Letters to the Editor

To The Editor:

Last week’s article regarding the New York Law School site did not fully explain some of the historical background and did not clearly state the community board’s position (news article, Aug. 4 – 10, “Tower looming as law school breaks library ground in Tribeca”).

The community board has not been presented with designs for the site, however, we have notified the developer that we will object to any design that is not contextual with the neighborhood. We have called upon the developer to appear before the board to hear the community’s concerns and the developer has agreed to do so, despite the fact that they are not obligated as it is not a Uniform Land Use Review Procedure action. We will continue to work with Councilmember Gerson and Borough President Stringer’s offices to pressure the developer to mitigate the community’s concerns and to pursue all avenues available to us.

The fact that the community is now confronted with the possibility of a tall development could have been avoided. In the past, the community board should have pursued a 197(a) and (c) comprehensive rezoning, which many community and civic groups, including the Tribeca Community Association, over the years had called for. Such a comprehensive rezoning would have prevented the problem we now face by modifying the applicable C6-4 zoning.  We are now working on a comprehensive zoning plan for northern Tribeca so that this situation will not reoccur on other sites in our neighborhood.

We welcome all interested residents to come to this important meeting in the fall to hear the developer’s plans and address the community’s concerns.

Julie Menin

Community Board 1 chairperson

Keeping up the Jones’s plaque

To The Editor:

A surprising attempt by the Parks Department to remove the “John Jones” plaque from the Chambers Street Tennis Court has been resolved.

However, it took a strong letter to Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe before this action was successfully stopped.

On Sat. July 8, I received an email message from Mr. Ralph Musolino the manager of District 1 and 2 of for the New York City Parks Department, stating the “John Jones plaque on the wall at the Chambers Street tennis court would be removed on July 12, 2006.” Hearing this news for the first time was very painful for me and my family as well as those that worked so hard to get necessary approval to have the plaque installed more than 10 years ago.

The district manager of Community Board 1, Paul Goldstein, contacted me by phone on Tues. July 11, just two hours after he received a hand delivered letter I sent to him and Benepe. Paul assured me that Bill Castro, Manhattan borough commissioner of Parks, had advised him the plaque would not be removed. Paul later confirmed this to me in writing.

At this time I will not put into print how I feel about those that wanted this action to hurt me or diminish my image in some way.

I do, however want to send a special message of thanks to all of you that were on the right side of this issue and stepped up and made your voices heard: Park Commissioners Castro and Benepe, Paul Goldstein, Alan Gerson, Diane Lapson, Holly Haff, Kathryn Freed, Bob Townley, Independence Plaza North Tenants Association members, C.B. 1 members and committees and the Chambers Street Tennis Association tennis players. My personal thanks to the entire Tribeca community.

John Jones

Chambers Street Tennis Association president

Letters policy

Downtown Express welcomes letters to The Editor. They must include the writer’s first and last name, a phone number for confirmation purposes only, and any affiliation that relates directly to the letter’s subject matter. Letters should be less than 300 words. Downtown Express reserves the right to edit letters for space, clarity, civility or libel reasons. Letters should be e-mailed to news@DowntownExpress.com or can be mailed to 145 Sixth Ave., N.Y., N.Y. 10013.