BOYCOTT THE 2ND AVENUE SERVICE ROAD CLOSURE
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PETITION:
Whereas: In direct opposition to the needs and welfare of the Kips Bay Community, Community Board 6 (CB6) and Department of Transportation (DOT) closed the road and implemented their “plaza” without notice to local residents.
Now, therefore, the residents of Kips Bay protest and oppose the closure of the service road at Second Avenue between 30th to 33rd Street.
In 2010, the residents of Kips Bay submitted a 500 signature petition against the service road closure to the Community Board. Some of the reasons cited by local residents, as any long term resident will remember, are:
The vice-chair of the Community Board transportation committee, comittee to which the Kips Bay neighborhood petition was given, created a group claiming to represent our neighborhood. CB6 ignored the petition with 500 Kips Bay residents signatures and solicited the Department of Transportation to open the DOT “plaza,” claiming there was no community opposition. This was done in an underhanded way. The Seven CB6 committee chairs, none of whom live in Kips Bay, formed what they called the Kips Bay Neighborhood Alliance, with Ms. Hollister as “president”. This group is the Community Board; it DOES NOT represent the Kips Bay neighborhood. As only not for profits are eligible to request DOT plazas, this CB6 group claimed to be an independent not-for-profit, tax exempt group representing our neighborhood to DOT. The group was neither not-for-profit, nor tax exempt when petitioning DOT, had few if any Kips Bay residents as members, and did not perform community outreach as they claimed. This collusion between government groups to force their private agenda on local residents against local opposition runs counter to all that is beneficial for the welfare of our neighborhood.
DOT and CB6 have made no effort to address any of the neighborhood concerns and continue to be deceptive in their discussions with resident representatives. While DOT assures the community residents the “plaza” is only temporary, DOT/CB6 are moving forward with permanent plaza implementation without regard for KB petitions citing the safety and welfare concerns of the local residents.
BOYCOTT THE DOT /CB6 PLAZA at Second Avenue.
For these reasons, the residents and businesses of the Kips Bay neighborhood oppose the DOT “plaza” and respectfully suggest, AGAIN, alternatives:
Whereas: In direct opposition to the needs and welfare of the Kips Bay Community, Community Board 6 (CB6) and Department of Transportation (DOT) closed the road and implemented their “plaza” without notice to local residents.
Now, therefore, the residents of Kips Bay protest and oppose the closure of the service road at Second Avenue between 30th to 33rd Street.
In 2010, the residents of Kips Bay submitted a 500 signature petition against the service road closure to the Community Board. Some of the reasons cited by local residents, as any long term resident will remember, are:
- Service vehicles (for the condominium buildings on both sides of 33rd street and retail stores in the Kips Bay plaza) for delivery and maintenance have been displaced and now occupy a double row of parking the full block from 1st to 2nd Avenue on 33rd Street. This is the access to the NYU Hospital emergency room, which access is now compromised.
- No traffic study or impact analysis was performed prior to closing the street.
- The close proximity of an increasing homeless population and their occupation of the unmonitored “plaza”
- General safety concerns in the low lit wasteland after dark. The mentioned incidents have been reported to police.
- Quality of life concerns
- Vagrancy
- Decline in revenues for the retail stores
- Inaccessibility of loading docks for the Kips Bay Towers and 5 retail stores
- Decrease in property values
The vice-chair of the Community Board transportation committee, comittee to which the Kips Bay neighborhood petition was given, created a group claiming to represent our neighborhood. CB6 ignored the petition with 500 Kips Bay residents signatures and solicited the Department of Transportation to open the DOT “plaza,” claiming there was no community opposition. This was done in an underhanded way. The Seven CB6 committee chairs, none of whom live in Kips Bay, formed what they called the Kips Bay Neighborhood Alliance, with Ms. Hollister as “president”. This group is the Community Board; it DOES NOT represent the Kips Bay neighborhood. As only not for profits are eligible to request DOT plazas, this CB6 group claimed to be an independent not-for-profit, tax exempt group representing our neighborhood to DOT. The group was neither not-for-profit, nor tax exempt when petitioning DOT, had few if any Kips Bay residents as members, and did not perform community outreach as they claimed. This collusion between government groups to force their private agenda on local residents against local opposition runs counter to all that is beneficial for the welfare of our neighborhood.
DOT and CB6 have made no effort to address any of the neighborhood concerns and continue to be deceptive in their discussions with resident representatives. While DOT assures the community residents the “plaza” is only temporary, DOT/CB6 are moving forward with permanent plaza implementation without regard for KB petitions citing the safety and welfare concerns of the local residents.
BOYCOTT THE DOT /CB6 PLAZA at Second Avenue.
For these reasons, the residents and businesses of the Kips Bay neighborhood oppose the DOT “plaza” and respectfully suggest, AGAIN, alternatives:
- 35th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue on the south side of Vartan park which is often blocked off and underutilized.
- The broader development of the park between 35th and 38th streets to benefit the entire neighborhood.
- 28th street between First and Second Avenue and the mid-block streets connecting 27th to 28th streets. The latter have been closed to vehicle traffic previously, have a mature tree canopy for shade, but currently do not have amenities. The locations do not pose the severe complications to traffic patterns, building and store access, and safety that exist vis a vis the street closure at Second Avenue.
Sponsor
Kips Bay Neighborhood Association
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