Hell's Kitchen Online 6/20/98

[Hellskitchen]

Hell's Kitchen Online                                    6/20/98
                 "All the News the Times Won't Print"
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In this issue...

* Hudson River Park Legislation passes in Albany
* Two events today: Waterfront and Tenants
* Restaurant opinion
* Grace does comedy
* West End Avenue Traffic
* NY Times Editorial -- Javits to 42nd St., no prob
* Clinton Neighborhood Calls for Vallone to Stand by the 
  Middle Class (CSDC)

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FLASH-- we hear that the Park Legislation passed in Albany, but
no details yet. (it passed both houses and Pataki is expected to
sign it -- more details later)

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TWO EVENTS ARE HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME TODAY, a Waterfront Walk
and a Citywide Tenants Rally. Unless you're Scott Stringer (who is
scheduled for both) you need to pick one or the other.

FRIENDS OF PIER 84 TO HOLD WATERFRONT WALK

Noon - 20 June 1998
Starting at  42nd St Between 8th & 9th Ave
Ending with a forum at the High School of Graphic Arts
Show your support for a Hudson River Park for Clinton/Hell's Kitchen!!!

TENANT RALLY DAY

Saturday, June 20th
Noon to 3 PM
Union Square Park (14th and Union Sq. West)

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HEY, IT'S A NICE SETTING

From: "Bill Walsh" <bwalsh@theslot.com>
Subject: Zen Palate

Hi there. Sorry to vent on you, but you're the first outlet for feedback
I've had since a certain restaurant decision ruined one of my rare trips to
New York. My question, probably rhetorical, is this: How can anyone possibly
like, let alone love, Zen Palate? I'll eat just about anything (although
I'll admit I'm far from vegetarian), but the dirt clods they sold for $16.95
practically made me retch. Heck, I'm usually sorta fond of tofu, but these
people managed to isolate it from any possible flavor influence, leaving it
utterly tasteless. The most promising thing on the menu was the fruited iced
tea, but even that was disappointing. Nice setting, though :-).

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LOCAL RESIDENT GOES STAND-UP

Grace Romeo of 45th Street will appear at:
The New York Comedy Club
June 20, 1998 7:30 pm
July 23, 1998 7:30 pm
241 East 24th St.
696-5253 for info/reservations

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SO YOU THINK TRAFFIC IS BAD ON WEST END AVENUE NOW!

Wait until the two Riverside South megastructures are occupied.(891 units)! Wait for 350 more cars
from the 2 buildings that will congest the Avenue! Wait until the 14 additional buildings and
3,000 more cars add to the congestion!

Wait - or do something about it now!

Rally: Thursday, June 25, 1998
Time: 8 AM
Place: W. 70th Street and West End Avenue

The city-approved mega-development, Trump's Riverside South, now called Trump Place, will bring
additional dangerous congestion to West End Avenue.

According to a legal agreement between the city and the developer, Riverside South's heavy traffic
is to be diverted to a new continuation of Riverside Drive -  Riverside Drive South - between 72nd
Street and 59th Street. It is to be built on a viaduct west of the sixteen new buildings.

City law requires that before a developer can begin any construction on property without existing
streets, the city must issue a "Mapping Agreement" defining exactly where and how the streets are
to be built. And the developer must post a completion bond.

But - there is no Mapping Agreement! No bond has been posted! And the developer has illegally
proceeded to construct the streets and a section of Riverside Drive South on landfill instead of
the required viaduct! And there's no connection to Riverside Drive---so all Trump traffic will end
up on West End Avenue!

We demand that the New York City Department of Buildings issue No Certificate of Occupancy ( C of
O) to any building in this project until the Mapping Agreement is in place and a bond posted!

NO ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC ON WEST END AVENUE! SAY NO TO C of O!

Coalition for a Livable West Side
P.O. Box 78, NY, NY 10023  580-9319
Participants (list in formation):
Committee for Sound Environmental Development; The West Village Committee, Inc.; 
The Bloomingdale Coalition; Federation of West Side Neighborhood and Block Associations; 
Association of Tenants at Lincoln Towers (ATLT); West 79th Street Community Group; 79th 
Street Museum Block Association; The Ansonia Independent Democrats; Park River Independent 
Democrats; Community Free Democrats;  Hon. Scott Stringer; Hon. Jerrold Nadler; Hon. 
Franz Leichter;  Hon. Ronnie Eldridge; Hon. Tom Duane


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New York Times Editorial
Expand the Javits Center
New York Times, June 20, 1998

New York City's attraction as a site for trade shows and conventions has been one of the key
elements in its economic growth. That makes it hard to understand why Mayor Rudolph Giuliani seems
so indifferent to the fact that the Jacob Javits Convention Center is too small to accommodate the
nation's largest trade shows, and growing less competitive every year. New York has long since
fallen out of the top 10 when it comes to available exhibition space. It will drop further as
other cities expand their facilities.

New York State, which runs the Javits Center, has been promoting a plan that would double its
760,000 square feet of exhibition space by creating a vast complex stretching all the way to 42d
Street from the center's present site on the western end of 38th Street. Tying the center to 42d
Street would pull the booming development of the Times Square area all the way to the Hudson
River, while connecting the convention business to the city's entertainment hub. Larry
Silverstein, a developer who owns part of the property the state would need, was apparently
willing to swap the land for the right to build a hotel or apartment tower over the Javits
expansion. But Mr. Silverstein recently said he was tired of waiting for the city to commit, and
was going ahead with other plans for the property.

It would be amazing if Mr. Giuliani swallowed the state proposal whole. It would cost an estimated
$700 million, and the state wants the city to pick up part of the tab. But rather than demanding
changes or proposing alternatives, the city seems simply to be turning away -- as if the
convention center were a state project for Syracuse rather than Manhattan. There have been no
public comments, no objections and apparently no private negotiations.

Mr. Giuliani's critics contend that the Mayor does not want any other West Side program to compete
with possible plans for a new Yankee Stadium, although the two structures would be on different
sites. If so, Mr. Giuliani's strategy is all wrong. New York City must both keep the Yankees and
pursue the economic development projects it needs to keep the economy growing. To suggest that
both things are not possible would hurt, rather than help, the Mayor's cause. Building a
world-class convention center would create jobs and assure the city's ability to attract major
trade shows and exhibitions into the next century. The Mayor must cooperate with the state in
reaching that goal.

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For Immediate Release, June 19, 1998

Clinton Neighborhood Calls for Vallone to Stand-by the Middle Class

Members of the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen community distributed flyers and information June 18th to
those attending a gubernatorial fundraising event for City Council Speaker Peter Vallone. The
Vallone fundraiser included a reception at the Plaza Hotel and a performance by Mikhail Baryshikov
and Mark Morris at the nearby Florence Gould Hall. Vallone supporters attending the performance
were greeted by Clinton residents wearing “Don’t Bulldoze Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen” signs and
informational flyers asking Mr. Vallone not to forsake the middle-class Clinton neighborhood.

Residents are concerned about several major contributors to Vallone’s campaign, which include
members of the development and lobbyist community, as well as Broadway theater owner James
Nederlander and Broadway Initiative lobbyist Ethan Geto.

The Clinton Special District Coalition had sent a letter to Mr. Vallone on June 16 (enclosed)
objecting to his accepting contributions from Messrs. Nederlander and Geto, supporters of the
Mayor’s Theater Subdistrict/8th Avenue Rezoning proposal, shortly before City Council would be
voting on the measure. City Council is expected to hold hearings in July and vote on the measure
by mid-August.

Nederlander, along with the other major theater owners Shuberts and Jujamcyn, worked with the
Mayor to create the plan to transfer development rights (“air rights”) from landmarked Broadway
theaters to anywhere within an expanded theater subdistrict. The expanded receiving area calls for
shrinking part of the Clinton neighborhood, weakening the Special Clinton District and
constructing skyscrapers on the west side of Eighth Avenue. Residents see the zoning and expected
development as the first among several attempts to threaten the low-rise and middle-income
neighborhood.

The plan, which would allow construction without community review or environmental review, is seen
as a precedent for similar development efforts throughout the city. Moreover, although sold as a
way to “save the theater,” residents of Clinton, many of whom are actors and other theatrical
workers, have objected to the Broadway Initiative which would require theatrical unions to cover
the expected $9 million per year shortfall trhough cash contributions or salary givebacks.

According to Clinton resident Gilbert Annoual who participated in the flyering, “Vallone campaign
representatives threatened to call the police in response to the flyering, but backed off when we
indicated we would then call the media. We want [Mr.] Vallone to know we exist and we’re aware of
these obvious conflicts of interest. We’re watching and he must understand groups thoughout the
city are opposed to this zoning proposal. If his campaign is really about saving the
‘middle-class,’ then his actions will be telling.”

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