Vote No on Ballot Proposals 1 & 3
Plus,Three Traffic Items Affecting SoHo/NoHo
 During this year’s voting, there are five proposed changes to the City Charter, the city’s constitution. Two are quite insidious: Proposals #1 and #3. They look like a routine government efficiency exercise. In fact, they will have very real consequences on how much say you will have on the future of your own street, our public spaces, and our neighborhood. Proposal #1 seems straightforward; make the government work faster. The question is: what checks on government are being removed to make it work faster? This proposal ostensibly seeks to speed up approval of roadway dining sheds and sidewalk cafes. However, in doing so, it will remove the current public-review process, as well as removing existing City Council checks on the placement of these private setups on public land.In other words, if passed, these proposals will take power away from us and our elected city councilmember, and hand it over to functionaries at the Department of Transportation, whose agenda might clash with yours. The system works well now; why change it to appease the restaurant lobby. Proposal #3 deals with street infrastructure, including placement of bus lanes, bike lanes, and so-called “Open Streets” (which are actually closed streets).The proposal would remove existing public input. The Open Streets aspect is particularly troubling and in 2008 SoHo served as the prime example of its potential for abuse.That was when the Department of Transportation tried to impose an “open” Prince Street on us.The agency announced that it was closing six blocks of Prince Street from Lafayette Street to West Broadway to cars in order to create a pedestrian mall. DOT representatives came to the community board to provide details.Well, the SoHo Alliance mobilized over 150 residents to attend that meeting and residents so vehemently opposed the venture that the Transportation Department backed off and moved their plan elsewhere.Guess where they set up the pedestrian mall instead of SoHo?Times Square!!Yes, that mass of tourists, hustlers, Elmos and Naked Cowboys would have been dumped on SoHo had we not intervened. We cannot hand over control of street projects to bureaucrats with an agenda.Vote NO on #3 and be sure to turn your ballot over in order to vote on these proposals. Proposal #2: Reduce City Contractor Paperwork: Yes. This is just a paperwork reduction bill. It will speed the process of contractor approval and thus save the city money. Proposal #4: Simplify Building Permitting: Yes. This proposal will streamline permitting at the Buildings Department, but does not remove any community input procedures Proposal #5: Contribution Targets for Rainy Day Fund: Yes. This merely allows the Mayor to set targets for saving city funds in the newly-created “Rainy Day Fund.” *********************Three Traffic Items That Affect SoHo/NoHoThis Wednesday, October 21 at 6:30pm, the Traffic & Transportation Committee of Community Board 2 will hold its monthly meeting, devoted to three items from the Department of Transportation that directly affect SoHo and NoHo.The first item is the chance for public input on the recent redesign of Lafayette Street from Prince Street to East 15th Street. We have been hearing from residents and small businesses that the new design has made traffic congestion and noise worse. This is your chance to comment.The second item is the DOT’s response to the community board on the agency’s proposal to install a two-way bike lane on narrow Grand Street. You can hear their response and voice your opinion.The third item involves Crosby Street but has major implications for the rest of SoHo/NoHo.It is a request from the Target store at Houston and Broadway to extend the hours of its designated loading zone on Crosby Street from the current 8:00am – 6:00pm until 8:00am – midnight, Monday through Saturday. This loading zone is directly across from people’s homes on Crosby Street.Needless to say, no one wants to have their sleep and quiet disturb by truck noise and sidewalk loading operations going on at midnight. However, the implications are that if Target gets its way, then other retailers in SoHo/NoHo will expect the same flexibility to unload their merchandise at these ungodly hours. That means it could happen on your block, in front of your home! If you would like to speak on any item at the meeting (either in person or via Zoom), please sign up to speak here. Register to join the Zoom meeting by clicking here. The meeting will be held at P.S. 130, 143 Baxter Street, between Grand and Hester Streets. PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS. Sincerely yours, Sean Sweeney Director SoHo Alliance A Volunteer Community Association PO Box 429 New York, NY 10012212-353-8466info@sohoalliance.orgsohoalliance.org |
