See you in court, N.Y.U.!
To The Editor:
Re “Appellate Court rules full N.Y.U. mega-project can proceed” (news article, Oct. 16):
It’s certainly no fun to constantly be faced with “N.Y.U. 2031” ’s catastrophic impact on our neighborhood, its green spaces, the parklands we love.
Our two blocks are a small oasis of green amid humongous buildings that take away the sun’s good rays. Gone will be not only the Mercer St. parks but also the Washington Square Village playground (enjoyed by literally hundreds of children).
How ironic that Mayor de Blasio boasts he will provide more parks in other neighborhoods but is willing to let our neighborhood lose open space. How hypocritical of Mr. de Blasio.
Now due to Councilwoman Chin’s mismanagement — when she moved up the date required for the School Construction Authority to make plans to build on the Morton Williams site — that site will now be returned to N.Y.U. for whatever purposes the university wants. This, in a time when we have more and more children needing local elementary schools in our neighborhood.
History repeats itself. Many of us remember that N.Y.U. similarly turned what was supposed to be a promised elementary school on the Mercer and Bleecker Sts. site into its Coles gym.
But be forewarned, N.Y.U. My neighbors and I look forward to court dates for the next 10 years or more. Whatever it takes. We’re in this for the long haul.
Sylvia Rackow
Talk about ‘implied’!
To The Editor:
Re “Appellate Court rules full N.Y.U. mega-project can proceed” (news article, Oct. 16):
Every park in this city is also used as a “pedestrian thoroughfare,” especially in Manhattan. That was N.Y.U.’s weakest argument of all.
For me, the main legal issue is that what was “implied,” when the “parcels” were placed under Department of Transportation control, was that the project or projects they were earmarked for were to have been completed. They weren’t. That contract was unfulfilled, and never will be fulfilled.
Even if it were not contractual that the strips were to be returned, their ongoing current use as parks is proven, historic and documented.
Their transfer to Parks Department control should have happened long ago. It’s city land.
Patrick Shields
D.O.E. needs change
To The Editor:
Re “On a sad note, P.S. 41 cuts its music classes and talented teacher” (news article, Oct. 2):
Wake up! Ms. Zanni was a longtime music teacher. She was expensive, no matter that she might have also been a great teacher. Now she will be an A.T.R. [absent teacher reserve] and as such a target for receiving evaluations of unsatisfactory so that she might be forced out of the system.
Chancellor Farina has made no effort to stem this abuse. Rather she has promised to eliminate the A.T.R. problem by coaching principals how to write reports more effectively so that termination proceedings can be initiated.
De Blasio should have started by cleaning house at Tweed. He has instead opted to keep in place the harmful elements and policies in the Department of Education established by Bloomberg that rob our children of a rich and rewarding public education.
Lawrence Zajac
Had a Heine connection
To The Editor:
Re “Poet Anne Ardolino, a.k.a. Anntelope, dies at 69” (obituary, Oct. 16):
I was pleased to communicate with her in her last year by e-mail. We got together because we both knew Bill Heine back in the ’60s.
Christine Nelson
Cycle of confusion
To The Editor:
All those letters in your last issue written by outraged, put-upon bikers were very touching. I wonder, though, if any of them has been to Hudson River Park, which has a dedicated, protected bike path, on which signs and crossing stripes for “Yield to Pedestrians” are ignored, oh, about 100 percent of the time. That is, for those actually using the bike path, as opposed to those bikers who ignore the “Dismount Bike” signs all over the pedestrian-only path, on which bike riders outnumber bike walkers about 10 to one.
The typical ride-anywhere-in-any-direction arrogance is palpable, not to mention dangerous to all the little kids running around the pedestrian path.
Stephen Baker
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