the bid. The bidding process takes about 5 months so, if all goes well, plans will be in place by December of 2009. Since they can’t begin work in the winter, nothing will be started until the spring of 2010.

The original budget for the park re-construction was $2mm. Now, apparently, it will cost $2.5mm. If the Parks Department doesn’t get the money, they will have to scale the project back.

The park will take about one year to be completed. The DEP will be back in the summer of 2010 (while the park is being re-constructed) and they will rip up Gansevoort AGAIN and will continue working there for the next 27 MONTHS!!! I don’t know what they will be doing exactly, but I was told that if I wanted a hot shower with any water pressure I should want them to finish there work.

By my calculation, the park will be done (being optimistic) in April of 2011 and the noise and dirt from the DEP will be done sometime in the summer of 2012. So if any of us still live here, we will finally be able to enjoy the park again.

Tobi Bergman, who was leading the meeting from CB2, said that he wished he had said no to letting the DEP access the water tunnel through the park in the first place. Woulda, shoulda, coulda.

HighLine Update

Jo Ann — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:32:40 +0000

The High Line will open next week. The exact date is not set since they are waiting for the C of O. The hours will be 7am – 10pm. No bikes, rollerblades, skateboards nor dogs will be allowed. This first segment runs from Gansevoort St. where there is a staircase leading up the the Highline to 20th street where there is an exit staircase. There are entrances on 14th st. (an elevator – not up and running until July, I think), 16th st. (another elevator) 18th st. and 20th st. There are very limited restrooms with 2 stalls for men and 2 for women near the Gansevoort entrance.

There are plans to control crowds if need be. The maximum occupancy is 1700. If that max is reached, the Parks Dept. has a plan to issue bracelets to people waiting and to control the crowds that way.

The second section of the the park will open in the fall of 2010 and will continue to 30th st.

St. Vincent’s Triangle Open Space Public Input Session

Horatio Street Blogger — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:59:04 +0000

From CB 2
St. Vincent’s Triangle Open Space Public Input Session – Thursday, May 7, 6:30 p.m., The New School, 65 Fifth Avenue, Swayduck Auditorium, First Floor. CB 2 is working with Project for Public Spaces (www.pps.org), an internationally recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people create and sustain public spaces, to generate public input for the planned open space to be created at the corner of 7th Avenue South and Greenwich Avenue in conjunction with the proposed St. Vincent’s hospital replacement project. All are welcome to attend. Co-sponsored by CB 2 and our local elected officials.

Rally on School Overcrowding

Horatio Street Blogger — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:58:01 +0000

From CB 2

Rally on the Steps of City Hall on School Overcrowding – Wednesday, May 6, 4:00 p.m. Broadway & Chambers Streets (Take the 1/2/3 to Chambers Street or 4/5/6 or J/M/Z to City Hall). CB 2 has been working closely with local parents, elected officials and advocates on finding new classroom space (you can read about our collective efforts here in this week’s Villager editorial. The crisis is now more urgent than ever as nearly 100 neighborhood children have been waitlisted for spots at P.S. 41 and P.S. 3. On Wednesday, stand up, speak out, and be heard on this important issue!

Chelsea Perp

Horatio Street Blogger — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:18:54 +0000

Neighbors,
Council Member Christine Quinn’s office has sent out an alert regarding an incident on January 12th in which a 12-year old girl was sexually abused in Chelsea (the exact location not released to protect the identity of the victim).

“The suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his mid-20′s between 5’8″ and 5’11″ with a medium build and dark hair. If you see this individual, it is important that you immediately call the NYPD SVU at 1-800-577-TIPS and that you do not approach him.” The NYPost published a sketch released by the NYPD.

She also had some safety tips:
“Remember there is power in numbers; when going out walking, try to walk with friends.
Teach your children to be on the lookout for certain kinds of situations or actions rather than certain kinds of individuals.
Be sure no one is near the entrance of your building before you enter.
Remain alert; individuals on cell phones or wearing headphones are more susceptible to attack as they may appear distracted.”

Finally, she reminds us to look out for one another. If you hear screams or sounds of a struggle, call 911.

Be safe everyone!

GVSHP Rocks it again – woo woo!!!

Horatio Street Blogger — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:45:43 +0000

Dear friend,

Good news! Last night, Community Board #2 voted to reject variances to allow a 55% increase in the size of a planned development at 347 West 13th Street (at Washington Street) in the Meatpacking District. GVSHP and its members hadpushed hard to get the Community Board to reverse a unanimous vote by its Zoning Committee to support almost all the variances requested by the developer.

The owner of 347-51 West 13th Street is proposing to demolish thehistoric meatmarket buildings on the site and build a 215 ft. tall office tower with a 3-story big-box retail space in its base. The proposed building would be 55% larger than the zoning allows, and the retail space three times the size the zoning allows. Thedesign of the proposed building would be all-glass on three sides with a 215 ft. tall blank windowless wall directly abutting the Gansevoort Market Historic District, to which GVSHP also objected. The building would replace the current Art Deco meat market buildings which are located in theGansevoort Market State and National Register Historic District, and which were intended to be in the NYC Gansevoort Market Historic District (which would have prevented demolition), but were removed from the proposed district by the City after heavy lobbying by the owner.

The Community Board did vote to support doubling the size of allowable retail space, as opposed to tripling the size as the developer requested (or no increase, as GVSHP had urged). The variances will now go to the Board of Standards and Appeals, which will decide whether or not to allow the increased bulk and retail size the developer is asking for. When that hearing has been scheduled, we will let you know.

Thank you to all the GVSHP members and supporters who turned out to these hearings and wrote the Community Board with your concerns. Have a great weekend.

Best,

Andrew Berman
Executive Director

Calling all 4-Year Olds to Class

Horatio Street Blogger — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:53:31 +0000

from Christine Quinn’s office:

Dear Neighbor,

The City has been allowed by the State to go ahead with its mid-year UPK expansion and we need your help. As a result, the City Council is once again partnering with the Department of Education (DOE), the Administration for Children Services (ACS) and childcare advocates to help enroll four-year olds in FREE Universal Pre Kindergarten (UPK) programs by Friday, January 30th.

Currently, there are over 4,000 half-day and full-day UPK seats still available for children who turned four years of age by December 31, 2008, in public schools, child care centers contracted by (ACS) and community-based organizations contracted by the (DOE). Research clearly supports UPK as a way to support the social, emotional and academic skills of children as well as prepare children for kindergarten.

We hope that you will join us in getting the word out that UPK slots are still available. Please help distribute the attached fliers which are available in English, Spanish and Chinese. To help target areas with the most vacancies, attached are updated maps of vacant slots by zip codes.

How families can get more information regarding available slots:

* Families can call 311 and ask for “UPK programs in my neighborhood”, or call (888) 469-5999 toll free.
* NYCMap lets families search for UPK programs with available seats close to their home, work or school. Families can log on to www.nyc.gov, click on the “Universal Pre-K” hand icon, click on “locate a program,” and enter an address.
* The DOE Web site has a directory of programs with available seats at (http://schools.nyc.gov/ChoicesEnrollment/PreK/default.htm).

If you have questions please call Melvyn Mahon in my District Office at (212) 564-7757 x102.

Sincerely,

Christine C. Quinn
Speaker