On the night of Dec. 3, after a grand jury failed to press charges against Officer Daniel Pantaleo in Eric Garner’s death, a protester held a sign with the words that Garner repeated over and over again before he died while being arrested.
PHOTO BY DONNA ACETO
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Secret plans and meetings To The Editor: Re “Pier55 and public process in Hudson River Park” (editorial, Dec. 4): While Mr. Diller and Ms. von Furstenberg’s generosity is certainly appreciated, what would be more appreciated would be real leadership from the Hudson River Park Trust, which has ignored its duty to finish and maintain the Hudson River Park. In 2012 the Trust reported to New York State
IRA BLUTREICH
Let’s give “peace” a chance. 10
December 11, 2014
that the capital budget to finish the Hudson River Park was $266 million, with $67 million of that amount needed to complete Pier 54. With secret plans, secret meetings and a failure to either finish or maintain the park, the Trust has abandoned all pretense of serving the public. Douglas Durst
Fantasy island vs. reality To The Editor: Re “Pier55 and public process in Hudson River Park” (editorial, Dec. 4): “Many neighbors and park activists will cry...?” Or, said differently, those of us who have donated decades of unpaid labor to improve our parks will ask, ever so politely, if the public will have any real say over how public money is spent — not just a chance to vent uselessly. “The city will kick in an additional $17 million… . Utilizing $18 million in state funds… .” That’s $35 million — not to mention future maintenance after that 20-year grace period, along with a host of unknowable expenses. The real problem with a fantasy island concept is that it in no way represents a scientifically verifiable best use of anyone’s money toward mitigating our very real, very impending climate-crisis impacts. And I’m not talking about saving the fish or the turtles — much as that issue is dear to me. I’m talking about the reality of what our city will be facing if we don’t create a regionally holistic, climate-proactive shoreline plan for the next 30 years. This gift was, I believe, well intentioned. But the very rich are not known for their expertise in mundane reality. Nero and Marie Antoinette LETTERS, continued on p. 13
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