Wyckoff Road Sorority Project

Absolutely contraindicated for a neighborhood with children.

The thought of having so many vehicles parked along that stretch of Wyckoff Road is frightening and could create a considerable hazard to drivers.

I agree with the petition that it is an inappropriate use of the lot and location at 520 Wyckoff Rd to be uses as a Sorority.

I totally agree with the petitioners. There is ample evidence of neighborhood deterioration in the Ithaca area when houses are allowed to be used inappropriately.

I "Disapprove" of the requested change of Certificate of Occupancy for 520 Wyckoff Rd (which would allow for a Sorority Residence) based on the following consensus that this is an inappropriate usage for the lot and the location. Thank you for respecting the current residents and their desire to keep their community from turning into a college atmosphere.

I agree, this property and this street are not an appropriate place for a sorority house.

Please disapprove the requested change, and show support for and understanding of the neighborhood concerns. Thank you.

I strongly agree with the position of the petitioners.

Please keep the Village serene. Thank you.

Cayuga Heights, Ithaca, NY

please this neighborhood quiet and peaceful for the older residents.thank you very much

please keep this neighborhood quiet and peaceful for the older residents. thank you very much.

my worst fear

I agree that it's inappropriate for a sorority to reside in a single family home in a mostly residential neighborhood.

I do not think this is appropriate use for a village residence, and will eventually lead to conflicts in the neighborhood.

I did not intend to donate any monies to this issue. A window popped up with $25 already highlighted then went to next window page as if I made a donation which I did not So don't ask me for it.

Before I took on my current temporary appointment as a Cornell Faculty-in-Residence living among freshmen on North Campus, I lived only a few minutes walk from 520 Wyckoff in the house in which we raised our children. My daily walk to the bus stop past this property was brightened by its beautiful appearance and well-maintained grounds. I could not say the same for the rental housing that I also passed on the same walk. There has always been student housing in Cayuga Heights and especially in the areas close to Cornell, but the balance between apartments in owner-occupied buildings and apartments in buildings owned by absentee landlords is, locally at least, shifting in the wrong direction. Renters understandably have little interest in maintaining the appearance of where they live, and Cornell undergraduates will pay remarkably high rents in shoddy apartments for convenience alone—as the father of a Cornell sorority member, I am painfully familiar with the economics of student housing. Along Wyckoff the rental apartments are noticeably less well maintained than the single-family residences or owner-occupied rentals—for instance at one property on Wyckoff that was converted to all apartments with an absentee landlord, attractive plantings were razed for parking spots. Sororities and fraternities typically do not have the resources to maintain their properties well and rarely have much motivation to be good neighbors. When students park on Cayuga Heights road for their parties at nearby fraternities, I have observed first-hand that the parkway and its trees are trampled and mailboxes toppled. At my North Campus residence, I am only a hundred feet from multiple Greek houses. The outdoor sorority gatherings in September with Christmas lights and music are tolerable only because as a Faculty-In-Residence I have chosen to embrace the undergraduate lifestyle—but if I this were happening down the street from my family home I would not be so understanding. Given

I support this petition!

Our friends live at 518 Wyckoff and another family dear to us across from 520 -- we have known the neighborhood for 2 decades as a quiet single-family residential area. Surely the presence of a sorority changes all that? I am sure the sorority would be best served in a neighborhood which serves the sorority need's better and they are welcomed .

This property and this street and not an appropriate site for a sorority chapter house.