More voices needed on air rights
To The Editor:
Re “Air Rights Grounded in Discussion, as Cuomo Signs Bill” (news, Nov. 20):
Missing from the article are the voices of the smart people who live in Greenwich Village and Chelsea who spoke up with serious questions at the town hall — people who felt left out of any discussion before the stealth bill was introduced by Assemblymembers Deborah Glick and Richard Gottfried, and passed in a rush on the last day of the legislative session at 5am. No public hearing was held prior to Glick and Gottfried’s action.
Both of them attended the town hall on Hudson River Park air rights, with Glick bolting soon after the announcement was made that Governor Cuomo had signed the legislation into law at the end of that day. Gottfried tried to spin “community involvement,” but Greenwich St. resident Sandy Russo was having none of his spin.
Newly elected District Leader Arthur Schwartz had his nice face on (he has previously called for Glick’s resignation), and reminded people that with a new mayor and borough president there would be changes at the Hudson River Park Trust. But he was silent on the ramifications for the local area if the air rights auction does take place.
Jim Fouratt
Spend those Fed bucks on barriers
To The Editor:
Re “Being Prepared for the Next Hurricane” (editorial, Nov. 6):
I must differ with Chelsea Now’s editorial of November 6, which said, “We think Mayor Bloomberg’s idea of removable storm barriers along Lower Manhattan’s edge is a good idea.”
There are several problems with this “good idea.” The fences would consist of six-foot stanchions permanently installed along the west side of Route 9A. Between each two stanchions an aluminum sheet would be placed, slid into place prior to the storm and removed after it. The problem with this is that over a period of time some of the hundreds of aluminum sheets will become damaged by constant insertion and removal or by incorrect placement. Once that happens, the water will be able to enter through cracks and spread out on the other side. Further, there could be flaws in the storm warning system. A late warning could lead to a rush panel insertion job, resulting in flawed placement of some panels. Also, if a storm predicted to completely miss this area suddenly veers our way at the last minute, we would be caught with no protection in place. We are fallible; remember, we were prepared for Irene and it passed over us, we were not prepared for Sandy and it hit us. I have no problem with Con Ed and Verizon putting aluminum sheets around their buildings on a permanent basis.
Finally, with Category 4 and 5 hurricanes predicted for this century, we should go with the most proven protection: storm surge barriers. In every case, the cost of storm surge barriers is less than the cost of repairs from the storm. Remember, Katrina was only a Category 3, and who in the past had ever heard of a 240-mile tornado like the one that brought a combination of wind and storm surge to wreck the Philippines? We have the money now from the federal government for protection. Spend it on storm surge barriers!
Bob Trentlyon
Need to transition to stevia
To The Editor:
I would like to get our newly elected mayor Bill de Blasio to nuance his stance on the soda ban initiated by outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The fight against morbid obesity and diabetes can only be won if we ban high-fructose corn syrup from our beverages, and replace or supplement sugar with stevia. You can look up this research, and you will see that the incidence of obesity and the onset of diabetes among New Yorkers correlate with the replacing of sugar in our sodas and drinks with high-fructose corn syrup.
I hope that this information is at least considered.
Vincent Nunes
Relocated store missing familiar faces
To The Editor
Re “99 Cents Creation Returns, but Struggles in New Location” (news, Nov. 20):
As the General Manager of the store, I thank people of this great neighborhood who still come shop and those who are doing the best they can to help us spread the news. I still haven’t seen many of the customers who used to visit us on a daily basis when we were on 23rd St. My boss did keep his promise to come back and honor Chelsea. I support him because the store built good relationships with most of you for so many years. We’re located a 1/4 block off only from Seventh Ave., on 24th St., near Chase Bank. It’s a single block away from the old location. We need your support.
Mamadou Diaman
CORRECTION The Nov. 20 article, “99 Cents Creation Returns, but Struggles in New Location,” incorrectly identified the store’s monthly rent as an annual figure. We regret the error.
