Residential takeover
To The Editor: Re “The New Downtown” (news article, June 27 – July 3):
If, in fact, Financial District population reaches 70,000, while employment stays at about 275,000, and using a rule of thumb that a resident requires four times the square footage of an employee, then at that point (2013), there will be more square footage for residents than employees.
What a change!
Larry Gould
‘Crimes of traffic’
To The Editor: Re “Silence=Death on Greenwich St.” (Talking Point by Charles Komanoff, June 20 – 26):
Thanks again, Charles Komanoff, for denouncing in print city officials’ inaction against what I call “crimes of traffic,” and “traffic crime conditions.” If only more people would denounce them, especially advocates for elderly and disabled persons who are most at risk crossing not only Greenwich St., but as Komanoff well knows, any New York City street, especially where vehicles can turn into the pedestrian crosswalk.
And good for The Friends of Washington Market Park, for taking exhaustive actions against their area’s particular dangerous crossings; I haven’t found that true of my Upper East Side civic groups, though God knows I keep trying, especially curbing the number one cause of pedestrian death and injury: drivers turning into pedestrian crosswalks. And I’m forever indebted to Komanoff’s manual, “Killed by Automobile”, with its statistics and case histories proving that of course this is true.
It should be required reading by every civic group and every elected official whose first duty according to the Constitution is to protect public safety.
And why isn’t the speed limit reduced if not to save lives, then energy/gasoline? It should be reduced nationwide but especially in high-density cities with a large walking population.
Yup, get out on the streets, demonstrate, make a loud noise, often and loud — that’s seems the only way to go in a city, maybe the world, which puts moving traffic fast before moving it safely. Unfortunately the Vatican’s endeavor against dangerous drivers was short-lived – so much for right to life. Oh yes, that endeavor was pretty much ridiculed by media. Not this columnist, however and surely not Charles Komanoff.
Bette Dewing Bette Dewing is a Manhattan Media columnist
Board reform
To The Editor: Once again, Community Board 1 skipped having a contested election for its chair, so once again I am calling for the re-instatement of the former two-year term limit on officers (UnderCover, June 27 – July 3, “Stump Warmup?”). There is also a chilling effect when the chair hints at running for the City Council and will thus control re-appointments. We also need to explore if it would be better for the community to have interested and knowledgeable board members focus in a proactive comprehensive manner on topics such as parks and transportation, land use or social services, rather than be the only community board to use NIMBY geographical committees. We need a strong Parks & Transportation Committee to follow up and fight for us. The city will ignore us and install that bike path regardless. We also need to empower the Planning Committee for all uniform land use review planning matters.
Last month I made a Web page to focus on the City Hall Park bike path issue and board reform to rally the community. To my pleasant surprise 363 people have read the C.B. 1 unofficial Web page at www.infotrue.com. In addition to the coverage from local papers such as yours, these issues are there for the outside community to explore and for any potential City Council candidate to read. In the past the impetus for board reform came from exterior forces and I am hoping that the internet can now play a role in local politics too.
Rick Landman Former member, Community Board 1
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.
