As opposition grows among community members to the de Blasio administration’s proposed East Midtown Greenway, this memo details the strongest arguments in favor of changing course and building momentum against the bridge project at 54th Street. Topping the list of our concerns are public safety, disability access and the destruction of a neighborhood park as well as other legal issues that ought to derail the plan in its current form. With new estimates for apartment lead abatement requiring an additional $80 million, NYCHA asking for new funding, the MTA requesting an unbudgeted $60 million, streets and infrastructure crumbling, is this $100 million vanity project a prudent use of taxpayer funding? The answer is no.
Overview Mayor de Blasio has allocated $100 million to the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) for the development of the East Midtown Greenway, a 40-foot-wide roadway for pedestrians and bicycles over the East River from East 53rd to East 60th Street. As part of this project, the EDC has issued plans to erect a bridge at East 54th street in order to access the proposed seven-block extension of the Manhattan greenway.
Opposition to this project is growing and our voices will not be silenced. Over 900 members of the community have signed a petition opposing the EDC’s proposed bridge at East 54th Street, as it will abut a residential building immediately next to an active parking garage and an intersection of two major roadways to and from the FDR Drive. Public safety and other concerns must continue to be raised, while noting that the project serves as a hypocritical post-script to Mayor de Blasio’s legacy “Vision Zero” program.
We will continue to speak out and demand the administration answer basic questions about this misguided project. For example, construction equipment will have to be stored somewhere during the construction. Where will that be? If inside the park itself, that will take the park out of use for the duration of the project. If on the street, where? There are no budgets for maintenance, sanitation, policing, emergency services or other related costs. But they are not the purview of the EDC, nor are they included in the $100 million taxpayer-funded budget Public Safety Risks For Pedestrians And Bikers.
In 2017, there were more than 450,000 daily bike trips in New York City, up from 170,000 in 2005, an increase that has surpassed both population and employment growth. With bicycle usage increasing at a rapid pace citywide, the creation of a new 40-foot-wid roadway for pedestrians and bicycles over the East River from East 53rd to East 60th Street will generate new traffic and safety problems for the local community, for which the city has done nothing to prepare. Where’s the plan to deal with this? Given the number of retirees
who live in the community, this plan presents risks that threaten the lives of hundreds of residents as well as the bicyclists who are unfamiliar with the area. This plan makes a
mockery of the Mayor’s Vision Zero program, which is designed to reduce traffic accidents and fatalities. Disability Access, Quality Of Life And Public Security Risks
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against disabled people under any program or activity that receives federal financial assistance. The ADA prohibits intentional discrimination as well as disparate outcome discrimination against disabled persons. Since the Clara Coffey Park is the only ADA-compliant park in the neighborhood,
destruction to portions of the park would have a disparate impact on disabled individuals in violation of the ADA. For disabled residents and those who are mobility-impaired, creating
an unusable bridge and destroying a popular park deal a significant blow to the quality of life for many in the community. This cannot go unaddressed.
Destruction Of A Popular Park The existing plan will decimate a beloved park used by the elderly, disabled and young children. Furthermore, any proposed actions by the EDC to add landscaping at the bridge’s entrance on 54th Street could not replicate the current park with its benches facing away from the street, most with river views, its five mature shade trees, plants, and enclosed gardens with flowers and shrubbery, currently maintained by the community. It is irresponsible, harmful to the neighborhood and bad for the city. Destroying a beloved city park is a public relations problem for the mayor and we will not allow it.
Support Our Opposition Cannon Point Preservation Corp, a not-for-profit corporation, was formed to fight this project. It represents over 2,000 neighborhood residents. You can help support our fight through your personal, tax deductible contribution via:
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CPPC C/O Ms. Donna Chin, Douglas Elliman Property Management,
675 3rd Avenue, 6th Floor,
New York NY 10017
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