THE WEST SIDE’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
VOLUME 5, NUMBER 19
MAY 29 - JUNE 11, 2013
Neighbors Begin Process to found Hudson Yards BID BY WINNIE McCROY With construction on the new Hudson Yards neighborhood well underway, local residents and business owners have set their sights on forming a Business Improvement District (BID). In a series of meetings last month, organizers solicited input from the community before submitting their proposal
to the Department of City Planning. “For about a year, we’ve met monthly, and in that period of time, this is as far as we’ve got. Now we’re taking this show on the road to see what our neighbors say,” said BID Planning Committee Co-Chair Kevin Singleton.
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Pipeline Radon fear Starting to Catch fire
Photo by Scott Stiffler
Curious about how to use Citi Bike? Google it!
Wheels in Motion, as Citi Bike Rolls Out BY YANAN WANG Following this week’s offi cial launch of Citi Bike, the new bike share program organized by the Department of Transportation (DOT), residents can expect to see cyclists take the city streets in full force — but at what cost? The program, which puts 6,000 bikes and over 300 docking stations across Manhattan and Brooklyn, is the largest of its kind in North America. Since its ubiquitous gray racks began appearing along streets
several weeks ago, Citi Bike has been the subject of both excitement and controversy, with Chelsea residents expressing reactions ranging from approval and enthusiasm to fervent opposition. “The concept of bike share is great. We need it in New York City,” said Steven Shore, an attorney leading a lawsuit against the DOT for the inappropriate placement of one docking rack in Greenwich Village. “But the implementation of the program has been grossly mishandled
and ill-conceived.” Community Board 4 (CB4) District Manager Bob Benfatto said the program has been “a long time coming,” adding that “at least two [CB4] meetings,” open to the public, have been held in regards to Citi Bike. During the initiative’s kick-off process, Benfatto noted, officials from the DOT attended board meetings to address public concerns. Many residents, however, have
BY EILEEN STUKANE Evidenced by the large turnout at the May 14 public forum “Lung Cancer and New York City Kitchens: Why Increased Radon in Natural Gas Could Be a Public Health Disaster,” local residents are growing increasingly concerned about seemingly high radon levels in the natural gas that the Spectra Energy pipeline will be bringing to New York City. The newly constructed pipeline enters Manhattan at Gansevoort
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Peninsula, near West 14th Street. The event, which was primarily sponsored by The Cooper Union Institute for Sustainable Design, along with six other organizations related to either health or the environment, had backing from a strong cohort of 60 other community, environmental, health and political organizations. About 350 people gathered in The Great
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editorial, letters PAGE 8
JaZZ & iNdie PAGE 12