New Yorkers for a Human-Scale City

What kind of city do we want-

Dear Neighbors in Tribeca,

You signed our petition to protect Tribeca. You put up anti-demolition posters in your windows.  You supported our research.  We thank you for all you have done. It is because of you that Tribeca Trust was able to obtain a meeting with the Chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission in early October. We went with Alison Greenberg, Hal Bromm, Lynn Ellsworth, and Roger Byrom who is Chair of our Community Board’s Landmarks Committee.

But that meeting did not go well. We were put off to the New Year and stalled yet again, for no logical reason whatsoever. The door isn’t closed to us, but only because we are keeping it open with our collective boots. You bet we will be back.

We left that meeting angered. We also realized this: although the merits of our case for historic district expansion are excellent, it is clear that the Landmarks Preservation Commission has been told to stand down in the face of Big Real Estate’s desire to overbuild everywhere, especially Tribeca.

So what can we do?  Should we give up and roll over and let 33 more buildings come down in Tribeca and pretend to ourselves it doesn’t matter?

No. We are not giving up. It turns out neighborhoods across the city are in a similar situation of reckless overdevelopment. We plan to hold a town hall in November here in Tribeca to explain the stakes for our neighborhood and get your help.  Clearly, we need a demolition moratorium. We need zoning reform.

So first we are getting out our pitchforks and sharpening them. We have joined – and even helped to create – a coalition of 51 community organizations and non-profits across all the city, from the Bronx to Staten Island. That coalition is called New Yorkers for a Human-Scale City.  That coalition is growing every day.

New Yorkers for a Human-Scale City has created a new electronic petition demanding policy change from De Blasio. It calls for an end to the way the real estate lobby has captured our city government and all its regulatory bodies like City Planning and the Landmarks Preservation Commission. We plan a policy summit.

If you sign the petition, your signature and comment goes immediately to the Mayor.  Show your anger and show your disgust for what is happening to our city. Read the petition and sign here: http://www.humanscalednyc.net/ Then pass the link on to all your friends and neighbors across New York City. Ask them to sign too. This is the first step to regaining the neighborhood and city we have loved.

Sincerely,

The Board of Tribeca Trust


 

The Founding Members of New Yorkers for a Human-Scale City Are:

Art Loisada Foundation

Bedford Stuyvesant Society for Historic Preservation

Bowery Alliance of Neighbors

Citizens Emergency Committee to Preserve Preservation

Citizens Defending Libraries

Coalition for a Livable West Side

Committee for Environmentally Sound Development

Community Action Alliance on NYU2031

Concerned Citizens for Community Based Planning

Defenders of the Historic Upper East Side

DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance

East Harlem Preservation

Fiske Terrace Association

Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus

Friends of Brook Park

Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park

Friends of City Hall Park

Friends of Greenwich Street

Friends of Lamartine Place Historic District

Friends of South Street Seaport

Friends of Tribeca Park

Historic Districts Council

Historic Park Avenue

LANDMARK WEST!

Lower East Side Preservation Initiative

Lower West Side Association

Madison-Marine-Homecrest Association

Movement to Protect the People in Crown Heights

North Avenue A Neighborhood Association

NYU Faculty Against the Sexton Plan

Preservation League of Staten Island

Project for Public Spaces

Save Chelsea

Save Harlem Now!

#SaveNYC

Save the View Now

Save Our Seaport

SoHo Alliance

South Bronx United

South Village Neighbors

Sullivan-Ludlam-Stoddard Neighborhood Association

TakeBackNYC

Tenant.Net

Tribeca Trust

29th Street Association

Vinegar Hill Neighborhood Association

West 80’s Neighborhood Association

Women of Woodlawn

 

(the list is in formation and shown as of September 25, 2015.  If you would like your organization to be on the list, please email us at volunteer@tribecatrust.org)