Hell's Kitchen Online 4/3/98
Hellskitchen
kitchen@hellskitchen.net
Fri, 03 Apr 1998 17:03:45 -0500
Hell's Kitchen Online 4/3/98
"All the News the Times Won't Print"
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Expect a Zoning update later this weekend. CSDC will meet
Monday April 6 at 8 PM at Hartley House 413 W 46th St.
Come to the CSDC table on Saturday from 10-12 AM at the
Amish Market on 9th Avenue between 49th and 50th Street.
Pick up a postcard to Borough President C. Virginia Fields
asking her not to waiver and show strong leadership against
Air Rights.
In this issue...
* Reminder: Senator Franz Leichter's 25th Annual
Community Conference
* VICTORY-State Liquor Authority revokesClub Edelweiss license
* Theatre Bigs Gather at Eighth Avenue Rezoning Hearing
* News from Coalition for a Livable West Side
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Reminder -- tomorrow, April 4, 1998
SENATOR FRANZ LEICHTER'S 25TH ANNUAL COMMUNITY CONFERENCE
Saturday, April 4, 1998, 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Columbia University's Miller Theatre
116th Street and Broadway, New York City
Registration: 11:30 a.m.; Welcoming Statement: 12 noon;
Caucuses: 12:30 p.m.; General Session: 2:30 p.m.
Reception: 4:30p.m.
The 25th annual Leichter Community Conference will be, in effect, a mock
constitutional convention. While the voters rejected holding a
constitutional convention last November, it is clear that many favor some
constitutional revision. Throughout the State, people are fed up with the
mess in Albany. The conference will focus on what constitutional revisions
should be made in the budget process, campaign financing, education and the
State's obligation to care for the needy. As a delegate you can
participate in one of the following caucuses and then make your
recommendations to statewide leaders at the general session.
CAUCUSES: 12:30 p.m.
Campaign Finance Reform: Government for Sale?
Sal Albanese, Former NYC Council Member; Joel Gora, General Counsel, New
York Civil Liberties Union & Brooklyn Law School Professor; Rachel Leon,
Executive Director, Common Cause;
Legislative & Government Reform: Open Up the Chambers
Barbara Bartoletti, Executive Director, New York League of Women Voters;
Tom Carroll, President, CHANGE-NY;
Care of the Needy: Can We Afford Not To Care?
Elizabeth Krueger, Associate Director, Community Food and Resource Center;
Another presenter to be announced;
GENERAL SESSION: 2:30 p.m.
All declared candidates for NYS Governor have been invited: Charles "Joe"
Hynes, Brooklyn District Attorney; Richard Kahan, President of the Urban
Assembly (confirmed); James Larocca, Former New York State Department of
Transportation Commissioner (confirmed); Hon. George Pataki, NYS Governor;
Hon. Betsey McCaughey Ross, NYS Lieutenant Governor (confirmed); Hon. Peter
Vallone, NYC Council Speaker (confirmed)
Free Admission
For more information: Call Senator Leichter's Office at 212-397-5913.
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From: Chuck Spence <Chuck.Spence@ing-barings.com>
Subject: VICTORY-State Liquor Authority revokes Club Edelweiss license
VICTORY-NY State Liquor Authority revokes Club Edelweiss license
On Wednesday the New York State Liquor Authority dealt a swift and
stunning blow to Club Edelweiss and scored a major victory for the
community's fight against prostitution. The SLA permanently revoked
the liquor license of 580 Bar Corp./Club Edelweiss.
The problem of transvestite prostitution became uncontrollable in our
community when Club Edelweiss opened at 11th Avenue and 44th Street
several years back. The West 44th Street Better Block Assn. and
Community Board 4 worked with the Mayors Office of Midtown Enforcement
and NYPD vice and Midtown North Precinct for several years to effect a
closure through the Supreme Court last year. After the closure, we
saw a dramatic decline in the prostitution on our streets. When
Justice Joan Madden lifted the order to close the club in summer of
last year, the problem returned with a vengeance. Justice Madden
allowed the club to reopen despite over 30 arrests being made in the
club for prostitution and over 100 spillout arrests on our streets.
The club reopened under strict guidelines that no more than three
arrests were to be made in any three month period or the club would be
closed and would forfeit a $100,000 bond placed with the city. The
club has made a mockery of the law by voluntarily closing after two
arrests were made each time they reopened skirting the penalties that
the court would have doled out.
Thanks to the dozens of letters written by all of you in the community
and efforts by Assemblyman Dick Gottfried, the SLA made a sound and
correct decision to revoke the license permanently. Assemblyman
Gottfried asked the SLA to enforce the Rowdy Bar Law to revoke the
license of 580 Bar Corp/Club Edelweiss. This will seriously hamper
the club's ability to earn a profit while as they facilitate this
illegal prostitution activity.
While we have won this battle the war is not over. Mr. Harold Wiener,
attorney for 580 Bar Corp has already stated that he will appeal the
SLA's decision. Additionally the Club Edelweiss could reopen as juice
bar that has nightly specials in prostitution. Stay tuned to Hells
Kitchen Online to help in the next battle with this illegal club.
I thank you for your help in keeping our community the great
neighborhood it is by helping in efforts like this.
Sincerely,
Chuck Spence, President
West 44th Street Better Block Assn
PS Brief (1-2 lines) letters of thanks to the SLA for their correct
and bold decision are encouraged. It will also help the SLA with any
appellate action the club takes. Please address your letters to:
Honorable Edward Kelly
Commissioner Lawrence Gedda
Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control
New York State Liquor Authority
11 Park Place
New York, NY 10007
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Theatre Bigs Gather at Eighth Avenue Rezoning Hearing
Pros and Cons of Eighth Avenue Plan Heard by Borough President
Backstage, April 3, 1998
By Robert Simonson
Some of the biggest names in the theatre industry gathered at Manhattan
Borough Board President C. Virginia Fields' office last week. The occasion
was a hearing on the increasingly controversial Eighth Avenue rezoning
proposal, which would ostensibly aid Broadway. Opponents claim it would
irrevocably harm the Clinton community just west of the theatre district.
Among those attending and speaking in support of the rezoning plan were
Alan Eisenberg, executive secretary of Actors' Equity Association; Barry
Grove, president of the League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers;
producer Liz McCann; Rebecca Robertson, vice-president of real estate for
the Shubert Organization; Jack Goldstein, executive director of the Theatre
Development Fund; and Anne Zimmerman, spokesperson for the Broadway
Initiative, the theatre management-labor coalition which stands to benefit
from the rezoning.
Also speaking were representatives of Community Boards 4 and 5, which
encompass the theatre district and Clinton; both boards have resoundingly
rejected the city's plan in recent weeks.
The proposal would allow developers to build on a stretch of Midtown Eighth
Avenue in excess of current zoning restrictions if they purchase the air
rights from neighboring Broadway theatres. The profiting theatre owners
would then be required to pledge continued use of their buildings as
legitimate theatres, and to deposit a portion of their earnings from the
sale into a theatre fund. This fund would be used by the Broadway
Initiative for the inspection and upkeep of the theatres, as well as the
development of new plays and small musicals for the Broadway stage.
Michael DeMarzo, press representative for Fields, said that the meeting was
better attended than most such hearings and lasted three hours. Though
Fields expressed concern about the rezoning proposal when campaigning last
year for her present post, she has not taken an official stand on the issue
since. DeMarzo said Fields had not made up her mind in the wake of the
hearing, but would before, at, or slightly after the upcoming borough board
meeting, which will be held on April 16.
Broadway Support
There was hardly a major Broadway faction which did not speak out in
support of the city's plan at the March 25 meeting.
"The Broadway Initiative's goal is to increase play production by 10-15%
within a five-year time frame, with increased ticket receipts of $50-60
million per year, generating substantial additional tax revenues for the
City and State," said Zimmerman. "Over the course of five years we
conservatively estimate the direct creation of 3,000 jobs for people
working in theatre in addition to the ancillary benefit to restaurants and
bars, hotels, parking lots, and babysitters.
"A revitalization of Broadway geared to nurturing a new generation of
theatre artists and entrepreneurs would engender a greater spectrum of
productions creating a firmer niche for serious and intellectually
provocative material and give the New York audience, hungry for a more
diverse and stimulating choice, greater cultural enrichment for themselves
and generations to come."
Zimmerman did not mention the rezoning until the last sentence of her
statement, and did not mention the concerns of the Clinton community at all.
Eisenberg did mention Clinton, but expressed the hope that its and the
theatre district's needs could be reconciled. "Equity has dedicated itself
to the long-term preservation of theatre for legitimate theatre purposes,"
said Eisenberg. "This zoning proposal is an extension of those efforts. It
will achieve what we have long fought to achieve--i.e., the preservation of
those precious, irreplaceable theatres for legitimate theatre use--and by
doing so, we will safeguard the serious dramatic plays, the most cherished
heritage of the American theatre, so vital not only to actors and others
who work in the theatre, but also to American culture and society."
Barry Grove, who is also executive producer of the Manhattan Theatre Club,
voiced Off-Broadway's view. "We need these houses just as much as we need
the employment they represent," said Grove. "But simply landmarking them
will not make them viable. They need plays to fill them with life, and
those plays have to be economically sound. But the theatre has changed over
the last fifteen years. In an earlier era, when we produced a `hit'
Off-Broadway, it was quickly transferred to a Broadway Playhouse. The
economics today make that transfer a very difficult proposition.
"Even though this spring may temporarily light all of the houses, it is
important to remember that just this fall, `The Last Night of Ballyhoo,'
the current Tony winner, was again the only new play on Broadway, this time
in a five hundred seat theatre with special union concessions."
Grove also mentioned specific findings of the Boston-based consultancy
firm, Bain and Co., which was commissioned by the Broadway Initiative to
study the Broadway industry and preceded the zoning proposal. That study
has never been made public in its entirety.
"Special concessions alone won't get the job done," said Grove. "The Bain
report said that it would take a 40% or more cut in wages, and that simply
isn't possible. Who among us in good conscience could ask the person
sitting next to them to do that--it's just not realistic. Bain further said
we could also get there by growing the audience and providing an infusion
of new capital to support the work at this critical juncture."
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Coalition for a Livable West Side
Vol.12 No.1
Feb. - March 1998
New Opportunities to Defeat - Yes, Defeat - Riverside South
Opportunity One:
A Public Hearing
In a favorable decision for the community, New York State Supreme
Court Justice Helen Freedman stated that the Coalition for a
Livable West Side should present its case against the construction
of Riverside Drive South on landfill to the New York City Bureau
of Standards and Appeal (BSA).
The hearings at the BSA will be full and open Public Hearings on
the legal, environmental, planning and building issues related to
Riverside South's megadevelopment.
Opportunity Two: Sewage Lawsuit
We have petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, to
request immediate action in our sewage lawsuit to stop the City
from violating the North River and Wards Island Sewage treatment
plants' operating permits.
Opportunity Three: Denial Of FHA Mortgage Insurance
The Coalition is asking HUD to deny Trump's new application for
$180 million in FRA mortgage insurance guarantees for two
Riverside South buildings E (67th-68th St.) and F (66th-67th St.).
Our expert's analysis reveals that the application is inflated by
$111 million dollars.
CLW Received A Major Foundation Grant for Support of the
Environment
The Coalition for a Livable West Side's (CLW) ongoing battle for a
more livable environment was recognized in 1997 by a $21,000 grant
from the Lloyd E. Rigler-Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation of
California. This was the 3rd year that the Foundation, by means of
a Challenge Grant for increased giving and new contributors, has
augmented CLW's own fund-raising activities. Indeed, the
Foundation's Challenge Grants have acted like a magnet in
attracting new members and increasing financial support from the
community.
Although the Foundation and Mr. Rigler are primarily interested in
supporting the Arts, they are also vitally concerned about the
environment and a more livable New York. Being bi-coastal, Mr.
Rigler has an apartment on Central Park West, hence his support of
the Coalition for a Livable West Side.
Mr. Rigler is Co-Chairman of the New York City Opera and is on the
board of The City Center of Music and Drama. The Lloyd E.
Rigler-Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation's current major project is
the Classic Arts Showcase, a satellite non-profit arts network,
presented as a public service to all of North and South America.
It is shown on three New York City television stations. The
Showcase presents performances with the world's greatest artists
in 16 arts disciplines-including orchestral music, ballet, opera
and film- all with no commercial advertising!
This is truly a fitting marriage in Manhattan's West Side--the
Arts and the environment!
Sewage Lawsuit
The Coalition for a Livable West Side, Inc., et al., plaintiffs in
the Federal Clean Water Act (sewage) lawsuit, has filed a Writ of
Mandamus (a petition) in the United States Court of Appeals for
the Second Circuit on January 20,1998. It asks the court to direct
the Federal Judge - who has had the case for over three years - to
proceed immediately to adjudicate the case.
Background: In 1992, the Coalition presented evidence to Federal
Court Judge Pierre Leval showing that the sewage plants were
operating above their permits. Judge Leval found that our position
had merit - but he was transferred to the U.S. Court of Appeals,
2nd Circuit, before further action could be taken.
This Writ was filed very reluctantly. However, we had no choice
because our underlying complaint - that the North River and Wards
Island Sewage Treatment Plants have exceeded their operating
permits - is a matter of significant public policy.
Public Hearing: Illegal Roadway on Landfill
N.Y. State Supreme Court Justice Helen Freedman stated that the
New York City Charter provides that the New York City Bureau of
Standards and Appeal (BSA ) shall have the power to hear and
decide appeals from and review any order... decision, or
determination of the Commissioner of buildings... Our attorney has
asked Commissioner Gaston Silva, NYC Department of Buildings
(DOB), to rescind its approval of the extension of Riverside Drive
on landfill. If our request is denied, we will go the BSA and ask
for a hearing. This will be an exciting opportunity to expose all
legal and environmental issues. We will advise the community of
the hearing dates so that you can attend.
Request Denial of Trump's Inflated FHA Application
Hudson Waterfront Associates (the consortium of Hong Kong owners)
and Donald Trump have applied for $180 million in federal mortgage
insurance guarantees (FHA), for two buildings in Riverside South
(Building E, 27 stories and Building F, 33 stories). Together they
will contain 853 apartments, of which 20% (171 units) will be low
income.
An analysis of their application to U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development for Mortgage Insurance (HUD Project Number
012-32369) shows:
Gross overstatements of building square footage
There is a difference of 183,352 square feet in their Gross Floor
Area. Guess why! The difference is identical with the size of the
park described in Section C. You remember, this is the park that
Trump guaranteed he would build and maintain! By including the
park footage within the Gross Floor Area, the applicant
misrepresents the costs of the project on a gross floor basis.
Distortions and misstatements re development costs
West End Towers (38 stories and 1,000 units), which abuts
Riverside South, received federal mortgage insurance and is a
nearly identical project. A comparison of its detailed costs with
those of Riverside South shows that Riverside South's costs are
significantly distorted, incredibly higher and are inflated by
$111 million dollars.
"Loan-to-value" is greater than the project's worth
Loan to value (LTV) is a ratio that is used to measure the
worthiness of a loan. The lower the LTV ratio, the lower the risk,
because the value of the project--the amount that can be recovered
by the lender through sale--will more than cover a default in the
mortgage.
The LTV ratio for Riverside South is 114.2% (includes actual
development costs--hard, soft, and land costs). Therefore, the FHA
amount requested is greater than the project's worth.
Low-income units smaller than market-rental units
The amount of floor area allocated to low-income tenants is
considerably less than 20%. The low-income units are smaller than
the comparable market-rate units. and there are fewer two- and-
three- bedroom units reserved for low-income tenants. These issues
raise serious questions about the developer's "good faith" in
abiding by the low-income dwelling requirements.
Mortgage default possible
Riverside South's projected average market-rate rents are 43%
higher than the rents in West End Towers. This disparity becomes
more problematic because Riverside South is one block further from
the subway than West End Towers. The combination of higher than
market costs, with rents that are higher than the market, suggests
the strong possibility of a mortgage default.
Excessive land costs
The land value in the HUD application asserts the land cost per
dwelling unit to be $84,657. This is in sharp contrast to the Writ
of Certiorari requesting tax relief filed by Hudson Waterfront
Associates with the City of New York 18 months ago. Their Writ
asserted that the Riverside South land was worth $3-4,000 per
unit, a difference of over $80,000. per unit'.
Conclusion: Riverside South's application for FHA mortgage
insurance should he rejected for its numerous deficiencies.
What You Can Do:
Write to: Hon. Andrew Cuomo, Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development, 451 7th St., SW, Washington, D.C., 20410.
Please send a copy to Congressman Jerrold Nadler, 11 Beach St.,
New York, NY 10013
Taxpayers should not guarantee a risky luxury development under
the guise of providing minimal affordable housing.
72nd Street Subway Hazards
Assemblyman Scott Stringer asked the State Transportation Safety
Board to inspect the 72nd Street station for hazardous conditions.
As a result, the Transit Authority (TA), has made the renovation
of the 72nd Street subway a priority.
However, after public hearings and community meetings, the TA
drafted a rehabilitation plan which lacks the most crucial
element--widening the treacherous narrow platforms--as was
originally promised by the TA. Assemblyman Stringer continues to
lead the fight to have the TA keep its promise and include
widening of the platforms in the station's renovation.
Basically, the TA's plan calls for the lengthening of the uptown
and downtown platforms, adding several new, significantly wider
staircases and the addition of elevators to provide access for
riders-in-need.
The TA, emulating an ostrich, does not include the scheduled
development on the West Side (15,000 new people) in their
ridership projections . Widening the dangerous platform is
essential!
ACTION: Demand the Transit Authority include the widening of the
dangerous platform in their rehabilitation plans! Please write to:
MTA New York City Transit, Government Relations, 130 Livingston
Plaza, Room 3010B, Brooklyn, NY 11201-9265 and send a copy to Hon.
Scott Stringer, 230 W. 72 Street, New York, NY 10023
Public Safety Issue: Defective Concrete
To insure that public safety is not compromised, Council member
Ronnie Eldridge has proposed an amendment to the administrative
code of the city of New York requiring licensed concrete
laboratories to notify the Department of Buildings (DOB), whenever
a test sample fails to meet the specified minimum strength
requirements.
Her bill would prevent another case of defective concrete being
used and construction continuing without the DOB being unaware of
the problem. Right now defects and other building problems do not
have to he reported to the DOB until the building is completed.
Read 'Important Issues" in next column for the details of the
problem of defective concrete being used at 300 Riverside
South--which, because of the existing local law, did not have to
be reported to the DOB
ACTION: Please write in support of this bill to:
Hon. Peter J. Vallone, Speaker of the Council, City Hall, New
York, NY 10007 and send a copy to Hon. Ronnie Eldridge, 10
Columbus Circle. Room 1497, New York, NY 10019
Important Issue, Needs Your Action
ISSUE: A prospectus for sale of apartments in 300 Riverside Drive
South condominiums (C, 69th-70th Street) must be approved by the
New York State Department of Law, Real Estate. Financing Bureau.
We believe that all of the problems with the defective concrete
and the remedies used, must be prominently included in the
prospectus for 300 Riverside Drive South. The information must
include the following facts:
Five batches of defective concrete, rejected by the site
consulting engineer were poured in Mid-August 1997 for concrete
slabs on the fifth floor. Even after tests showed that the
concrete was less than half the required strength--the dangerous
layer of defective concrete would not have been able to hold the
structure--construction continued to the 20th floor.
If the new grout doesn't fix the problem, later shifting could
cause cracks in the building.
The building (built on landfill) has not been constructed
according to the new City seismic code even though it is on a
high-risk seismic site (landfill liquifies during an earthquake.).
ACTION: Request that the above information be included in the
prospectus. Please write to: New York State Department of Law,
Real Estate Financing Bureau, 120 Broadway (23rd FL), New York, NY
10271 and send a copy to N.Y. Attorney General Dennis C. Vacco at
the same address and a copy to the Coalition.
The community fought Trump's previous application for FHA mortgage
insurance ($355 million dollars) for four buildings (D, E, F and
6), and we won!
If the mortgage guarantee had been granted, three more buildings
would he underway in Riverside South!
Environmental News & Notes
The Coalition for a Livable West Side is not just against
megadevelopments like Riverside South. Our prime goal is
protecting our community and environment!
Dangerous PCBs
According to the Green Sheet, an influential environmental
newsletter (Dec. 1997), The transfer of Dr. Brian Bush, a key New
York state scientist studying the health impacts of PCBs on humans
and wildlife, has environmentalists seriously concerned about New
York's commitment to this important field of study.
On October 17,1997, the day of his transfer, the studies were
shelved and the projects stopped...Most PCB's in the Hudson River
came from two General Electric (GE) plants in Fort Edward and
Hudson Falls.
...Scientists already know that eating PCB-contaminated fish is a
health hazard. A finding that evaporating PCB's in the air are
also a health danger, could greatly increase GE's liability for
the Hudson River PCB disaster."
Classic Arts Showcase
The Classic Arts Showcase programming consists of 3-5 minute
clips, MTV format, of famed performances in the most important
venues throughout the world.
The Classic Arts Showcase can be seen on WNYE-TV, Channel 25
Monday through Thursday, 9 to 10 PM and 1 to 2AM, as well as on
New York City's Community Channel 75 (see newspaper schedule) and
on Brooklyn's Crosswalks Channel 8, Monday through Friday, from 5
PM to 1 AM.
Be sure to tune in-and tell your friends and neighbors about this
great public service program.
Another Sewage Lawsuit
On December 17, 1997, the Long Island Soundkeeper - an
environmental organization based in Norwalk. Connecticut and
Oyster Bay, New York--issued a 60-day notice of intent to sue New
York City.
According to Soundkeeper Terry Backer, the city has consistently
violated its State Pollution Elimination Discharge Systems Permits
(SPDES), by discharging 7 million pounds of excess nitrogen from
their Wards Island, Tailman Island, Hunts Point and Bowery bay
sewage treatment plants.
A fact sheet supplied by Soundkeeper states that the amount of the
City's excess nitrogen discharge exceeds the total amount of
nitrogen discharged by all 30 Connecticut shoreline plants.
The Wards Island plant is part of the Coalition's sewage lawsuit,
filed under the Clean Water Act, against the City.
"No-Biker" Decals for Sidewalks
Community Board 7 (CB7) declared that bicyclists who race on
sidewalks are "one of the most dangerous and lethal potential
weapons against pedestrians". CB 7 unanimously passed a resolution
asking for greater police enforcement of existing laws that
regulate bicyclists and asked for "no-biker" decals to be placed
on sidewalk curbs. The decals would show a symbol of a cyclist
with a slash through it.
Opposition to Proposed Changes in Transfer of Air-Rights
State Senator Franz Leichter is opposed to the City's new rezoning
proposal for the Clinton area. He said. 'I am outraged that the
City would publicly announce any proposed agreement without first
presenting its ideas to the Community Board, community residents
or elected officials."
The new zoning would allow 25 Broadway theaters to sell their
unused development rights -- "air-rights" -- to developers who
then would be allowed to use those "air-rights" within an expanded
area in Clinton to substantially increase the size of any new
building in the area -- by 20 or more stories.
The City Planning Commission is attempting to implement this major
change without even conducting an Environmental Impact Statement.
The ability to transfer "air-rights" has broad implications for
every community in the city. More in our next newsletter.
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