The local paper for Downtown wn
WEEK OF FEBRUARY-MARCH
23-1
VISIONS AND VISIONARIES < P 12
2017
FAITH IN SANCTUARY ACTIVISM How New York churches and volunteers are offering refuge and help to undocumented immigrants BY RAZI SYED AND LILY HAIGHT
After hearing reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids around the country, an Upper West Side congregation voted to make itself a short-term refuge for undocumented immigrants. “Hopefully it won’t be necessary to use that but there are raids that have already begun in New York City,” said the Rev. Schuyler Vogel, senior minister of the Fourth Universalist Society. “So we are prepared for that, if necessary.” On Feb. 3, Vogel received a call from an organizer from Faith in New York, a group rallying congregations to work on various social justice issues, and was asked if Fourth Universalist Society would become a short-term sanctuary. Fourth Universalist Society is not currently a member of Faith in New York but plans to become more involved in the group’s work going forward, Vogel said. Onleilove Alston, executive director of Faith in New York, said she’s been pleased to see congregations throughout the city have stepped up with commitments to provide sanctuary. “We’re Unitarians,” Vogel said. “They have this history of asking hard questions, fighting for democratic values and liberty, and we’re part of that. Allying with other progressive, liberal people of faith was a natural avenue for us.” Erin White, a longtime congregation member and president of Fourth Universalist Society, drafted a resolution on Feb. 5 to make Fourth Universalist Society a sanctuary, which the congregation then unanimously approved. “We see this as being connected to our faith,” White said. “Part of our particular church’s mission is to welcome people — and this is just welcoming people in another way.” In addition to offering sanctuary for up to 24 hours, Vogel hopes his congregation can help
The Landmarks Preservation Commission last week approved this design by David Chipperfield Architects for a six-story condo building at 11 Jane St., to be built on the footprint of an existing two-story garage.
LUXURY CONDOS APPROVED FOR 11 JANE STREET But a critic argues that despite design changes, “it still looks like a chain motel” BY MADELEINE THOMPSON
The New Sanctuary Coalition works out of Judson Memorial Church on Thompson Street. Photo via Wikimedia vulnerable communities in other ways as well. “We’ve recently formed what we’re called a rapid response team,” Vogel said. “I gave a sermon basically asking the congregation to start getting organized. Around 70 members of a congregation of roughly 115 people signed up for the rapid response team. “Basically, we have their contact information and we can say, ‘Our allies in the community
After nearly eight months of back and forth with the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the design by David Chipperfield Architects for 11 Jane Street was approved last week. In January, commissioners compared the look of proposed design to a hotel, and deemed it out of place for the neighborhood. But by switching to casement windows and removing a balcony that stretched across the second floor, developer Edward Minskoff can now begin construction. Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, was disappointed. “It still looks like a chain motel,” he said in a statement. “It’s still too large, and it still sticks out like a sore thumb. The changes made by the architect since January are the proverbial rearranging of the deck chairs on the Titanic. This design might look at home next to the off-ramp of I-95, but it does not
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 Downtowner
OurTownDowntown
O OTDOWNTOWN.COM @OTDowntown
Crime Watch Voices Out & About City Arts
3 8 10 12
Restaurant ratings Real Estate Business 15 Minutes
13 14 16 21
WEEK OF APRIL
SPRING ARTS PREVIEW < CITYARTS, P.12
FOR HIM, SETTLING SMALL CLAIMS IS A BIG DEAL presided over Arbitration Man has three decades. for informal hearings about it He’s now blogging BY RICHARD KHAVKINE
is the common Arbitration Man their jurist. least folks’ hero. Or at Man has For 30 years, Arbitration court office of the civil few sat in a satellite Centre St. every building at 111 New Yorkers’ weeks and absorbed dry cleaning, burned lost accountings of fender benders, lousy paint jobs, and the like. And security deposits then he’s decided. Arbitration Man, About a year ago, so to not afwho requested anonymity started docuhe fect future proceedings, two dozen of what menting about compelling cases considers his most blog. in an eponymous about it because “I decided to write the stories but in a I was interested about it not from wanted to write from view but rather lawyer’s point of said Arbitration view,” of a lay point lawyer since 1961. Man, a practicing what’s at issue He first writes about post, renders and then, in a separatehow he arrived his decision, detailing blog the to Visitors at his conclusion. their opinions. often weigh in with get a rap going. I to “I really want whether they unreally want to know and why I did it,” I did derstood what don’t know how to he said. “Most people ... I’d like my cases the judge thinks. and also my trereflect my personalitythe law.” for mendous respect 80, went into indiMan, Arbitration suc in 1985, settling vidual practice
9-16
MANHATTAN'S APARTMENT BOOM, > PROPERTY, P.20
2015
In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS
The effort to help small seems to businesses in the city be gathering steam. Two city councilmembers, Robert Margaret Chin and Cornegy, have introduced create legislation that wouldSmall a new “Office of the within Business Advocate” of Small the city’s Department Business Services. Chin The new post, which have up told us she’d like to would and running this year, for serve as an ombudsman city small businesses within them clear government, helping to get through the bureaucracy things done. Perhaps even more also importantly, the ombudsman and number will tally the type small business of complaints by taken in owners, the actions policy response, and somefor ways to recommendations If done well, begin to fix things. report would the ombudsman’s give us the first quantitative with taste of what’s wrong the city, an small businesses in towards important first step fixing the problem. of for deTo really make a difference, is a mere formality will have to the work process looking to complete their advocate are the chances course, velopers precinct, but rising rents, -- thanks to a find a way to tackle business’ is being done legally of after-hours projects quickly. their own hours,” which remain many While Chin “They pick out boom in the number throughout who lives on most vexing problem. said Mildred Angelo,of the Ruppert construction permits gauge what Buildings one said it’s too early tocould have the 19th floor in The Department of the city. number three years, the Houses on 92nd Street between role the advocate She Over the past on the is handing out a record work perThird avenues. permits, there, more information of Second and an ongoing all-hours number of after-hours bad thing. of after-hours work the city’s Dept. problem can’t be a said there’s with the mits granted by nearby where according to new data jumped 30 percent, This step, combinedBorough construction project noise Buildings has data provided in workers constantly make efforts by Manhattan to mediate BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS according to DOB of Informacement from trucks. President Gale Brewer offer response to a Freedom classifies transferring they want. They knows the the rent renewal process, request. The city They 6 “They do whatever signs Every New Yorker clang, tion Act go as they please. work between some early, tangible small any construction on the weekend, can come and sound: the metal-on-metal or the piercing of progress. For many have no respect.” p.m. and 7 a.m., can’t come of these that the hollow boom, issuance reverse. owners, in business moving The increased beeps of a truck has generto a correspond and you as after-hours. soon enough. variances has led at the alarm clock The surge in permits
SLEEPS, THANKS TO THE CITY THAT NEVER UCTION A BOOM IN LATE-NIGHT CONSTR NEWS
A glance it: it’s the middle can hardly believe yet construction of the night, and carries on full-tilt. your local police or You can call 311
n OurTownDowntow
COM
Newscheck Crime Watch Voices
for dollars in fees ated millions of and left some resithe city agency, that the application dents convinced
2 City Arts 3 Top 5 8 Real Estate 10 15 Minutes
12 13 14 18
CONTINUED ON PAGE
25
make sense on this historic side-street.” Before the hearing Berman submitted a letter to the commission citing concerns such as the “blandness” of the ground floor and the lack of greenery. According to real estate news site YIMBY, however, chair Meenakshi Srinivasan thought the changes responded satisfactorily to the commission’s analysis. The six-story condo building will replace a twostory garage, and will house seven units including a setback penthouse on the top floor. The project is one of several luxury redevelopments that have come before the Landmarks Preservation Commission over the past year, bringing residents out in droves to protest. A megamansion at 85-89 Jane Street, a commercial makeover of the block spanning 46-74 Gansevoort Street and an enormous redevelopment of 500 Washington Street using air rights from Pier 40 have also received approval in the last six months. Madeleine Thompson can be reached at newsreporter@strausnews.com
We deliver! Get Our Town Downtowner sent directly to your mailbox for $49 per year. Go to OTDowntown.com or call 212-868-0190