Construction, Preservation and the Mystery of a Missing Dock for community board applications, which is 5 p.m. on Fri., Jan. 30. Brewer wants to encourage 16- and 17-year-olds to serve on the community boards. Howard said that the City Council will soon hear a piece of legislation proposing term limits for community board service, elected for any role in 2016 or after. Brewer is against the legislation, said Howard. On Sun., Feb. 8 at 1:30 p.m. Brewer will give her State of the Borough address at Columbia University’s Lerner Hall.
Continued from page 6 up in the public session. The nonprofit is staffed by volunteers and funded through donations, she explained, and helped 20,000 people kayak for free last year. Last October, the 20 by 20 ft. plastic dock was stolen, and they have been working with NYPD, the Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers. Petersen said that she needed the community’s help. “With no dock, we have no program,” she said. To donate or for more information, go to manhattancommunityboathouse.org. Olga Statz of Save St. Vincent de Paul, a church at 123 W. 23rd St., gave an update, as the group has been fighting to conserve it since 2007. She said that they have tried several options, including going to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which won’t put it on their calendar. However, she said, the community and CB4 have been very supportive. Recently a light appeared at the end of the tunnel, and the case has been taken to the Holy See at the Vatican. “It’s the only court system that’s giving us a shot at this point,” she said. There is now a chance that the church will not be knocked down. Sonia Turner, a longtime Chelsea resident who lives at W. 23rd St. and Seventh Ave., talked about garbage piling up in the streets — an issue that she says is not new. The trash pileup was all the more striking after going to an event in the West Village, which seemed “pristine.” She wanted to know if there was any way to raise money to keep the neighborhood clean. Carla Nordstrom, of the West 25th Street Project, talked about construction on her block and wanted to bring it to the board’s attention. There is a construction fence and temporary walkway in front of 119 W. 25th St., which takes up the sidewalk and two lanes of the street. “As many of you are aware, our situation on West 25th Street is fragile. The structure prevents line-of-sight…There are safety concerns because the sidewalk is not available to pedestrians.” She said that it will be in place until late 2015, or early 2016. There is also construction across the street, at 112 W. 25th St. She asked that the board look into the situation. Chairperson Christine Berthet spoke about the
PIER 55
Photo by Scott Stiffler
Concerned that “conveyances of the development rights to a proposed hotel would be detrimental to the public welfare.” CB4 recommended the denial of a variance application for 124 W. 24th St.
attack on the offices of the French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo, which happened the same day as the full board meeting. “I am personally invested in the cold-blooded assassination of 12 journalists who were shot at Charlie Hebdo today,” she said. She has read the magazine, which she said prided itself on using humor to illustrate our society’s pitfalls and took controversial topics head on. “Freedom of expression is crucial even if it is uncomfortable,” she said. “We should all be proud to do our small part by serving on the community board where everyone is always invited to speak his mind.”
CB4 MEMBER APPLICATION DEADLINE: JAN. 30 Diana Howard, from Borough President Gale Brewer office’s reminded everyone of the deadline
CB4 wrote two letters about the proposed Pier 55 at the Hudson River Park funded by Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg, who have donated over $100 million to build “a world-class public park and performance space.” The first letter was addressed to Madelyn Wils, president of the Hudson River Park. While Pier 55 is just south of CB4’s district, in Community Board 2, the board is concerned that it will be affected. There are two main concerns: traffic in and around Pier 55, as well as noise, the letter stated. The second letter was to elected officials about the lack of “public involvement throughout the planning process” of Pier 55. The second issue was the community’s need for green space. The board wrote that it is “also concerned about the inequity among green spaces throughout our city. [CB4] is known for fighting for affordable housing within our district that includes a mix of income bands, equal fixtures and availability throughout a development. In that same spirit, [CB4] believes parks in less affluent areas deserve improvements.” CB4 serves Manhattan’s West Side neighborhoods of Chelsea and Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen. Its boundaries are 14th St. on the south, 59/60th St. on the north, the Hudson River on the west, 6th Ave. on the east (south of 26th St.) and 8th Ave. on the east (north of 26th St.). The monthly full board meeting, open to the public, takes place on the first Wed. of the month. The next meeting is Feb. 4, 6:30 p.m., at Roosevelt Hospital (2nd Fl. Conf. Rm. B, 1000 Tenth Ave. at 51st St.). Call212-736-4536, visit nyc.gov/mcb4 or email them at info@manhattancb4.org.
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January 15 - 28, 2014
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