The local paper for the Upper er East Side THE POTHOLE PROJECT: SEND US YOURS <DETAILS, P.3
THE NOISE IN OUR HEADS
OurTownEastSide @OurTownNYC
Citi Bike, the popular bike sharing program around the city, is nevertheless in need of tens of millions of dollars in new funding, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The paper said the program needs to expand into new neighborhoods and attract tourists if it hopes to stay alive. Earlier in the month, the city’s new transportation commisioner said that the program was facing many financial and operational challenges. “We are working as diligently as we can to help the company resolve them and strengthen the program going forward,” she said. The hurdles come despite an initial burst of interest in the Citi Bike program, which was later hurt by Super Storm Sandy and a long and snowy winter.
BY NICK MARTINEZ WITH DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
Email us at news@strausnews.com
2014
NYPRESS.COM
CITI BIKE PEDALING FOR MORE MONEY
A bill in the City Council attacks 24-hour work permits
DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE US TO LOOK INTO?
27
In Brief
WHAT’S UP WITH THAT?
For three nights in recent months, the construction project near where Jane Bonia lives has been loud enough to jolt her out of bed. “The noise is incredibly loud,” said Bonia. “It’s impossible to sleep while they’re banging on metal. I’m furious that the city would give them a permit to do this.” Each of the times Bonia has complained about the project, at 300 E. 51st St., she’s been told the site has a special permit to work around the clock. So how does the city decide who receives these 24-hour work permits? As of now there is no clear answer, which is why two lawmakers, Council Members Rosie Mendez and Daniel Garodnick, have sponsored a bill to make the process more transparent. Under the new law citizens would be able to look online and see detailed reasons why each site was allowed a 24-hour work permit. The goal is to cut down on sites given these permits, as well as notifying residents sooner when after-hours work will begin. The bill is under review at the Committee on Housing and Buildings. “Variances have become the new normal, and as a result construction is happening too regularly at forbidden hours,” said Garodnick. “It’s unfair to neighbors and developers alike. Neighbors are unhappy because [Dept. of Buildings] hours are meaningless, and developers get exemptions from the city but still get complaints.” The bill would require there be some rationale for an after-hours variance, and give people more information when variances are granted.
WEEK OF MARCH
MAYOR APPOINTS NEW PARKS COMMISSIONER Courtney Megaro pays $220 a week to live in her room on East 72nd Street at the St. Mary’s Convent.
NEED A ROOM TO RENT? TRY A CONVENT CITY LIVING Young women find affordable living space in Manhattan by renting rooms in convents STORY AND PHOTOS BY MARY NEWMAN
Upper East Side When young professional women are looking for affordable apartments, they rarely spend time on listings for the Upper East and West Sides. These areas have been off limits to broke, young
New Yorkers for at least a decade. There seems to be one real estate loophole, however, that some young women are taking advantage of. Courtney Megaro has found a way to live on East 72nd St for under $900 a month. Megaro was having trouble finding an apartment during her last semester at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA). She was trying to find a way to stay in New York, but still pursue her dream of becoming an actress. “My parents were under this delu-
sion that I could find an affordable apartment in a safe neighborhood,” she said. It came as a huge surprise when her professor suggested she could live on West 74th street for $550 a month at the St. Agnes Convent. Since she wasn’t planning on becoming a nun after graduation, Megaro was initially confused by this suggestion. After finding out how inexpensive it was to rent a room at St. Agnes Convent, she took the idea much
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On Friday, March 21, Mayor de Blasio announced the appointment of Mitchell Silver as Commissioner of the Department of Parks and Recreation. Silver comes directly from Raleigh, North Carolina, where he was the city’s Planning & Development Officer and Planning Director. He is also a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, De Blasio hailed Silver as an internationally-renowned planning expert and noted that he has focused on expanding parks and open space access throughout his career, especially in low-income communities. “This city’s parks, athletic fields and beaches all provide a unique, public space for education, physical exercise and recreation — and I look forward to expanding these opportunities to even more of New York’s residents,” said Silver.