LETTERS & RESOLUTIONS

March 2003

From Business License & Permits Committee
Item 1: Letter to NYSLA, re: 10th Avenue Hospitality Group LLC, 289 10th Avenue (26th/27th)

From Chelsea Preservation & Planning Committee
Item 2: West Chelsea North - Preliminary Planning Report

From Clinton Land Use & Zoning Committee
Item 3: Letter to DCP, re: DCP's "Preferred Direction" for Hell's Kitchen/Hudson Yards
Item 4: Letter to DCP, re: Central Parking Systems, 485 Tenth Av. (at 37th St.) - Appl. N 020685 ZAM

From Clinton Land Use & Zoning Committee & Waterfront & Parks Committee
Item 5: Proposed Converter Station on 12th Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets

From 14th Street Area Committee
Item 6: Letter to DCP, re: West 14th Street Rezoning

From Transportation Planning Committee
Item 7: Street Activity Permit: Mare, 198 8th Avenue (b. 19th/20th)
Item 8: Street Activity Permit: Trois Canards, Ltd., d/b/a Tello's, 263 West 19th Street
Item 9: Street Activity Permit: West 46th Street (b. Broadway/9th)
Item 10: Street Activity Permit: Ninth Avenue (b. 56th/57th)
Item 11: Street Activity Permit: West 39th Street (b. 9th/10th)

New Business
Item 12: Eighth Avenue Bicycle Lane

From Executive Committee
Item 13: Statement on the Preliminary Budget, Fiscal Year 2004

New Business
Item 14: Planned Subway Station Booth Closings

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Item 1: Letter to NYSLA, re: 10th Avenue Hospitality Group LLC, 289 10th Avenue (26th/27th)

March 7, 2003

Hon. Edward Kelly, Commissioner
New York State Liquor Authority
84 Holland Avenue, 2nd Floor, A Wing
Albany, New York 12208

Dear Chair Kelly:

At its February 11th meeting, the Business Licenses & Permits Committee of Manhattan Community Board No. 4 voted to recommend approval of an on-premises liquor license for 10th Avenue Hospitality Group, d/b/a TBD, at 289 Tenth Avenue (between 26th and 27th Streets). The venue will have an occupancy of 499 and will be seeking a cabaret license in the near future.

This approval is predicated on the applicant complying with the following conditions which they have volunteered to implement.

1. Applicant will in every respect implement the sound-proofing plan for the premises as submitted by Acoustilog (dated 1/28/03).
2. Applicant will in every respect implement the security plan submitted by Forensic Investigative Associates USA Inc. that was presented to the committee.
3. Applicant will use indoor space for queuing patrons waiting to enter the premises, as promised to the committee.
4. Applicant will not allow car, cab, and limo queuing or double and triple parking on Tenth Avenue, as promised to the committee.
5. Applicant agrees to attend the Quality of Life Committee meeting one month before opening and for six months after opening and to resolve problems that arise from the operation of the club in a timely and effective fashion.
6. Applicant agrees not to use roof terrace for patron use.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Simone Sindin
Chair Manhattan Community Board No. 4

Kevin Kossi & Cheryl Kupper
Co-Chairs
Business Licenses & Permits Committee

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Item 2: West Chelsea North - Preliminary Planning Report

1. Preface

This Community Planning Report for West Chelsea North was prepared by the Chelsea Preservation and Planning Committee of Manhattan Community Board No. 4 and was adopted by the Community Board at its regular meeting on March 5, 2003.

This document is the first completed installment of a planning effort for the western part of the Chelsea community of the Board that is currently zoned for manufacturing. These blocks are largely located between Tenth Avenue and the Hudson River, although in the south the area extends in places to an irregular boundary east of Tenth Avenue. None of the area was covered by the original Chelsea 197-a Plan.

The northern area covered by this report is bounded on the north by the Long Island Rail Road yards just north of 30th Street and on the south by 24th Street, which is the north boundary of the West Chelsea Mixed-Use District mapped by City Planning in the 23rd Street corridor when it implemented the Chelsea Plan. Tenth Avenue is the eastern boundary. The Committee is currently preparing to complete its planning work in West Chelsea with a report for the southern blocks located between the 23rd Street corridor on the north and the south boundary of the Board at 14th Street.

This report sets out the community's view of what good planning for West Chelsea North would entail. It sets out the goals and objectives that a plan for the area should seek to achieve and the general parameters that should guide such a plan. It does not propose any specific new zoning for the area, but describes the general size, shape, and uses the Board believes appropriate for buildings in various subareas for attaining these goals

2. West Chelsea North: 24th Street to 30th Street, West of 10th Avenue

West Chelsea North Study Areas:

• Area 1: The West Side of 10th Avenue

• Area 2: Midblocks, between 10th and 11th avenues

• Area 3: East side of 11th Avenue to the West Side Highway

Current Zoning and Major Features(map excluded)
Study Areas (map excluded)

3. Goals and Objectives

Neighborhood Character

• Preserve the established neighborhood character, scale, and building stock, while supporting development and change that lessen the impact on the existing diversity of uses.
• Ensure that any future plan will include design controls that reflect the historic industrial character of the neighborhood.
• Create a welcoming, well-used public realm including safe streets and well-designed, public open spaces that all people can enjoy.
• Maximize the physical and visual openness between the area and the residential community to the east, and the Hudson River and the park to the west.

Uses

• Promote a diversity of uses that are consistent with the character of the neighborhood, especially those that generate employment and contribute to the tax base.
• Retain and promote the art community, including arts production, as well as art-related and similar light industrial uses; preserve and expand the existing service base supporting the arts community and midtown businesses.
• Promote residential use as an important but not dominant use consistent with current and future non-residential uses; promote diverse residential types including mixed-income housing.
• Promote housing for all income levels, including low, moderate and middle incomes; provide that changes in zoning to facilitate residential use at any bulk greater than the dominant existing FAR of 5 be accompanied by effective provisions for affordable housing.
• Discourage stores greater than 10,000 sq. ft., large-scale clubs with occupancy greater than 250, adult venues and other uses incompatible with, or disruptive of, these goals.

Buildings and Development

• Retain buildings that are historic, have character or recall the past industrial/factory/transportation character of the community; provide design mechanisms to minimize large featureless buildings.
• Promote the preservation and creation of green public spaces.
• Guide developers to build buildings that conform with these goals

4. Preservation of Significant Buildings and Structures

A primary goal of the West Chelsea Plan is the preservation of existing community character. Significant buildings and built-up streetscapes form an important part of that character. A number of buildings in the area are of historical or architectural importance, including the already landmarked Starrett Lehigh Building and the nearby Terminal Stores Warehouse directly to the north and the former Otis Elevator Building on the east side of 11th Avenue. These enrich the experience of the area through their quality and their recall of its past as an industrial waterfront.

Rezoning and development in the area threaten the loss of such buildings through demolition or unsympathetic alterations. Some years ago the Community Board, fearing the loss of important historic resources, proposed establishment of a historic district including the buildings mentioned and possibly extending eastward toward 10th Avenue. The core of this district would be the warehouses served by the float transfer bridges of which portions remain along the waterfront between 25th and 29th streets. The study conducted last year by the Columbia University School of Architecture, Urban Planning, and Historic Preservation made similar proposals, singling out in addition a number of individual buildings and structures for preservation.

The Board believes that the proposals of this study and the research done to support them should be taken as a starting point for future action toward designation by the Landmarks Preservation Commission or recognition by the State Historic Preservation Office. These proposals should also be taken into account in shaping rezoning proposals for the area to avoid actions that would encourage demolition or inappropriate remodeling of significant historic structures.

5. Area 1 - The West Side of 10th Avenue

Area 1 is zoned M1-5 and is a mix of small commercial buildings, gas station and car repair businesses, art galleries, restaurants and small residential buildings, with a single large loft building between 25th and 26th streets. The High Line is an important presence on its western border. The east side of 10th Avenue includes small residential buildings with ground floor commercial between 24th and 25th streets, and the Elliott Chelsea houses, Chelsea Park and two blocks of large Post Office buildings north of 25th Street. Although the east side of 10th Avenue is not open for review, it must be taken into consideration to avoid inappropriate contrasts of scale or character within the avenue corridor.

Proposed Uses and Bulk

Uses. This should be a mixed-use area with manufacturing/residential uses. Residential uses should be required above the first two/three floors.

Height and Bulk. The bulk should be consistent with the bulk on the east side of the avenue. North of 25th Street the FAR and height limit should reflect those of the loft building at 10th and 25th and the Elliott Chelsea Houses on the east side of 10th Avenue, approximately 12 residential floors or 120 feet. Between 24th and 25th streets the FAR and height limit should reflect the smaller buildings on the east side of this block of 10th Avenue, at most approximately seven residential floors or 70 feet. Manufacturing floors should have appropriately high ceiling heights throughout the area. Setbacks should be required between 50 and 65 feet.

This zoning would encourage small-scale manufacturing, artisanal production, and commercial uses on the floors below or adjacent to the High Line. Art galleries, already present along the avenue, would also fit in such an ambiance. Shops, cafes, and craft production and sales adjacent to the High Line would enhance its character and attractiveness. These proposals assume the retention of the High Line. If the High Line is not redeveloped as a promenade, the zoning here would have to be revisited.

Residential uses on the upper floors would reflect and reinforce the largely residential character of 10th Avenue. The proposed bulk on this avenue, which is built up to varying scales, would have a fuller justification if provisions were included to make some mixed-income housing feasible. Uses incompatible with the ambience of the High Line or the residential floors above should be excluded.

6. Area 2 - Midblocks, between 10th and 11th avenues

The midblocks of Area 2 are zoned M1-5 and are composed of a rich mixture of commercial and manufacturing buildings ranging from small to very large, and open areas used for parking lots, building material storage and recycling. The High Line cuts off the midblocks from the eastern block ends along 10th Avenue. The area consists of two distinct sub-areas, the southern portion between 24th and 27th streets and the northern portion between 27th and 30th streets.

Area 2S - 24th Street to 27th Street

Area 2S is largely built up with gallery, commercial, and manufacturing buildings ranging in size from small to large. The block between 25th and 26th streets is especially heavily built up, and the adjacent streets form streetscapes of real character. Buildings of quality and interest such as the two former garage buildings on the north side of 26th Street contribute to these streetscapes and are prime candidates for inclusion in a historic district.

Proposed Uses and Bulk

Uses. The current manufacturing zoning should be retained in this area. Uses incompatible with the character of West Chelsea as a whole should be excluded.

Height and Bulk. In order to preserve the present scale and character of the area the existing bulk of 5 FAR should be retained with a height limit of approximately 70 feet and a requirement for respecting the streetwall. Within 50 feet of the High Line the first two/three floors should have high ceiling heights.

Zoning based on these principles would encourage retention of existing uses such as the arts uses strongly represented on some blocks. It also would reduce the immediate pressure to convert or replace buildings, thus preserving community character. The relatively few soft sites could be redeveloped only with appropriate scale and uses and on condition of respecting the streetwall. The zoning would further promote diversity of use and scale if financing could be found such as that for light industrial uses on sites within Empire Zone equivalent areas like this one.

Area 2N - 27th Street to 30th Street.

Area 2N consists largely of small and medium size buildings and a great deal of open space. Uses include a large scrap metal yard and two building supply yards, each with small buildings, and a number of parking lots. 29th Street is largely built up at a low scale. The south side is an especially rich and attractive mixture of small-scale uses including galleries; the north has several handsome larger buildings. There are a number of varied residential uses on the block.

Proposed Uses and Bulk

Uses. Mixed-use manufacturing/residential zoning should be mapped in this area with residential allowed but not required above the second floor.

Height and Bulk. The bulk should be the same as in Area 2S to the south, approximately 70 feet with the requirement of respecting the streetwall up to at least 60 feet. Within 50 feet of the High Line the first two/three floors should have high ceiling heights. This bulk is consistent with the significant buildings in the area and is designed to produce an area of traditional low scale throughout the midblocks in West Chelsea.

Mixed-use zoning at this scale would encourage retention of the significant buildings in the area and would favor development of the many soft sites as artists' housing and various types of live/work situations, and would permit expansion of galleries and appropriate types of artisanal production in a sympathetic environment. This could work toward establishing a 24-hour community with lively streets.

7. Area 3 - From 100 feet east of 11th Avenue to the West Side Highway

Area 3 is zoned M1-5, with a small M1-6 zone in the northwestern corner. It consists of two distinct sub-areas, the southern portion between 24th and 27th streets and the northern portion between 27th and 30th streets.

Area 3S - 24th Street to 27th Street.

Area 3S is occupied by large buildings that are unlikely to be replaced in the foreseeable future, a one story gallery building and a parking lot. The Post Office and Sanitation Department vehicle maintenance facilities, the Starrett Lehigh building and the eight-story warehouse between them are unlikely candidates for conversion. On the east side the eleven-story former Royal Paper building at 25th Street, which houses approximately a dozen galleries, and the seven-story former Otis Elevator building between 26th and 27th streets seem to be stable now but could be candidates for residential conversion in the long run. The parking lot between 25th and 26th streets is ripe for development, and if the environment changes the low gallery building at 24th Street might be as well.

Proposed Uses and Bulk

Uses. The current manufacturing zoning should be retained

Height and Bulk. Allowable bulk should be somewhat greater but with a height cap of eight full commercial floors or 120 feet. No setbacks should be required. This is consistent with the height and shape of the nearby significant buildings.

Area 3N - 27th Street to 30th Street.

Area 3N consists of the Terminal Stores and Dezer buildings between 27th and 28th streets, a handsome large warehouse on the east side of 11th Avenue between 29th and 30th streets, and low buildings, including a gallery, storage yards and parking lots elsewhere. Because of its relatively sparse development and its proximity to the Hudson Rail Yards, this portion will be put under intense pressure by the development of the yards.

The Terminal Stores Warehouse on the west side of the avenue is a multiuse building. In the long term, as the Hudson River Park is finished and the Hudson Rail Yards develop, some of its commercial space may be replaced with residential, especially above the large ground-floor interior passageway that offers interesting possibilities for reuse. Across the avenue, the Dezer building is a likely candidate for demolition or development.

The block between 28th and 29th streets is occupied on the west side by Con Ed support uses. With the defeat of the 6th Avenue & 24th Street substation it is possible that one may eventually be built here.

Proposed Uses and Bulk

Uses. This should be an area of mixed-use manufacturing/residential zoning with residential allowed but not required above the second floor.

Height and Bulk. The bulk should be the same as the area to the south, 120 feet, approximately 12 residential floors or eight full commercial floors with no mandated setbacks, consistent with the buildings to the south. The manufacturing floors should have appropriately high ceiling heights.

The Board believes that residential uses should be allowed in this area and that creating new structures for other uses in prime space along the Manhattan waterfront, unless they are water-dependent, is in most cases not the highest or best use. The Board believes that although the western ends of these blocks are on the West Side Highway, the fact that they also are close to the river and the park means that, despite traffic and noise, they could be attractive sites for residential development. Even if the west end of these blocks might be devoted to largely residential buildings, much of the rest of a block could be used for non-residential uses, perhaps even those now present or planned on the block. The proposed scale suggests again that portions of the area might be suitable for mixed-income housing.

This zoning reinforces the mixed-use district proposed directly to the east by continuing it to the river. The provisions for the lower floors would encourage use by art galleries, other businesses, and light manufacturing on loft-style lower floors. This combination of uses offers the hope of a 24-hour community with lively streets connecting the Hudson River Park to the largely residential areas to the east and might work out to be a possible model for waterfront development.

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Item 3: Letter to DCP, re: DCP's "Preferred Direction" for Hell's Kitchen/Hudson Yards

March 24, 2003

Amanda M. Burden
Director

Vishaan Chakrabarti
Director, Manhattan Office

Department of City Planning
22 Reade Street
New York, New York 10007

Dear Directors Burden and Chakrabarti:

Thank you for your public presentations of The Department of City Planning's "Preferred Direction" for Hell's Kitchen/Hudson Yards on February 10, 2003 at the Javits Center, and on February 20, 2003 at Metro Baptist Church at the meeting organized by Housing Conservation Coordinators, Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood Association, Clinton Housing Developing Company and this Board.

We are grateful for the time you have taken to involve our community in substantive planning discussions while your plans are still being developed, and we are pleased to see that many of the goals and recommendations of this Board's Preliminary Response dated August 7, 2002 (the "August Letter") are reflected in the Preferred Direction (the .pdf file dated February 10, 2003 and captioned "Preferred Plan" that was displayed at the public presentations).

While we await the design and financial presentations and the zoning proposal you have indicated you will be making in the coming months, we want to provide you with a response to some of the elements reflected in the Preferred Direction. This response is based on our review of the Preferred Direction and the comments made by members of the community at the two public presentations.

All of the Board's recommendations of the August Letter remain valid. Our comments and recommendations concerning the Preferred Direction, which are generally organized following the categories used in DCP's presentations, are as follows:

OVERALL COMMENTS

• Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Process - The community must be involved early in the EIS scoping process, be an invited partner in the scoping sessions of the EIS, and have impact in recommending the alternatives studied.

• Affordable Housing - A partnership with government agencies must be developed to devise and implement affordable housing strategies as an integral part of this plan. Zoning requirements, production mechanisms, identification of publicly owned sites, multi-year City and State targeted budgeted appropriations and other opportunities must be reflected in a written affordable housing plan that is an integral part of the overall plan.

• Public Infrastructure - There is a broad public concern about how the public infrastructure called for by the Preferred Direction will be financed. That infrastructure must include, in addition to the elements specifically identified in the Preferred Direction, utilities, sanitation, enforcement, security, schools and all the other services required for a viable and livable community. Financing should not isolate the area within the City's revenue structure, nor cede authority over the area to the Empire State Development Corporation or any similar authority.

NEW ZONING FOR APPROPRIATE DENSITIES AND USES

Many elements of the Preferred Direction's initial zoning proposal are consistent with the August Letter; however, the Board notes the key items below which must now be addressed in the details of the plan:

Proposed Special Zoning District

• Identity and nomenclature - DCP has recognized that the area is composed of mixed districts. The nomenclature should reflect those diverse identities. The Board seeks to reconcile the historic identity of Hell's Kitchen - a recognizable name long associated with the City of New York - and Hudson Yards - a descriptive but placeless term in City nomenclature. So, in an effort to bridge the 19th century to the 21st, the Board requests that any special zoning district be named the "Special Hell's Kitchen / Hudson Yards District."

• Preservation of existing residential buildings and protection of existing residents - The Special Clinton District regulations concerning alteration or demolition of residential buildings in the Preservation Area (ZR, Sec. 96) needs to be incorporated or referenced in the proposed special district text.

• Building form and design guidelines - Use design guidelines to ensure that new development responds to the diverse building forms and needs in the area, e.g. sky exposure planes between Eighth and Ninth Avenues that are in keeping with the loft building context instead of tower forms; high environmental standards and sustainable practices. In particular, the community would welcome an aggressive green-roof and sustainable design, and energy conservation initiative.

• Height limits - Establish height limits from Ninth Avenue to Tenth Avenue to control height and manage possible transfers of development rights and to avoid tower forms inconsistent with the proposed and existing neighborhood context of each sub-area.

• Protection of the Special Clinton District - We have previously expressed our concern to you about development in the Preservation Area of the Special Clinton District that is out of scale with the existing urban context and a threat to the integrity of the Special Clinton District, and requested a zoning text amendment to clarify and restrict building heights on avenues within the Preservation Area (see our letter to you dated January 9, 2003, and your reply dated February 4, 2003). The planning activity associated with the Preferred Direction will only increase the development pressure on the Special Clinton District. Protection of the Special Clinton District must be an immediate priority.

Ninth Avenue Corridor

• Main Street - The Preferred Direction recognizes the Ninth Avenue Corridor as the area's Main Street, which is consistent with the Board's recommendations. The other recommendations of the August Letter concerning the Ninth Avenue Corridor remain valid.

• Mixed uses - Zone to encourage real mixed-use east of Ninth Avenue, with residential uses preferred closer to Ninth Avenue, and mixed use commercial and garment production uses preferred closer to Eighth Avenue.

Tenth Avenue Corridor

• Residential corridor - The Board agrees with the Preferred Direction, which establishes much of Tenth Avenue corridor as a residential district, as recommended in the August Letter. Zone the block frontage on the western side of Tenth Avenue between 35th and 36th Streets for residential use to complete the corridor and tie into the residential uses to the east in the South Hell's Kitchen core neighborhood.

• Contextual zoning - Map a contextual district along Tenth Avenue. The built character of this new residential corridor should be mid-rise and with high lot coverage and be bracketed by tower forms at the southern end on 34th Street and at the northern end from 40th to 42nd Streets.

34th and 42nd Street Corridors

• Residential uses - Reinforce residential uses in both of these corridors from Ninth Avenue to Tenth Avenue. Key development sites along 42nd Street - especially those at the two southern corners at Ninth Avenue, and the southeast corner at Tenth Avenue - should be redeveloped as residential to reinforce residential connections to the north and south of 42nd Street. Likewise, new development on 34th street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, should be restricted to residential use. The introduction of new commercial office development in these crucial areas would severely undermine the strengths of the existing residential communities.

• Bulk limitation - Limit allowable bulk of new development to 10 FAR, bonusable to 12 FAR.

Eleventh Avenue

• Bulk limitation and redistribution - While zoning to allow for high-rise, dense commercial buildings is appropriate in the Eleventh Avenue corridor, allowable bulk of new development should be limited to 10 FAR, bonusable to 12 FAR; shift the additional density proposed in the Preferred Direction from this corridor south to the Rail Yards.

28th to 30th Street

The Board adopted at its meeting on March 5th a Preliminary Planning Report for West Chelsea North between 24th and 30th Streets. This report develops and refines the concepts concerning this area in the August Letter. The following paragraphs are based on proposals in this report as they are applicable in response to the Preferred Direction.

• Proposed Special District - Most of West Chelsea south of 30th Street should be included in a special zoning district with provisions similar to those of the special district proposed for Hells Kitchen/Hudson Yards. Include similar regulations concerning alteration or demolition of existing residential buildings. Establish appropriate design guidelines including building form, streetwall, setbacks, and building height.

• Provisions special to the area - To support the art gallery district and maintain area diversity frame provisions for mixed-use buildings with arts and artisanal manufacturing uses on the lower floors. Protect significant existing buildings. Prohibit incompatible and limit undesirable uses.

• Affordable housing - Provisions to support affordable and mixed-income housing should be put in place in areas where allowable bulk is significantly increased in order to encourage residential development.

• Tenth Avenue corridor - Development on the west side of Tenth Avenue should be residential above one floor level above the High Line and light manufacturing/commercial on the floors below. These floors on both sides of the High Line should have appropriately high floor heights. In this portion of the corridor establish a maximum height of 120 feet with setbacks reflecting the lower heights of the existing tenements.

• Midblocks between the High Line and Eleventh Avenue - The bulk proposed by City Planning here is too great to represent a real transition to Chelsea. The area to be zoned for loft-style buildings should be extended to the southern limit of the underdeveloped area at 27th Street. Distributing the bulk more widely would allow lowering the height to close to 70 feet and applying provisions to encourage retention of significant buildings. Permitted uses should be light manufacturing and commercial with residential uses also allowed on the upper floors.

• From the Eleventh Avenue corridor to the river - Residential uses should be allowed in the upper floors of buildings throughout the area, with light manufacturing/commercial uses on the lower floors. Establish a maximum height of 120 feet with no setbacks to reflect the historic industrial context.

• Special blocks - In the western blocks north of 27th Street allowing residential uses west as well as east of Eleventh Avenue would be especially appropriate if there were no stadium. It would support the Hudson River Park. Allowing residential uses here would help enable residential bulk elsewhere to be brought into more appropriate scale. Excess bulk allowances should not lead to destroying existing diversity such as that on 29th Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues.

Sidewalk Widening

• Comprehensive sidewalk widening should be limited to Eleventh Avenue and the Rail Yards area.

PUBLIC BUILDINGS

Jacob Javits Convention Center

• Expansion - To keep the Javits Center nationally competitive, expansion of the convention center both to the north and to the south is acceptable, so long as both 34th Street and 39th Street remain public streets open to the sky.

• Truck Parking - Provide off-street loading areas for all trucks.

• Eleventh Avenue frontage - Redesign the Eleventh Avenue frontage to include a street wall, amenities and activities that will enliven the pedestrian environment.

• Twelfth Avenue frontage - Redesign the Twelfth Avenue frontage so that it becomes a better neighbor to Hudson River Park.

• 39th Street pedestrian corridor - While the Board is not opposed to a north expansion of the Javits Convention Center, 39th Street should remain mapped as a street open to the sky. The pedestrian corridor proposed in the Preferred Direction may allow pedestrian access to the river at 39th Street, but does not provide adequate street access to Hudson River Park and the 39th street Ferry Terminal. To allow the convention center to expand to an uninterrupted eight blocks along Eleventh Avenue creates a physical and visual barrier between the neighborhood and the waterfront, which defies sound urban design principles.

Rail Yards Development

• Stadium - Whatever its name, the proposed stadium defies sound planning principles and is incompatible with responsible development in the area. Simply put, this Board believes a permanent stadium is bad for a good West Side. The back-up site in Queens proposed by NYC 2012 is a better location for a new permanent Olympic stadium. EDC should also explore the option of a temporary stadium structure at the western Rail Yards site.

• Bulk redistribution -The Rail Yards sites provide opportunities to shift density away from sensitive areas such as the Tenth Avenue and Eleventh Avenue corridors, and could effectively be used for a mix of uses: south expansion of the convention center between 30th and 34th streets, Eleventh to Twelfth avenues, as well as new high density office and/or residential buildings, hotels and community uses. The proximity to regional transportation at the new Penn Station and the proposed subway stop at 33rd and 11th Avenue, make the Rail Yards sites between 30th and 34th Streets a more feasible extension of the Midtown Central Business District.

Transit Center

• Location - The location on 11th between 33rd and 34th Streets is appropriate.

• Density absorber - The space above the transit center should be used to absorb some of the commercial density proposed for the Eleventh Avenue corridor.

• Pedestrian access - Provide below-grade pedestrian access from the transit center to development on Rail Yards sites.

Madison Square Garden

• Existing site - The site of the existing MSG would be better used for high-density office development, which would be consistent with uses and scale in the surrounding area as well as with its direct access to the existing mass transit network.

• Relocation site - The Rail Yards site on the western frontage of Ninth Avenue opposite the Farley Building/New Penn Station provides the most appropriate relocation site for MSG; development here should not be higher than 200 feet to provide for an appropriate transition between the scales of Ninth Avenue to the north and south.

OPEN SPACE NETWORK

New Open Space

The Preferred Direction displays an impressive and welcomed amount and variety of open space. DCP and its planners are to be commended for recognizing the importance of open space to the area's future, and for creative use of open space to address some of the area's existing and future challenges.

• Roadway median spaces - The new boulevard's median green spaces (over the Amtrak cut) should be designed as urban squares with diverse uses that are complementary with surrounding uses and community activities.

• Park Block 675 - The proposed new park covering the entire block between 29th and 30th and Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues should provide for active recreation serving the enlarged residential areas to the north and south. The Board requests clarification of possible underground parking or other uses, particularly as they may affect the design or character of the park.

• Pier 76 - Transferring the tow pound off Pier 76 will enable the planning of the park half of the pier to proceed ahead of schedule. The Board requests the opportunity to review and comment on possible commercial uses proposed for the balance of the pier. In addition, the City should establish a design process that includes community participation.

• Mapping of parkland - Map all proposed open spaces as public parkland as a companion action to the ULURP for rezoning in order to define boundaries clearly and to prevent unplanned development from interfering with DCP's open space plans.

• Immediate actions - Take various actions to secure and demonstrate the Administration's commitment to neighborhood open space:

  1. Plant street trees during Fall 2003. In addition to expediting existing requests for street trees, the Board recommends planting in the following locations:

  • Ninth Avenue, between 35th to 42nd Streets
  • 35th to 40th Streets, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues
  • 35th to 42nd Streets, between Ninth Avenue and 150 feet east of Ninth Avenue
  • 34th Street, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues

   

  2. Use DPR's Greenstreets Program to provide open space improvements to Dyer Avenue between 34th to 36th Streets. To implement the neighborhood's plan during Fall 2003,

  • work with the Port Authority to transfer ramp reconstruction staging to 39th Street,
  • work with Police Department to convert to parallel parking on 36th between Ninth and Dyer Avenues, and
  • work with DOT to institute police parking on 37th between Ninth and Tenth Avenues.

   

  3. Transfer jurisdiction of the small parks currently leased to Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood Association (39th Street Bird Park, Hell's Kitchen Community Garden and Dog Run and the 40th Street Slope) and the 34th Street Community Garden from the Port Authority to DPR and provide for minimal improvements.

  4. Study, design and construct a pedestrian bridge to provide safe pedestrian access to the 40th Street Slope.

  5. Transfer jurisdiction of the triangular bus parking lot on 39th Street adjacent to 408 West 39th Street from the Port Authority to DPR for new parkland. In fiscal year 2005 provide interim improvements (fencing and minimal landscaping), while working with the Board to create a permanent design. Agree to fund construction through the DPR in fiscal year 2006.

  6. Acquire parking lot at 451 West 35th (through to 36th Street) for new parkland in fiscal year 2006. Fund design in fiscal year 2007 and construction in fiscal year 2008.

TRANSPORTATION and MASS TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS

No. 7 line and other mass transit improvements

• Recommendations concerning the No. 7 Subway line in August letter remain valid: preferred is west and south.

• M11 bus line - Increase service and the number of stops on the M11 bus line on Ninth and Tenth Avenues.

• New Eleventh Avenue bus line - Study and institute a new bus line on Eleventh Avenue that is tied to the timetable for area development; the line should run from at least 23rd Street to 72nd Street.

Regional transit

• DCP, EDC and MTA should provide a comprehensive transit plan that integrates regional rail, bus, subway and other means of mass transit as well as vehicular modes of transportation.

Port Authority Bus Terminal Garage

• Phasing - The proposed PABT garage at 39th Street east of Tenth Avenue will provide welcomed relief to the area's traffic problems by keeping buses entering and exiting the Bus Terminal off city streets. This garage must be built in the early years of the plan in order to bring immediate improvement to the neighborhood's excessive traffic congestion, to mitigate the new traffic problems that construction in the area will bring, and to free Port Authority-owned land for park development.

• Layover space - The PABT garage must provide layover space for commuter vans, commuter buses and charter buses. As noted in the August letter, removal of commuter and charter vehicles from the area's streets is essential to improve the area's habitability and marketability for residential and office use.

• Design - Along 39th Street, the PABT garage should be designed to incorporate at street level, an arcade or shallow retail spaces to reinforce the Hell's Kitchen Market (the relocation of the Sixth Avenue Flea Market to 39th Street is currently underway). Providing such space would enliven the streetscape and better integrate the facility into the neighborhood. The garage should also be built to exacting environmental standards, and should serve as a model of sustainable construction and building design.

Tow Pound and Sanitation Garage

• Relocation to the Rail Yards - Removing the tow pound from Pier 76 was requested in the August Letter, and this Board has long supported removing the sanitation trucks from Gansevoort and under the High Line. The Board is very appreciative of DCP's proposal to accomplish these objectives. Though the Board opposes the proposed stadium (discussed above), the tow pound and the sanitation garage could nonetheless still be accommodated as proposed, tucked underneath whatever type of development is built over the Rail Yards.

Ferry Terminals

• Proposed ferry terminal at 34th Street - The Board opposes a second ferry terminal at 34th Street. It would remove much-needed and already scarce parkland from a particularly narrow portion of the Hudson River Park. The expanded 39th Street ferry terminal about to be built should be sufficient to serve the area.

Traffic and Parking

• Traffic reduction - The presentations largely ignored the area's overwhelming traffic problems. Aggressive and effective traffic reduction measures must be established.

• Parking requirements - Parking requirements in new commercial buildings should be as minimal as necessary to satisfy the requirements of the Environmental Impact Statement.

Lincoln Tunnel Entrances and Exits

The existing agglomeration of entrances and exits for the Lincoln Tunnel was designed and built when a 34th or 30th Street crosstown expressway was on the Interstate Highway maps. Interstate 495 (the Long Island Expressway) is still marked on the New Jersey side in the Lincoln Tunnel approaches and continues through into Manhattan in the form of Dyer Avenue. Thankfully, Robert Moses was never able to build the elevated crosstown link. Consequently, the Lincoln Tunnel spills out to a series of city streets never meant to absorb such capacity.

• Review and re-design -The Board recommends a comprehensive review of Lincoln Tunnel roadways and suggests three general approaches to entry and exit redesign:

  1. Redesign ramps and sidewalks for pedestrian safety - change roadway curves into corners by minimizing street corner radii, provide pedestrian signals at all intersections, lay out crosswalks at all intersections, and provide standard and visible signage to create an environment with physical and visual cues that signal to drivers and pedestrians they are on the City's grid, not an expressway.

  2. Reroute entry traffic south of the proposed commercial area - Ramp C (at 36th Street) often backs up to the high West 40's. As a result, traffic exiting the Lincoln Tunnel is often blocked at West 40th and 9thAvenue. By closing Dyer Avenue entry points along 9th Avenue above 34th Street and rerouting Tunnel-bound traffic further south to 30th to 33rd Streets, the Tunnel entry queue would be shifted away from the residential area and away from Tunnel exit points.

  3. The Board recommends that all of the traffic approaches be reviewed and re-designed to meet the needs created by the proposed new development.

CONCLUSION

This Board recognizes that implementation of a plan will require coordination with a host of city and state agencies. Toward that end, we reiterate our request that a working group be assembled to ensure a regular consultative process involving this Board and other community representatives. We look forward to continued discussions as part of that group.

Sincerely,

Simone Sindin
Chair
Manhattan Community Board No. 4

Anna Hayes Levin
Chair
Clinton Land Use & Zoning Committee

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Item 4: Letter to DCP, re: Central Parking Systems, 485 Tenth Av. (at 37th St.) - Appl. N 020685 ZAM

March 6, 2003

Mr. Vishaan Chakrabarti
Director, Manhattan Office
Department of City Planning
22 Reade Street
New York, New York 10007

Dear Mr. Chakrabarti:

Central Parking Systems, Inc. appeared before the Clinton Land Use and Zoning Committee of the Board in connection with the captioned application for an authorization pursuant to Section 13-552 of the Zoning Resolution to allow an attended public parking lot with a maximum capacity of 55 spaces at 485 Tenth Avenue at 37th Street.

An authorization was granted to a prior operator in 1987. Although that authorization expired in 1990, the parking lot has continued to operate. The present applicant assumed operation of the parking lot in 2001 pursuant to a lease that expires in less than two years (on 10/31/04), and seeks to continue operation of the parking lot.

No complaints concerning the parking lot are on file in the Board office, and none have otherwise been brought to the Board's attention. However, the neighborhood has recently seen a rise in prostitution and other undesirable evening activity. The lot operates between the hours of 8 a.m. and 11 p.m., and is enclosed by a fence without locking gates.

The Board has proposed and the applicant has agreed to the following two conditions on the grant of the requested authorization. The Board therefore recommends approval of the application, subject to these conditions:

1. Locking gates will be installed on the parking lot fence, and the gates will be locked after hours to prevent unauthorized access by passersby.
2. In connection with any renewal lease, the application will seek the right to plant street trees, and if obtaining such right, the applicant will plant and maintain street trees on the sidewalks along the lot's Tenth Avenue and 37th Street frontages, in accordance with Department of Parks and Recreation and Department of Transportation regulations and pursuant to plans that will be submitted to the Board for prior review.

Sincerely,

Simone Sindin
Chair
Manhattan Community Board No. 4

Anna Hayes Levin
Chair
Clinton Land Use & Zoning Committee

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Item 5: Proposed Converter Station on 12th Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets

March 7, 2003

Mr. Paul M. Rich
Chief Operating Officer
Neptune Regional Electrical Transmission System
One Hunnewell Square
P.O. Box 1000
Pittsfield, Maine 04967

Dear Mr. Rich:

Thank you for your presentation at the January 15, 2003 joint meeting of this Board's Clinton Land Use and Zoning Committee and Waterfront and Parks Committee of the proposed converter station to be constructed on 12th Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets, adjacent to ConEd's 49th Street substation.

We understand that NeptuneRTS's proposal involves installation of under water HVDC cable from New Jersey, which would enter Manhattan under the bulkhead between Piers 90 and 92. The cable would be laid 60 feet below the riverbed and under 12th Avenue, and would reach the surface only within the converter station. As you explained it to us, the HVDC (high-voltage direct-current) system you are proposing has the important environmental advantage of avoiding the fluctuating electromagnetic fields (EMFs) that are associated with AC (alternating current) transmission systems. The converter station would be linked to the 49th Street substation by AC cable under 50th Street.

The proposed converter station involves some architectural and zoning issues you have asked us to consider. The site is in an M2-3 zoning district, which imposes a maximum streetwall height of 60 feet. Because of the required configuration of the equipment, the proposed converter station would have streetwalls of 108 feet on 50th and 51st Streets. Neptune's application to the Public Service Commission includes a request for an override of the height and setback requirements of Section 43-43 of the Zoning Resolution.

The Board's committees found the conceptual designs of the converter station quite exciting. The planted roofs, the planted 12th Avenue wall, the varied colors and textures of the building facades and the storyboards proposed at street level along 50th and 51st Streets are admirable creative suggestions for turning what could be an imposing blank box of a building into a distinctive and attractive piece of architecture. The height and setback waiver would face considerable community opposition without such attention to the building's design and its relation to its surroundings.

The committees were also pleased to learn that the proposed HVDC cable has the capability of delivering significant amounts of electricity to Manhattan without disturbing Hudson River Park or exposing passersby to potentially hazardous EMF levels.

We have the following concerns about the project, which we trust can be satisfactorily addressed as your planning continues:

1. We would like to be sure that the building as built is consistent with the conceptual design, or otherwise takes into account the community's concerns about its impact on its surroundings. We request, therefore, that you consult from time to time with the Board's Clinton Land Use and Zoning Committee as the design evolves, and that you confirm to us in writing that you will do so.
2. Regular maintenance of the building's facades will be essential; if the plantings wither or the colored panels fade and crack, the building will be transformed from an attraction to an eyesore. There must be a permanent and enforceable commitment to maintain the building. We request a restrictive declaration be made a part of the grant of the zoning override to enforce the maintenance of the high design standard proposed.
3. Though the AC cable carrying electricity from the converter station to the 49th Street substation will have a short distance to travel and will be underground in an area with little pedestrian traffic and no residents, we would like assurances that those who work in or travel through the area will not be exposed to dangerous levels of EMFs.

Thank you for taking the time to present your plans to us, and for incorporating our anticipated concerns into your proposal. We look forward to continuing discussions as the project moves forward.

Sincerely,

Simone Sindin
Chair
Manhattan Community Board No. 4

Anna Hayes Levin
Chairs
Clinton Land Use & Zonng Committee

Pamela Frederick & John Doswell
Co-Chairs
Waterfront & Parks Committee

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Item 6: Letter to DCP, re: West 14th Street Rezoning

March 7, 2003

Mr. Jeff Mulligan
NYC Department of City Planning
22 Reade Street
New York, NY 10007

Dear Mr. Mulligan:

Thank you for attending the 14th Street Area Committee meeting of Manhattan Community Boards 2 and 4 and for agreeing to work closely with us on a proposal to rezone West 14th Street from 7th to 9th avenues. As was mentioned in our meeting, rezoning West 14th Street to a zone more in keeping with the existing character of the area has been a goal of ours for many years. We are very pleased that your office has agreed to undertake this action with us.

Some of the specific issues that we would like to work with you on addressing are as follows:

• Cap the Floor Area Ratio along West 14th Street so as to reflect the prevalent scale of the existing streetscape.
• Restrict the rear yard expansion of ground floor uses.
• Limit the number of destination bars and restaurants on the street.
• Work with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection to improve utility services (especially the sewage back up problem) in the area and reduce noise generated from commercial uses.
• Work with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to improve access to mass transit in the area.

We understand that your office may be ready to certify a ULURP application on this action by Fall 2003 and that you will come back to the 14th Street Area Committee starting this Spring to seek further input and present your findings on existing conditions. We also ask that you attend Manhattan Community Board 2's Zoning Committee so that those members may also have the opportunity for meaningful input early on in this process.

Again, thank you for agreeing to work with us on this very important project.

Sincerely,

Simone Sindin
Chair
Manhattan Community Board No. 4

Thomas Lunke
Co-Chair
14th Street Area Committee

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Item 7: Street Activity Permit: Mare, 198 8th Avenue (b. 19th/20th)

March 7, 2003

Beverly Gotay
Assistant Director of Licensing
Department of Consumer Affairs
42 Broadway, 8th floor
New York, NY 10004

SIDEWALK CAFÉ APPLICATION

Applicant: Mare
Location: 198 8th Avenue (b. 19th/20th)
DCA License No.: 1072380
Type: Renewal Application - Unenclosed Sidewalk Café
Tables/Chairs: 20 tables/40 chairs

At the March 5, 2003 full board meeting of Manhattan Community Board No. 4, several board members voiced opposition to this application citing increased pedestrian traffic on Eighth Avenue since the sidewalk café was first approved and pedestrian circulation problems at this particular corner location.

Rather than denying the application outright, the Full Board voted to request that DCA postpone its decision on this application until after Community Board review is possible under forthcoming revised rules governing sidewalk cafes, with the hope that the community's concerns with the sidewalk café's layout would be reflected in a revised application.

Please inform the Board office if fulfillment of this request is possible.

Sincerely,

Simone Sindin
Chair
Manhattan Community Board No. 4

Joshua David & Walter Mankoff
Co-Chairs
Transportation Planning Committee

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Item 8: Street Activity Permit: Trois Canards, Ltd., d/b/a Tello's, 263 West 19th Street

March 7, 2003

Beverly Gotay
Assistant Director of Licensing
Department of Consumer Affairs
42 Broadway, 8th floor
New York, NY 10004

SIDEWALK CAFÉ APPLICATION

Applicant: Trois Canards, Ltd., d/b/a Tello's
Location: 263 West 19th Street
DCA License No.: 1022914
Type: Renewal Application - Unenclosed Sidewalk Café
Tables/Chairs: 3 tables/8 chairs

At its January 22, 2003 meeting, Manhattan Community Board No. 4's Transportation Planning Committee voted to recommend denial of this application due to strong community complaints and to the applicant's admission that he was arranging tables on the street differently from the manner indicated on application drawings, thus creating non-conforming conditions. At the February 5, 2003 Full Board meeting the applicant requested that the vote on this application be postponed so that he could have an opportunity to develop a new plan. The applicant returned to the February 19, 2003 Transportation Planning Committee meeting and said that no revised plan was possible. Given strong community objections, the applicant's admission that he is arranging café tables differently from the manner approved in the plans, and the Committee's belief that this rearrangement is not in compliance with regulations, the Committee voted to recommend denial of the renewal application.

On March 5, 2003 the Full Board voted to recommend the denial of the application for this unenclosed sidewalk café.

Sincerely,

Simone Sindin
Chair
Manhattan Community Board No. 4

Joshua David & Walter Mankoff
Co-Chairs
Transportation Planning Committee

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Item 9: Street Activity Permit: West 46th Street (b. Broadway/9th)

March 7, 2003

Mildred Duran
Director
Street Activity Permit Office
100 Gold Street, 2nd floor
New York, NY 10038

Street Activity Permit Application

Applicant: Times Square Business Improvement District - Taste of Times Square
Location: West 46th Street (b. Broadway/9th)
Date: Monday, June 16, 2003
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

At its February 19, 2003 meeting, the Transportation Planning Committee of Manhattan Community Board No. 4 heard and approved the above Street Activity Permit application.

At its meeting on March 5, 2003, the full Board approved this application.

Sincerely,

Simone Sindin
Chair
Manhattan Community Board No. 4

Joshua David & Walter Mankoff
Co-Chairs
Transportation Planning Committee

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Item 10: Street Activity Permit: Ninth Avenue (b. 56th/57th)

March 7, 2003

Mildred Duran
Director
Street Activity Permit Office
100 Gold Street, 2nd floor
New York, NY 10038

STREET ACTIVITY APPLICATION

Applicant: Council on the Environment
Location: Ninth Avenue (b. 56th/57th)
Date: Wednesdays and Saturdays, February - December 2003
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

At its February 19, 2003 meeting, the Transportation Planning Committee of Manhattan Community Board No. 4 heard and approved the above Street Activity Permit application.

At its meeting on March 5, 2003, the full Board approved this application.

Sincerely,

Simone Sindin
Chair
Manhattan Community Board No. 4

Joshua David & Walter Mankoff
Co-Chairs
Transportation Planning Committee

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Item 11: Street Activity Permit: West 39th Street (b. 9th/10th)

March 10, 2003

Mildred Duran, Director
Street Activity Permit Office
100 Gold Street, 2nd floor
New York, NY 10038

STREET ACTIVITY APPLICATION

Applicant: Hell's Kitchen Market
Location: West 39th Street (b. 9th/10th)
Date: Saturday & Sunday, Year Round
Time: 4:00 a.m. Saturday to 8:00 p.m. Sunday

At a special meeting on February 27, 2003, the Transportation Planning Committee of Manhattan Community Board No. 4 heard the above Street Activity Permit application. The applicant described the plan for a weekend antique/flea market to be held year round and presented a lengthy set of written stipulations governing the manner in which the market would operate. The stipulations, a copy of which is attached to this letter, would become part of the City permit if issued.

While the ultimate impact of the market on the block and the surrounding neighborhood cannot be adequately judged until it takes place, it does appear from the terms of the stipulation that considerable effort has been taken to consider the small number of residents and businesses on the block. No vendors will operate in front of occupied premises and residents and business will be allowed vehicle access to the block. The block is vacant except for a small portion near 9th Avenue. SAPO has indicated that the permit is in essence issued on a monthly basis and can be revoked if problems result.

A large number of individuals attended the meeting but only 7 spoke. Comments were mixed, with speakers in opposition as well as support of the proposal roughly equal in number.

The Committee did not vote on the matter for lack of a quorum. At its meeting on March 5, 2003, the full Board approved this application.

Sincerely,

Simone Sindin
Chair
Manhattan Community Board No. 4

Joshua David & Walter Mankoff
Co-Chairs
Transportation Planning Committee

PROPOSED STIPULATIONS FOR THE HELL'S KITCHEN MARKET
(39th Street, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues)

1. Hell's Kitchen Market will operate on 39th Street, between Ninth Avenue and Tenth Avenue, including the sidewalk. No vendors will be located on the eastern end of the street from Ninth Avenue through 411 West 39th Street (the area in front of all occupied buildings).

2. Pedestrian access will be maintained through the street at all times, including set-up and cleaning. There will be no charge to customers visiting the market.

3. Annex Antique Fair & Flea Market, Inc. will not subcontract management of any portion of the Hell's Kitchen Market to any outside party, nor will it allow its vendors to sublet any portion of their space.

4. Schedule and Hours of Operations:

(a) Every Saturday and Sunday

(b) The street will be closed from 4AM Saturday until 8PM Sunday

(c) Staff and materials will remain on-site over-night on Saturday

(d) No loading or unloading of vendor merchandise will occur before 6:00 AM

(e) Hell's Kitchen Market will be open for business from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM

5. Hell's Kitchen Market management will meet with Manhattan Community Board No. 4 on a monthly basis for a minimum of one year following its opening, or upon request.

6. Hell's Kitchen Market will maintain a fire lane of at least 12' in order to provide access for emergency vehicles. Hell's Kitchen Market staff will be equipped with a wireless communication system to aid in the direction of pedestrian traffic, if necessary.

7. Traffic will be blocked at 39th Street and Ninth Avenue, however the portion of the street extending from Ninth Avenue through 411 West 39th Street (the westernmost building) will remain open in order to provide access to vehicles loading or unloading for residents, businesses, and customers. Signage will be provided at the Ninth Avenue barrier clearly indicating this access. This signage will specifically indicate the names of all businesses on the block. Market staff will be on hand to remove barricades and assist vehicles requiring access.

8. The entire street, including the sidewalk and street in front of all buildings, will be maintained in a broom-clean condition throughout the operation of the market. Trash receptacles will be provided and maintained by market staff. Trash will be collected and stored in closed bins at the west end of the street. Trash will be collected by a private carting company on Monday morning.

9. Hell's Kitchen Market will provide signage to alert traffic to the street closure and to direct traffic to alternate routes. A detailed signage plan will be provided by Hell's Kitchen Market and approved by the NYC Department of Transportation.

10. Vendor Setup:

(a) Vendor setup will begin at 6:00 AM, starting at the west end of the street.

(b) Loading will occur from the west end of the street (Tenth Avenue). Vehicles will not be driven to the east end of the street. Vendors will unload and move using rubber wheeled carts.

(c) When the market is not fully booked, empty space will be consolidated to the eastern end of the market to the greatest extent logistically feasible.

11. Staffing: During regular operation Hell's Kitchen Market will be secured by at least four security guards and maintained by at least five maintenance staff. Security staff are off-duty police officers.

12. Hell's Kitchen Market anticipates a financial loss during its start-up phase. Annex Antiques Fair and Flea Market, Inc. anticipates the need to invest substantial resources to finance operation and payments to New York City during this period.

13. At least two spaces will be made available each day to local community groups, or charitable non-profit organizations, without charge. An application form will be made available to any qualifying group or organization upon request. Space will be assigned to groups on a rotating basis in consultation with and at the recommendation of Manhattan Community Board No. 4.

14. Vendors will be selected on the basis of quality, type, and price of merchandise. There will be no discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, or veteran status. Vendors suspected of fraud or intentional misrepresentation of merchandise or who otherwise fail to maintain good customer relations may be excluded from market. A vendor application will be provided upon request. Priority may be assigned to vendors who have formerly sold at the Hell's Kitchen Market or at the Annex Antiques Fair.

15. The Hell's Kitchen Market will secure all necessary permits to install and plant street trees along the southern sidewalk from the southwest corner of Ninth Avenue to western edge of 408 West 39th Street by June 2003 in accordance with the attached plan.

16. Hell's Kitchen Market staff will help to maintain the painted promenade, and will re-paint any damage which occurs during the operation of the market.

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Item 12: Eighth Avenue Bicycle Lane

March 7, 2003

Margaret Forgione
Manhattan Borough Commissioner
NYC Department of Transportation
40 Worth Street
New York, NY 10013

Dear Commissioner Forgione:

It has come to the attention of Manhattan Community Board No. 4 that the New York City Department of Transit will be re-striping roadways to accommodate new bicycle lanes in Manhattan in Fall 2003. We urge you and your colleagues to conduct the study and data collection necessary to facilitate the re-striping of Eighth Avenue to accommodate the bicycle lane recommended in the New York City Bicycle Master Plan.

Ever since 1997, the Bicycle Master Plan has included recommendations for a bicycle lane leading from Hudson Street, in Greenwich Village, up through Chelsea on Eighth Avenue, into Clinton. A well-designed lane with a striped buffer was installed on Hudson Street and is now a valuable amenity to that traffic corridor, but it never was brought north of 14th Street. Studies were done in 1997 indicating that motor vehicle volume and Level of Service would accommodate a lane from 14th Street at least as far north as 30th Street. We hope that you will review those numbers and update them as necessary in order to facilitate a northward extension of a lane of a similar quality as the Hudson Street lane as far north as possible.

The fact that some cyclists break traffic regulations and thus endanger pedestrians is a serious concern of the Board. We will always call upon the appropriate authorities to request vigorous enforcement of all traffic regulations, including those for cyclists. But at the same time, the creation of designated bicycle lanes will better enable cyclists to operate in a safe and law-abiding manner. In addition, it will help the Board reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality within its district, which is now part of a congestion and air-quality non-attainment area. For these reasons and others, the Board included the extension of the bike lane in its fiscal year 2004 District Needs statement. We respectfully urge you to work with your colleagues, other relevant agencies, and the Board to move plans for the Eighth Avenue bicycle forward in an efficient manner.

Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.

Sincerely,

Simone Sindin
Chair
Manhattan Community Board No. 4

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Item 13: Statement on the Preliminary Budget, Fiscal Year 2004

March 7, 2003

Hon. Michael Bloomberg
Mayor
City Hall
New York, NY 10007

Dear Mayor Bloomberg:

Thank you for the opportunity to review your Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2004. Manhattan Community Board No. 4 examined the budget carefully and while we find areas of agreement, we view others with concern.

We recognize the impact of the current fiscal crisis on the City and under stand that cuts have to be made. We support your efforts to look for other revenue sources for the City, and in particular the initiative to reinstate the commuter tax. We also applaud your recent initiative to focus once again on the desperate need for affordable housing in our community and the city as a whole. To the extent that cuts are necessary, this Board considers the budget items related to human services to have the greatest significance and urges that they be cut as little as possible.

And, thank you for recognizing the important role of all community boards by preserving community board funding in your preliminary budget for FY 2004.

The Board's detailed agency comments follow.

City Agencies Dealing with Health & Human Services

There is no denying that the City faces severe budget challenges in this economic and political environment and the administration has taken many creative and thoughtful steps to more efficiently allocate the city's funds.

While the administration should be commended for placing a high priority on achieving savings from managerial enhancements and efficiency, we are deeply concerned about some areas of basic public health delivery and human services where the budgetary paring will have dangerous consequences. As is so often the case, we are concerned that this will have a negative impact not only directly on the individuals, families and seniors who depend on these services but on the over-all safety, stability, and quality of life in the larger community - and, ultimately, on future budgets, if dire needs are neglected now. We note below some specific areas of concern:

Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

We appreciate the efforts of the Department to keep us posted and to respond to our concerns over the possible effects of the combining of the Department of Health and the Department of Mental Health. We remain concerned that the integrity and strength of the mental health system be retained in the face of current budget pressures. Specifically, it is not clear, what the impact would be if increased revenue anticipated in the proposed budget does not materialize.

The Department of the Aging

The transfer of funding for NYCHA based senior centers provides a potentially creative and effective way to achieve savings and yet retain the vital network of core services for our older adults. We will be interested to learn of the specifics of this proposal and urge that you ensure that it does not in any way undermine the quality, quantity, or range of services these centers provide. While we are pleased overall with the stability of services and funding reflected in this budget, we note with alarm that core funding for senior programs - and most especially wages for workers in that area - have been disastrously neglected for many years. There is no doubt that this is placing severe strain on the capacity of these services to address the needs of this vulnerable population with responsive services of minimally adequate quality. It is especially not acceptable to have services provided at the expense of creating a new group of working poor among those who provide such services and we urge the city, despite the budget environment, to look seriously at the need for attention to this matter.

Administration for Children's Services

We are very concerned about the potential combined impact of the proposed reductions in the budget for the Administration for Children's Services, which will unquestionably reduce actual services to clients. Given the critical need to maintain the fragile progress made in the area of preventive services, the proposal to decrease foster parent stipends seems ill-advised. In the area of child care, the Human Resources Administration has continuously acknowledged that thousands of eligible children citywide are still not served. In addition, increases in child care fees add an impossible burden on families already under enormous financial pressure: asking a family to pay 15% of gross income for child care places an impossible burden on too many working families and only jeopardizes their ability to maintain and increase their financial independence - or forces them into sub-standard and dangerous alternative care situations.

Department of Education

The Department of Education is the largest youth service agency in New York City, providing free primary and secondary school education to more than one million students. It also offers an array of necessary support services including meals, safety, recreation, guidance, health and transportation. For children from low-income or troubled families these services are not frills, they are essential to child development. Cuts to these services should not be made.

Board No. 4 is concerned that problems of overcrowded classrooms, school safety, need for additional schools, aid for special education and dealing with at risk students are not adequately addressed by this budget. Our Board is also concerned with the following issues involving the lack of adequate funding for:

1. The hiring and retention of certified teachers to replace the thousands who will be retiring;
2. Making salaries competitive with surrounding communities to attract and retain the best;
3. The deteriorating infrastructures of school buildings, particularly where plans are being made to use schools year-round;
4. Upgrading electrical systems in order to use computers and
5. Additional security within schools.

With the new regulations set forth by the Chancellor which demand that that there be uniform lessons given in all public schools adequate provisions for updated books and supplies must be made available.

Board No. 4 opposes the use of public funds to provide for private management of ailing public schools. Studies have shown that where private managers such as Edison Schools have taken over schools, there has been no measurable improvement. In fact, while all aspects of the functioning of a public school under the Department of Education must be made available for public scrutiny - test scores, expenditure of funds, etc. - such accountability does not extend to Edison Schools.

New York Public Library

Use of our public library continues to expand particularly now in the age of computers. Since 1994 attendance has increased 35% and circulation 40%. In New York City 90% of all public access computers are in libraries. The unlimited freedom and personal growth a book gives a child or adult to travel anywhere geographically or in time, through imagination or another person's experience cannot be matched. Access to our public libraries by our children, elderly and families is the best value for the dollar that the City can find. Libraries enhance the educational experience.

To permit the library system to continue to provide its vital services, Community Board No. 4 urges the following changes in the Budget for FY 2004:

1. Additional funding to increase library materials to meet the demands in the branch and research libraries and to offset the impact of inflation;
2. Provide funds for sufficient levels of building and technology maintenance and security to protect the City's investment in computers and electronic information resources;
3. Funding to complete the phase-in of the CLASP program;
4. Make library salaries competitive in order to attract and retain the services of these valued individuals;
5. Expand Library's website content in key areas including health, job and homework information; and
6. Provide additional technology training.

However, the Preliminary Expense Budget for FY 2004 would result in a 6.5% percent cut, on top of the 14.5% cut made in FY 2003, which would result in the following:

1. A complete end to six-day service with most branches going to five and some to four days. Already 67 of the 85 branch libraries have been reduced to five days;
2. A further drop in the ability of the libraries to acquire books. The FY 03 cuts reduced books per branch by 3,000 books on average;
3. Even fewer children reached through the connecting libraries and schools and summer reading programs;
4. Reduced technology, security and maintenance leading to deteriorating facilities and equipment.

We request that if libraries are kept to a five day schedule, or even reduced to four days, one of the serviced days should be a Saturday, and if possible the second evening reinitiated to provide for accessibility to those working a conventional week.

We also strongly urges that there be no cuts to the capital budget, which would result in deferring a significant portion of every capital project that is not fully funded or designed until FY 06.

Department of Cultural Affairs

The Preliminary Budget proposes a drastic reduction in the City's Cultural Affairs spending, which was already dramatically reduced in the previous fiscal year. The Preliminary Budget for FY 04 reduces the cultural affairs budget by over 25% from FY 02. These cuts will adversely affect small institutions, many of which are located in the Board 4 area, and larger institutions in the City as well. However, the larger institutions have greater capabilities for raising private funds than the smaller institutions. Needless to say, any cuts will result in less accessibility to these resources, a decrease in services to school children, a loss of jobs, etc. It will also harm the City's economy since our vibrant cultural life is a major attraction to visitors.

Department of Youth and Community Development

The combined neighborhood of Chelsea/Clinton is home to more than 7,500 children under 18 years of age, more than 17 percent of whom receive public assistance. More than 2,000 of these children are under the age of five, and in dire need of public day care. In our district, which ranked third in terns of reported abuse and neglect, only one quarter of the children eligible for public day care receive it and 1,200 children are uninsured, according to the Citizens Committee for Children of New York.

We are very concerned about the collective effect on children of cuts to many different agencies and programs that serve them. In particular, we are concerned about the following cuts to the Department of Youth and Community Development:

The Summer Youth Employment Program, facing severe cuts from the State budget, will be unable to fund 35,000 jobs. We request that the City match the $18 million in funding that it provided for this program last year and continue to push the State to restore funding for this important program.

We also strongly urge that the nearly $40 million in cuts to youth programs be reduced. These programs are essential to children and provide places for after school recreational activities, homework assistance, cultural and social events and individual enrichment. These service organizations have been forced to curtail, close down, or charge for the services once given freely to youth.

Department of Transportation

We urge a budget increase to provide for the manufacture and installation of more adequate traffic control signage. This is particularly true of mixed residential and commercial areas such as Chelsea and Clinton within the Board 4 geographical area. Among repeated violations more frequent signage would help curb, are horn blowing, illegal vehicle idling, trucks on residential streets, failure to yield right of way to pedestrians, illegal parking, speeding, etc.

Police Department

We would like to express our support for the recent emphasis on traffic enforcement efforts and we hope that these efforts continue. This Board is glad that the Preliminary Budget for Traffic Enforcement for FY 04 reflects only minor cuts. We are hopeful that the new enforcement efforts will be able to address these areas of concern to our residents:

• Charter buses, trucks and cars parking illegally in no parking or no standing zones
  
• Motors idling long beyond permitted times
  
• Horn blowing
  
• Trucks and buses avoiding traffic by going through residential streets
  
• Failure to yield right of way to pedestrians
  
• Moving violations such as speeding and going through red lights

We particularly urge that police officers or traffic enforcement agents be assigned specifically to busy residential areas such as those in Board 4 and not be drawn off into areas such as Times Square.

Department of Parks & Recreation

The completion of the Hudson River Park remains one of the Board's highest priorities. With Segment 4 due to open in spring, 2004, and design underway for the remainder of the park, it is critical that political and financial support for this important initiative remain strong. As has been the case for the past several years, funding ($100 million each from the City and the State) is not sufficient to complete the park. We understand that the monies to complete the Clinton segment are secure, but most of the Chelsea segment, from the Gansevoort Peninsula to 26th Street remains unfunded. We urge the City, in concert with the State, to commit the additional $200 million needed to finish this project. Hudson River Park, when done, will provide much needed high quality open space for the residents of Board No. 4 as well as all of New York's citizens and visitors alike, will yield tax benefits for the City, and will spearhead the revitalization of the entire west side of Manhattan.

Within the park, several areas need special attention. Pier 97, while designed, cannot be constructed until the DOS garage at 57th Street is completed. Therefore, it is imperative that this garage move forward quickly. A new home for the tow pound at Pier 76 must be identified soon, whether as part of the new plan for Hell's Kitchen South and the rail yards, or, as has been suggested by this Board in the past, by privatizing the tow pound operation among several existing parking facilities. And a plan to relocated the Department of Sanitation operation on Gansevoort Peninsula to a new facility, currently stalled, must be finalized as soon as possible so as to permit Gansevoort Peninsula to be developed as one of the largest open areas within Hudson River Park. We strongly urge the City to put in place a revised plan for Pier 94 that will make the northern end of the head house available for public use for the severely diminished Clinton Cove portion of the park. Finally, we understand that Pier 57 will become available for development soon, and while this pier may be developed commercially as of right, we hope that any future use for Pier 57 will include a measure of public space, and will, in any event be compatible with the park that surrounds it.

Beyond Hudson River Park, this Board hopes that the progress on the rebuilding of Hell's Kitchen Park and the eastern end of Chelsea Park continues apace. Finally, we hope that the additional funds needed to complete the interim plan for the refurbishment and expansion of the 59th Street Recreation Center, endorsed by both Boards 4 and 7, be identified soon, so that work can begin on this much used facility which has been sorely neglected for 10 years. And, as always, we urge the City to seek additional parcels of property, however small, that may be available for conversion to park use within the district using the Department of Parks & Recreation's Greenstreets and Greenthumb programs. While we recognize that vital city services such as police, fire, sanitation, transportation, and social services must remain high priorities, the role of parks as both important contributors to the health, sanity, and quality of life of New Yorkers as well as economic catalysts for the surrounding communities cannot be ignored.

Department of Housing Preservation & Development

HPD plays a leading role in preserving and expanding affordable housing in the Board 4 area. This has always been of prime importance to our Board. We urge an increase for code enforcement activities. The Board 4 district continues to witness tenant harassment, and we must emphasize the importance of increasing HPD's ability to inspect and enforce its regulations. We also strongly urge that efforts be made to better coordinate enforcement of regulations between HPD and the Department of Buildings in the interests of efficiency.

It is crucial that the city work to maintain housing affordability through retention and support of Mitchell-Lama programs, Section 8 and other subsidized programs.

Additionally, the City should step up its collection of fines levied by HPD for code violations, which could add significant funds to the budget. We suggest that some of these funds be earmarked for code enforcement or rehabilitation of affordable housing and that more funds be dedicated for low-cost financing for building rehabilitation.

The current 80-20 formula used in most new housing construction ignores the needs of middle-income families who are forced to leave Manhattan to find affordable housing. In addition, this formula does not adequately address the needs of the vast number of New York's low income and working families displaced by gentrification and a poorly performing affordable housing market. We are delighted with the administration's initiative to seek new and creative approaches to the development of affordable housing and look forward to actively participating in the implementation of these plans within our area. We are especially pleased that the plan includes a middle income component. In light of the major rezoning initiatives proposed for Hell's Kitchen/Hudson Yards and West Chelsea, the Board recommends specific targeting of those funds over multiple budget years for construction of affordable housing in the Board area. The funds must be used to balance the development pressures on the low, moderate and middle income population engendered by the administration's other initiatives to spur commercial and residential development along the Westside from 14th to 42nd Streets in the far western reaches of the Board area.

At the same time, funding provided by HPD to local community-based organizations that perform a broad range of tenant and owner assistance, anti-abandonment and housing preservation activities must be maintained, given its essential role in preservation of the fragile existing stock of such housing.

NYCHA

More attention must be paid to the tenants living in New York City Housing Authority developments. More personnel, funds and police intervention must be made available to address persistent problems of security, drug dealing, gangs, graffiti, garbage storage and collection, and cleanliness.

Department of Buildings

Of equal importance to HPD is the Department of Building's ability to provide a level of code enforcement necessary to protect existing low-income housing stock. More inspectors are needed to ensure compliance with zoning bulk and use requirements in order to preserve community character at a time when self-certification is being more widely depended on. Funds are also needed to train plans inspectors including training on the zoning regulations applicable to special districts.

Thank you for your consideration of our comments.

Sincerely,

Simone Sindin
Chair
Manhattan Community Board No. 4

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Item 14: Planned Subway Station Booth Closings

March 7, 2003

Hon. Lawrence G. Reuter
President
MTA New York City Transit
370 Jay Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201-3814

Dear Mr. Reuter:

Manhattan Community Board No. 4 is writing to you to protest the MTA's proposed closing of 177 subway station booths, many of which are in or near our Board's Chelsea-Clinton location. The closing would have a serious impact on the thousands of our residents who depend on our subways to carry out their daily lives as well as on many businesses.

While we appreciate the budget problems faced by mass transit in our City, we do not believe the solution lies in reducing service to an already beleaguered public. The MTA has not publicly justified its deficit claims by opening its books to inspection and other ways must be found to maintain the high level of service to which our riders are entitled.

We also appreciate the advantages of technology and are not unaware of the use of automated ticket dispensers and turnstiles by modern subway systems. However, even where such systems are deployed, as in the Washington DC Metro, station entrances are staffed to provide necessary services and information to the public.

The problems engendered by further booth closings are numerous:

• Many riders will face insurmountable difficulty in reaching train platforms via the high entrance turnstiles proposed as replacements for normal turnstiles and gates that are now part of the staffed entrance installations. This will impact heavily on the elderly, the physically disadvantaged, parents with strollers and travelers with baggage or equipment. The system will be less ADA-accessible than at present.
• While the MTA contends there will be at least one staffed booth open at each station it minimizes the difficulties involved. Staffed booths may be as much as 600 feet (more than 1/9 of a mile) from unstaffed ones.
• In many cases, the staffed booth will be across the tracks from the unstaffed booth and not reachable to persons inside the system. There are many such examples in the Board 4 area alone. At stations along 7th Avenue - 18th, 23rd and 28th Streets - there is no way to get from one platform to another to reach the staffed booth except by exiting, going upstairs to the street, crossing the street and going down the stairs. The only other alternative for riders is to take a train in the opposite direction to the next major station and then use stairs to go from one platform to another. At 23rd Street and 8th Avenue there is an internal connection but only at one end of the platform and it requires using stairs to tunnel under the tracks, a lonely and frightening device.
• The staffed booths provide both a crime deterrent and a way for passengers to seek help in case of attack or illness. The MTA plan offers no alternative and there is no sign that they have considered the matter. Among possibilities are closed-circuit TV and help buttons and intercoms.
• There is no way for a mass exit from a station in event of fire, accident or other problem through the high exit turnstiles.
• There are often technical problems with Metrocards and Metrocard readers that customers require assistance to resolve.

Manhattan Community Board No. 4 urges that MTA withdraw its plan for additional booth closings and seek other solutions to its financial problems.

Sincerely,

Simone Sindin
Chair
Manhattan Community Board No. 4