The local paper for the Upper er East Side TRAINING THE NEXT BIG THINGS < Q&A, P.17
WEEK OF JULY
2-8 2015
Our Take
MTS PERMIT UP FOR RENEWAL
THE ECHOES OF THE SUPREME COURT
DEC seeking comment on permit needed to operate East 91st Street MTS BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
The state Department of Environmental Conservation has launched a four-week public comment period to gather input on whether a permit for the East 91st Street marine transfer station should be renewed. The air permit in question, which effectively allows the Department of Sanitation to operate the MTS, has been up for renewal since last October. A sanitation spokesperson said it was submitted for review by the DEC. “It did not expire,” said the spokesperson of the air permit. The process is being exploited by Pledge 2 Protect, the main group aligned against the MTS, which sent almost 16,000 letters of opposition to the DEC outlining its concerns. Thomas Mailey, a DEC spokesperson, said the letter-writing campaign had nothing to do with the agency’s decision to launch a public comment period. “It would have happened regardless,” said Mailey. The DEC publicly announced the comment period June 24, and said the agency would be accepting comments until July 24. The agency said the public comment period is in keeping with the federal Clean Air Act. Under DEC regulations, if there are enough new and/or changed conditions since a permit was last issued, the agency can review whether or not to renew it. The agency also said DSNY’s solid waste management and wetlands permit are also up for renewal.
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BRACING FOR CITIBIKE NEWS Residents on both sides of the park weigh in on the bike service’s arrival uptown BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
CitiBike’s imminent arrival in neighborhoods on both sides of Central Park has residents packing local community boards to discuss the bike share program and individual docking stations whose locations are seen as problematic. On the Upper East Side, Community Board 8’s transportation com-
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mittee co-chair A. Scott Falk said residents are concerned about the program and the location of the bike docks. “I think a lot of people on the Upper East Side have concerns about bicycles and bike riders,” he said. “Things seem to have gone well elsewhere in the city but there’s a lot of concern about the unknown, and in our neighborhood it’s an unknown.” Although he said he doesn’t speak for the board, Falk said he’s personally in favor of CitiBike’s implementation and believes the program will actually have a calming effect on bicycle traffic on the Upper East Side.
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“I actually think where CitiBikes have been added elsewhere in the city you have a lot more bike riders, but there’s a lot more traffic in the bike lane and could bring about a more predictable flow of bike riders,” said Falk, who noted that CitiBikes are heavy and not ideal for riding at high speeds. But even though he’s personally in favor of the program, he understands concerns from some segments of the population like the elderly, who may see bicyclists as a threat to their health.
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Within minutes of the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage, the celebrations began on the streets of Manhattan. Police almost immediately cordoned off Christopher Street, to make room for a street party that everyone knew was inevitable, turning pride weekend into a three-day celebration. By Sunday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo was performing his first wedding ceremony in front of the Stonewall Inn. For veterans of the fight for marriage equality, the court’s decision was the culmination of decades of work. And yet, you couldn’t escape the fact that the speed of change was breathtaking. Would the acceptance of same-sex marriage undercut a gay-rights movement that had in part been defined by its outsider status? Was the community losing its cohesion? Would critical issues that still needed advocacy -- like pay inequity and transgender rights -- lose steam? All important questions. But first, let’s spend a few more days savoring an epochal change in our nation and our city. And let’s celebrate our fellow New Yorkers who, by the thousands, are now free to exercise a constitutional right they were too long denied.
Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday July 3 – 8:12 pm. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastside.com.
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