PHOTO BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
Very vocal outside VillageCare Union members from SEIU 1199 loudly picketed outside the VillageCare rehab facility on W. Houston St. on Wednesday. “No contract! No peace!” they shouted. The action was part of a larger effort over negotiations with the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Nursing Homes, affecting more than 100,000 employees. According to SEIU 1199, the workers previously had free healthcare and no co-pays. The league recently offered a contract with $250 monthly premiums, plus co-pays, but it has since pulled it off the table. The current contract expires July 15. Wednesday’s event — described as an “informational picketing, not a protest” — was a one-day-only action, with picketing at 100 healthcare facilities around the city. The action was intended “to keep the public informed,” a spokesperson said. Calls for comment from VillageCare were not returned by press time.
Lincoln Anderson
MEN HAVE NEEDS TOO.
and ‘expedited ULURP’ PIER 40, continued from p. 4
secret M.O.U. process that transpired? Madelyn Wils, the Trust’s president, kept publicly assuring everyone that the whole process would be governed by ULURP — even as the M.O.U. called for a G.P.P. The M.O.U. signed in December by E.S.D.C., the developer and the Hudson River Park Trust came as a total shock. It was also stunning to learn that such an action was done behind a curtain of secrecy. The Trust spent a lot of time assuring the community that nothing would be done without its consultation, and then, boom — they go and sign a deal with the state and the developer without telling anyone. That’s not O.K., and the M.O.U. ought to be officially revoked. Is the Trust ratcheting up fear excessively about Pier 40’s condition? A new engineering study the Trust commissioned, to be released soon, reportedly will say the pier could sink into the river in just two years TheVillager.com
from now. I’m not an engineer or a pier expert. But from the reports I’ve seen issued by the Trust, I have serious concerns about the condition of the pier, and believe it is in dire need for repairs in order to stay in use. What about the fact that Michael Novogratz, chairperson of Friends of Hudson River Park, is a principal in Fortress Investment Group, which is one of the three partners that co-own the St. John’s Center? Is it “self-dealing” that his company stands to handsomely profit off any development at the St. John’s site and will more than recoup their share of the $100 million spent buying air rights from Pier 40? We have to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest that exist as their project moves forward, and I take that very seriously.
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Interview by Lincoln Anderson June 19, 2014
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