The local paper for the Upper er East Side “OF MICE AND MEN” ACTOR BREAKS THROUGH < Q&A, P. 21
WEEK OF MAY
29 2014
NYPRESS.COM
OurTownEastSide @OurTownNYC
AN ACT OF DISOBEDIENCE NEWS Upper East Siders opposed to Marine Transfer Station ratchet up pressure BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
YORKVILLE Eight Upper East Siders opposed to the city’s plan to build a waste transfer station at 91st Street and York Avenue were arrested last Friday protesting the Sanitation Department’s removal of trees at Asphalt Green, a popular athletics complex at the epicenter of the proposed construction. The department removed the trees because they were blocking access to a ramp that leads to the planned Marine Transfer Station. The city plans on demolishing the ramp, and the move was seen as proof that decisions about access to the transfer station had already been made without community input. Activists and elected officials characterized the move as a betrayal by the city, as a community task force had been set up and was involved in ongoing and regular meetings with the Sanitation Dept. on how best to proceed. “The city made a pledge to us to discuss and address our concerns and in the midst of those discussions, they all of the sudden move forward with removing these pear trees alongside the Asphalt Green fields,” said Sean Wood, a board member of Pledge 2 Protect, the biggest and most wellorganized of the opposition groups. “Part of the discussion focuses on potentially moving the ramp, so it’s absolutely nonsensical to proceed with this. We’re outraged that the city would choose to go ahead with removing the trees without first completing the conversation with the community and addressing the concerns as promised.” P2P’s president, Kelly Nimmo-Guenther, was among those arrested. Also arrested were Carol Tweedy, executive director of Asphalt Green, NYCHA
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A CAUTIOUS VICTORY FOR YORKVILLE TENANTS NEWS Residents of the First Avenue Estates warily celebrate a win over the owner trying to tear down their building BY MEGAN BUNGEROTH & OMAR CRESPO
YORKVILLE The Landmarks Preservation Commission issued a resounding “no” to a landmarked building’s owner threatening the wrecking ball. Stahl Organization, which owns two buildings on York Avenue between East 64th and East 65th Streets, has been trying to get permission to demolish the properties from the LPC since 2010. The company had filed a hardship application, claiming that it could not get a reasonable return from renting the small apartments, and sought the LPC’s approval to bypass the landmark designation and destroy the buildings in order to erect new condo units on the property. Last week, the drawn-out battle between Stahl, on one side, and current tenants, housing rights advocates, preservationists, elected officials and community board members on the other, came to a conclusion when the LPC voted unanimously to protect the six-story buildings. While many of the units are currently empty, there are still people living in the First Avenue Estates, despite the Stahl Organization’s assertions that the apartments are uninhabitable. A recent visit to the complex confirmed what many tenants have been saying - that the buildings have been neglected and left to deteriorate, regardless of the hardship that has imposed on current residents. Now that the LPC has given its final CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
In Brief MEMORIAL DAY SERVICES IN N.Y.C. A Manhattan church marked Memorial Day weekend with a sermon from the U.S. Marine Corps chaplain and the tying of hundreds of memorial ribbons on the church’s fence. Rear Admiral Margaret Kibben preached Sunday at the Marble Collegiate Church on West 29th Street. Afterward, worshippers including sailors, marines and Coast Guard members visiting New York for Fleet Week also tied ribbons on the fence. There were gold ribbons for U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan, green ribbons representing prayers for peace and blue ribbons for the people of Afghanistan.
TRIAL OPENS IN CRANE COLLAPSE
A LONG FIGHT The First Avenue Estate buildings, at 429 E. 64th St., and 430 E. 65th St., were constructed in 1898 and 1915. They were designed for lower income New Yorkers as an alternative to dirty, crowded tenements, with courtyards that allow light and air into the apartments. There are 190 apartments, with
an average of 370 square feet. The buildings were originally landmarked in 1990, but the Board of Estimates - the precursor to the City Council - appealed the LPC’s decision in a late-night closed-door meeting, as one of its last acts before it was abolished. Preservationists had been fighting to re-establish the landmark status ever since, and achieved that in 2006.
A construction crane owner who was acquitted of manslaughter in a collapse that killed two workers is now facing a civil wrongful death trial over the accident, which helped spur new safety measures. The slain workers’ families are suing crane owner James Lomma, his company and others involved in a Manhattan high-rise construction site where a crane snapped apart in May 2008. In opening statements Friday, lawyers for the families lambasted Lomma, whose 2012 acquittal they saw as a blow. “Cranes are not supposed to fall from the sky,” said Bernadette Panzella, who represents crane operator Donald C. Leo’s family. “James F. Lomma didn’t do what he was supposed to do.” Defense openings are due Tuesday. Lomma’s lawyers have indicated they may suggest that Leo’s handling of the crane contributed to the collapse, echoing his defense at his criminal trial.