Manhattan Community Board 4, Chelsea

¶ … Manhattan Community Board 4, Chelsea Land Use (CLU) Committee and Waterfront, Parks, and Environment (WPE) Committee meeting has met to determine to what level they will continue allowing building and changing the Hudson River Park area of New York. Legislation has been passed which changes the Hudson River Park Act in order to take into account then needs of other bodies, including groups who wish for nothing more than to conserve and protect the Hudson River Park as it exists. Too much of the land, as in other parts of the country, has been taken over by bloodthirsty corporations who think of nothing more than their bottom line and the quickest way to fatten their wallets. The trust claimed that they would be financially damaged by these modifications and that they need to get control of the air rights in the area in order to sell their products. CB4 quite rightly does not trust this group, fearing that they will sell the air rights to companies who are similarly interested in only money, who will then use those air rights to violate the law, such as by building more floors in their buildings than are allowed by the district's regulations. The Trust in question has proven itself to be unconcerned by the objections of the opposition and has sited its own monetary gain as a reason why the city planners should allow them to control the air rights. The laws were created to protect the rights of the masses, not the few and this should be explored in order to continue the fight against these large organizations.

Story Pitch 2:

In West Clinton, New York, the citizens are being unduly harassed by big money developers who want them out of their homes in order to build more and more expansive construction projects. Tenants in the 11th Avenue area, where a great deal of the construction and development continues to upset daily lives of those who live there, have reported that they have been continually harassed by those involved in the construction. When they refuse to move out of their homes and refuse to accept the miniscule offers of remuneration either because they see the amount as highly insufficient or because they have not the inclination to move out of their homes, which is completely their right, they are pressed by landlords to get out or face even more dire consequences. Landlords and building owners who want to get rid of their tenants who pay for modest rooms want them out so they can refurbish, rebuild, and charge other tenants far larger sums, sometimes for the same amount of room in their apartments. Some want to convert modest apartments into luxury hotels or apartment buildings for wealthy people because there is an unfair opinion by these businessmen that only the wealthy have a right to live comfortably, whereas these landlords claim they have every right to further their business interests and, under some circumstances, have the right to cancel leases or rescind contracts in order to sell out to a higher paying clientele. Efforts on both sides of the issue to further their perspective should be explored, particularly the efforts of the West Side Neighborhood Alliance (WSNA) to help tenants keep their homes.