Emergency fund for local crash victim

From the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors:

Dear Bowery Neighbors & Friends,   Below are details re an emergency fund set for the bodega worker critically injured this week when a drunken driver racing down 2nd ave at 80 miles an hour careened onto the side walk mowing down a tree, Muni Meter, fire hydrant, and flower stand, injuring a biker and 3 bodega employees, most seriously 62-year-old Mohammed Akash Ali, who worked 7-days-a-week outside at the flower stand. The well-liked, always friendly Mr. Ali has a wife and 3 sons. Any support you can help out with will be greatly appreciated by all.   Direct link to fund:  "Aid for Akkas Ali and Family": https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/mvk2/aidforakkasaliandfamily   Many thanks to CB3 member Chad Marlowe who moved with lightning speed to set up the fund.  Thanks also to neighbors Bill Koenleinand David McReynolds who got the word out so quickly.   EV Grieve article about the fund effort: http://evgrieve.com/2013/06/campaign-launched-to-raise-money-for.html EV Grieve initial article about the incident: http://evgrieve.com/2013/06/report-car-smashes-into-east-village.html   East Villager article about the crash: http://thevillager.com/2013/06/20/drag-racing-driver-careens-onto-sidewalk-injuring-4/       Sincerely, David Mulkins, Chair Bowery Alliance of Neighbors 184 Bowery, #4 New York, NY  10012

Call to action!

Constructing in an occupied building has become one of the most aggressive means of harassing tenants. Shaoul used it often, and Kushner, who recently bought nearly 30 parcels in our neighborhood, informed the community board last month that he intends to construct building expansions wherever he can. 

The case of 515 East 5th Street may become the precedent for all future expansion harassment. Please come to the Board of Standards and Appeals and spread the word. From GOLES:

GOOD OLD LOWER EAST SIDE, INC



TENANT ALERT!

FIGHT ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION OF ADDITIONAL FLOOR AND PENTHOUSE ON 515 EAST 5TH STREET!

DATE: TUESDAY, MAY 21ST, 2013

TIME: 10:00 AM SHARP!

PLACE: BOARD OF STANDARDS AND APPEALS (BSA)

22 READE STREET, SPECTOR HALL

NEW YORK, NY 10007

(ONE BLOCK FROM CITY HALL)

COME TO THIS IMPORTANT HEARING AND SHOW YOUR OPPOSITION TO LANDLORD’S APPLICATION TO LEGALIZE THE ADDITIONAL FLOOR AND PENTHOUSE WHICH HE BUILT. THIS CONSTRUCTION WAS FOUND ILLEGAL IN BSA DECISIONS IN 2007 AND 2008. NOW THE LANDLORD IS SEEKING TO REVERSE THEM. IF LANDLORD IS ALLOWED TO KEEP THIS ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION IT WILL SET A PRECEDENT FOR OTHER LANDLORDS TO DO THE SAME LEADING TO DANGEROUS CONSTRUCTION THAT CAN CAUSE DAMAGE TO STRUCTURE OF SUCH OLD TENEMENT BUILDINGS.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL GOLES 212-533-2541

NO 7-Eleven city-wide petition on line!

NO 7-Eleven: resist chains and corporate control has a city-wide petition on line. Take a look at the great comments along with the signatures. 

To the New York City Planning Commission and City Council: Allow community self-determination to resist chain stores.

To: 

The New York City Planning Commission and City Council 

There are over 7,200 chain stores in New York City with more opening every year. 7-Eleven Corp alone is planning to open 100 new stores in Manhattan by 2015. Chain stores raise commercial rents, crowd out our commercial variety, our choices our mom-and-pops and our diversity. They efface our neighborhood character, erase our ethnic roots, erode our community relationships. They leverage wages down and, once cornering their market, leverage prices up. I call on the City Planning Commission and the City Council to amend the city's zoning text to require that no corporate formula store or bank open a new location without approval from the local community board. Such a zoning amendment will not only allow communities to restrict the number and location of chain stores, but also allow community boards to negotiate legally binding stipulations on all elements of chain store character from signage and closing hours to wage scale.

Allow community self-determination on chain stores, franchises and banks.

Sincerely,
[Your name]

http://www.change.org/petitions/to-the-new-york-city-planning-commission-and-city-council-allow-community-self-determination-to-resist-chain-stores?utm_campaign=signature_receipt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition

NO 7-Eleven, a grassroots movement resisting the spread of chains and franchises, is holding a neighborhood-wide meeting this Wednesday. Their goal is to require that all corporate clone stores, including banks, be required to obtain approval before opening a new location so the community can have a say in the number and location of corporate chains and franchises. Details below. Please spread the word.

MEETING

NO 7-ELEVEN

Limit corporate clone stores

before they limit our food, our commerce, our labor, our streets and our New York City character

7-Eleven is opening a new location on the corner of 11th Street and Ave. A in June. 7-Eleven already opened 32 locations in Manhattan and has an additional 100 stores on the way! If you are as concerned about protecting the East Village and future of the city, please attend

Next 'No 7-Eleven' Meeting

Wednesday April 24

6:30-8:00pm

93  St. Marks Place

(Btwn 1st and Ave. A)

Web: www.no7eleven.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/no7eleven

Twitter: www.twitter.com/no7elevennyc

Sunday in the Park with NO 7-ELEVEN

We're going to chalk up the park at the Tompkins Square Park nonbandshell at 2pm and then take our chalk and our Community Wheel of Fortune to the corner of Avenue A and 11th Street, the site of the threatened 7-Eleven, and chalk up the street and talk to the passers-by who don't yet know what's coming to their neighborhood. Join us for some good old anti-corporate-anti-suburbanization-and-anti-Pringle-ization-of-our-souls-and-our-streets fun! 

Here's a video journalism piece CUNY TV did on us (NO 7-Eleven starts @ 12:45) --

http://219tvmagazine.journalism.cuny.edu/2013/04/10/march2013/

(Wissecracks about my apartment will be punished.)

Upcoming

1) Urge Albany to pass new rent laws before the end of the session June 22
2) Town Hall on the future of Chinatown, June 1

Urge Albany to pass new rent laws before the end of the session June 22
The key phone numbers are:
Gov. Paterson: 212-681-4580
Majority Leader Smith- 212-298-55-85
Housing Committee Chair Espada-518-455-3395

Phone numbers for other holdouts -- if you know anyone in these districts, ask them to call to urge their state senator to vote for the ten bills now before the Senate:

Jeffrey Klein(D) -1-800-718-2039 -34th Distict Bronx/Westchester
(ThrogsNeck, Weschester Sq. Morris Park, Pelham Parkway,
Eastchester-Bronx, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Eastchester-Westchester,
North Riverdale, Woodlawn, Norwood, Belmont Park

Carl Kruger(D)-718-743-8610-27th District Brooklyn(Midwood,
Gravesend, Flatlands, Sheepshead Bay, Ocen Parkway, Mapleton)

Martin Golden(R)-718-238-6044- 22nd District Brooklyn ( Bayridge,
Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Gravesend, Ocean Parkway South,
Sheepshead Bay, Gerritson Beach)

Martin Malave Dilan(D)-718-573-1726-17th District Booklyn
(Williamsberg, East Williamsberg, Greenpoint, Bushwick, Clinton Hill,
Wyckoff Heights, Broadway Junction, Highland Park, Cypress Hills)

Diane Savino (D) 718-333-0311- 23rd Distict Brooklyn/Staten Island
(Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Coney Island, Grasmere, Rosebank, Grymes Hill,
Clifton, Stapleton, New Brighton, Livingston, Port Richmond)

Craig Johnson(D)-516-746-5923 7th District Nassau County( Great Neck,
Port Washington, Floral Park, Bellrose, Mineola, Carle Place


Chinatown Town Hall flyer:

TOWN HALL: The Future of Chinatown
Hosted by the Chinatown Working Group

Monday, June 1
6:30 p.m.
PS 124
40 Division street
Between Bowery and Manhattan Bridge
Translator will be available.
(Please see attached flyers in English and Chinese.)

The Chinatown Working Group Town Hall will cover a number issues regarding the future of Chinatown including jobs, affordable housing, traffic, parking, parks, funding schools and concerns about history and culture. Help decide the future of Chinatown!

The Chinatown Working Group is a newly formed democratic and open community-based planning initiative on the future of Chinatown. Our goal is to support the community's residents, workers, businesses and visitors. Chinatown Working Group's members are Chinatown's stakeholders -- LIKE YOU!


English Flyer: http://www.chinatownworkinggroup.org/cwg%20town%20hall%20flyer%20EnglishJune1.pdf
Chinese Flyer: http://www.chinatownworkinggroup.org/cwg%20town%20hall%20flyer%20ChineseJune%201.pdf
CWG Web Site: http://www.chinatownworkinggroup.org

Four PSA's

1. Public Hearing on Con Ed Air Pollution - Mon
2. LES Forum on Rodents - Wed
3. Visioning the Seward Park Renewal Area - Sat
4. Parks Department Survey

1. Public Hearing on Con Ed Air Pollution
Monday November 17 at 7 pm,
Campos Plaza, 611 East 13 Street
The expansion of production at the East 14th Street Con Ed power plant has significantly increased pollution levels since 2005. Con Ed has filed to renew an operating and air pollution permit under "Title V", the air pollution control program for New York State. This hearing is an opportunity for our community to urge the New York Department of Environmental Conservation to reduce the Con Ed pollution.
For more information:
http://www.dec.ny.gov/enb/20081015_not2.html

2. LES Forum on rodents
Wed, November 19th, 6:30pm-8:30pm
PS 63 - 121 East 3rd St
Presentation from City agencies
and open discussion

3. Seward Park Urban Renewal Area Matters!
Saturday, November 22, 2 to 4:30pm
227 E. 3rd Street Ground Floor
(wheelchair accessible)

4. Parks Department Public Survey
The Parks Department is now working on a plan for the future development of the park system and would like to hear from you. Please take the time to complete the Public Outreach Survey and help them shape the park system for the 21st century.

Click here to complete the survey.

Public hearings on EV/LES rezoning

On Wednesday, August 13, 2008, at 9:00 a.m., at Tishman Auditorium of Vanderbilt Hall, New York University School of Law, 40 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012 in Manhattan. Public hearings will be held by the City Planning Commission on:

1. East Village/Lower East Side Rezoning - land use applications for a change to the zoning map (C 080397 ZMM, C 080397(A) ZMM) and zoning text amendment (N 080398 ZRM, N 080398(A)) and a related Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) (07DCP078M) submitted by the Department of City Planning.

2. Hunter's Point South – land use applications for a change to the City Map (C 080276 MMQ), a zoning map change (C 080362 ZMQ), a zoning text amendment (N 080363 ZRQ), acquisition of property (C 080364 PQQ), and UDAAP designation, plan and disposition (C 080365 HAQ) and a related DEIS (08DME006Q) submitted by the departments of Housing Preservation and Development and Parks and Recreation and the Economic Development Corporation.
THIS HEARING IS NOT LIKELY TO BEGIN BEFORE 11 AM.

3. Willets Point Development Plan – land use applications for a change to the City Map (C 080221 MMQ), a zoning map change (C 080381 ZMQ), a zoning text amendment (N 080382 ZRQ), urban renewal designation and plan (N 080383 HGQ, C 080384 HUQ) and disposition of city property (C 080385 HDQ) and a related DEIS (07DME014Q) submitted by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Economic Development Corporation.
THIS HEARING IS NOT LIKELY TO BEGIN BEFORE 12 NOON.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
Registering to speak: Anyone wishing to speak on any of the items listed above is requested to fill out a speaker's slip supplied at the staff desk outside of Tishman Auditorium on August 13, 2008. Doors will open at 8:30 AM. Speakers on each item will be called in the order they are registered, with the exception that public officials will be allowed to speak first. If a large number of people wish to speak on a particular item, statements will be taken alternating every 30 minutes between those speaking in support of the proposal and those speaking in opposition.

Length of Testimony: In order to give others an opportunity to speak, all speakers shall limit their remarks to three minutes.

Interpretation of Speaker's Testimony: Interpreters in Chinese (Cantonese) and Spanish will be available for those speakers who cannot testify in English.

Written Material: If you intend to submit a written statement and/or other documents please submit 17 sets of each.

Vanderbilt Hall is located on the south side of Washington Square South (West 4th Street), just east of MacDougal Street.

Persons who cannot testify on August 13, 2008 may submit written testimony to:

City Planning Commission
Calendar Information Office
22 Reade Street – Room 2E
New York, New York 10007-1216

It is requested that such testimony be submitted by August 25, 2008.

Upcoming events

Friday, May 9, 4:30pm, 25 Beaver St
MARCH TO SAVE OUR HEALTH CARE and oppose GHI-HIP from converting to a for-profit company, jeopardizing the healthcare of 4 million policy holders, including 500,000 NYC workers (93% of the workforce) & retirees. Mainstream politicians & union leaders support the change, hoping to benefit from the nearly $3 billion windfall profits of such a sale. (4/5 to Bowling Green, J/M/Z to Broad St, R/W to Whitehall St,1 to Rector St, 2/3 to Wall St, A/C to B'way-Nassau).
---------

Monday, May 12, 6:30pm, Public School 20, 166 Essex Street (btwn Houston & Stanton)
TOWN HALL ON LES REZONING
Last chance for direct community input on the rezoning of the EV/LES.

The community board has not yet withdrawn support for out-of-scale development on Chrystie Street. 80% (or more) of that development will be luxury.

DCP has refused to protect the Bowery and Chinatown.

Tell DCP not to develop Chinatown into another luxury hotel district.

Join us to say "no" to overdevelopment in the LES.

Review the plans here:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/evles/index.shtml
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/env_review/evles/evles_final_scope.pdf
---------

Wednesday, May 28th, 6:30pm, 20 Washington Square North
Community Board 2 public hearing on NYU's plan to demolish the Provincetown Playhouse, one of NYC's great and most historic theaters.

Anti-gentrification event

The Tompkins Square Romp
(space to play)

A free festival with dance, music, and theater
about the changing face of the Lower East Side.

Tompkins Square Park
Sat. April 26
Noon-4pm
Speak out! Act out! Sing out! Dance out!

If you are interested in performing your own material, or being a part of existing material please contact theglassco@gmail.com.

"The Glass Co. is the group that did the Washington Square Park balloon protest/performance last month. They're hoping to get lots of folks out who know about and are concerned about gentrification, about NYC's screwy policies, issues with developers, NYU....
The performances will include dance, music, spoken word, puppetry and all sorts of theatrical work. There will be lots of room for dialogue in the audience and with performers built into the work, and for letter-writing, education, and connecting with people from the surrounding communities." And petitioning...