Friday, May 31, 2013

Pier 40 Fire Destroys Fours Vehicles



By Geoffrey Croft

An early morning fire destroyed four vehicles at the Pier 40 parking garage.

Witnesses said they heard pops and then loud explosions.

"All of a sudden cars started exploding," a witness told A Walk In The Park.  

Four cars including an suv, and a small wagon, a pick up truck,  and a Subaru wagon were destroyed.




Other vehicles were damaged. 

Fire officials said they received notification at 6:21am.  12 units responded with approximately 60 firefighters. 

The fire was under control by 7:10am.  

No injuries were reported. 





Thompson Trashes Proposed UES Waste Transfer Station - Quinn Stands Firm

"I don't care how many times I get booed from the Upper East side I'm not changing my position."   -  Christine Quinn - May 30th



The  $ 250 Million - 10-story high facility is the only marine waste transfer station being proposed by the Bloomberg administration in the middle of a high density neighborhood and in the middle of parkland.  Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on image to enlarge.

The abandoned Department Of Sanitation East 91st St. Marine Waste Transfer Station (above-center) is nestled between the Asphalt Green, a 9 acre recreational facility and  DeKovats Playground located on the Upper East Side. For years the community complained about the putrid smells originating from the sanitation facility and its operation. After vehement community opposition the station was finally closed in 1999 after nearly 60 years of operation. 

The community is currently fighting the building of a new much larger waste transfer station as part of Mayor Bloomberg Solid Waste Management Plan, (SWMP). Opponents argue that no other community is being forced to house a waste transfer-station directly in the middle of a public park located in the City's highest density residential community.

As part of the legal proceedings, Parks Department lawyer Alessandro Olivieri stated that the Asphalt Green, parks managed waterfront esplanade Bobby Wagner Walk, and DeKovats Playground were not parkland.



Mayoral candadate Bill Thompson signed the Pledge 2 Protect at a press converance yesterday.   Mr. Thompson was greeted by long-time E. 91 Street  Marine Transfer Station 
(MTS) foe NY State Assemblyman-and City Council candadate-Micah Z. Kellner.

The Bloomberg administration has long attempted to portray the opposition to the siting of the transfer station on E. 91st Strret as an "environmental racism" issue.

According to PLEDGE 2 Protect data however  62% more minority residents live in this area than at any other proposed site. There are more than 1,100 public housing units – only one other location has any public housing units, and that site’s total is 33.  The area around E. 91st has twice the amount of parks, fitness/recreational areas and bike/pedestrian paths than any other site. 

The MTS would also affect significantly more people than any other proposed marine transfer station, including more people (22,056) than the other six MTS combined and 35 times the number of families living in public housing than the other 6 MTS combined and over 30% more children than the other 6 MTS combined.  



The Pledge 2 Protect coalition believes that major waste facilities do not belong in any residential neighborhoods in the city.

Read More:

Christine Quinn accuses Bill Thompson of ‘environmental racism’ 
New York Daily News  - May 31, 2013  - By Erin Durkin and Tina Moore   

Quinn: Thompson And UES Trash Station Opponents Stand For More Asthma For Poor Kids
New York Daily News - May 30, 2013 By Erin Durkin

Christine Quinn Says Bill Thompson Backs ‘Environmental Racism’
Politicker - May 30, 3013 - By Colin Campbell

Thompson ‘dumps’ on Quinn
New York Post - By Sally Goldrenberg - May 31, 2013

Thompson Trashes UES Garbage Plan, Quinn Stands Firm
Bill Thompson takes a stand on a controversial garbage transfer station while picking up an important endorsement
WNBC - May 30, 3013 - By Melissa Russo

Upper East Side Garbage Protest Now Has 5 Mayoral Candidates on Board
Village Voice -  May 30 2013  - By Sydney Brownstone

Quinn, Alone, Stands Firm On An East Side Waste Station
Capital NY - February  23,  2013 - By Azi Paybarah

91st St. Marine Waste Transfer Station Suit Dismissed - Group Vows To Appeal
A Walk In The Park - December 30, 2011

WHEN IS A PARK NOT A PARK - WHEN THE CITY WANTS 
IT TO BE A GARBAGE DUMP
A Walk In The Park - October 12, 2010 - By Tony Ard 








Randall's Island Park Supervisors Suspended After Sexual Harassment Allegations Surface


Parks Supervisor Angelo Figueroa who works with James Cafaro.
Parks Supervisor Angelo Figueroa was suspended without pay on Thursday following Daily News report about sexual harassment probe.

Following News report about city probe into allegations of inappropriate touching, sexual advances and pole dancing contests at employee gatherings, Parks Commissioner Veronica White said the two Randalls Island supervisors — James Cafaro and Angelo Figueroa — have been suspended.   

Randall's Island

They played — and now they pay.

Two Parks Department supervisors were suspended Thursday in the wake of allegations they sexually harassed female subordinates and set up a stripper pole on company property for boozy parties, according to the New York Daily News. 


 Photo taken of a Parks Department worker dancing on a stripper's pole inside the Randalls Island Park's garage./Photo taken of a Parks Department worker dancing on a stripper's pole inside the Randalls Island Park's garage. The photograph is being used against Parks Department official James Cafaro. Cafaro has been accused of sexual harrasment.

At left, a Parks Department worker dances at a Christmas party on a portable stripper pole at "Five Borough" a parks-owned facility on Randalls Island. At right, another photo from the party. Someone allegedly demanded that workers get on the strip pole if they wanted jobs.


Parks Commissioner Veronica White told a City Council hearing the two accused supervisors would be suspended without pay. 


James Cafaro, deputy chief of operations of Parks Department, has been accused of helping organize sexually suggestive strip parties for employees.
James Cafaro, deputy chief of operations of Parks Department, has been accused of helping organize sexually suggestive strip parties for employees.  (Photo: JOE Marino/New York Daily News

The announcement came two days after the Daily News first reported that the Department of Investigation had opened a probe into allegations of x-rated recreation. 

The News spoke with two Parks employees who said they were sexually harassed with inappropriate touching and suggestive texts. 

Deputy Chief of Operations James Cafaro, 53, and Parks supervisor Angelo Figueroa, 49, were transferred last week out of the Randalls Island facility where the strip parties allegedly occurred.   

Text dated March 18, 2013 from Parks Department official James Cafaro to a female employee who later made sexual harrasment allegations against Cafaro.

Text dated March 18, 2013 from Parks Department official James Cafaro to a female employee who later made sexual harassment allegations against Cafaro.  


The men were not initially suspended, but after two days of meetings with DOI, a recommendation was issued to Parks officials that the two men be relieved of duty pending the final outcome of the probe. 

“We acted swiftly when told of the alleged improprieties,” White said. 

“I am committed to maintaining an environment in which all of our employees are free from any form of discrimination or harassment,” she said.   

Text dated Dec. 21, 2012 from a Parks Department employee to another employee who made sexual harrasment allegations against James Cafaro.

Text dated Dec. 21, 2012 from a Parks Department employee to another employee who made sexual harassment allegations against James Cafaro.    


The Council meeting was about budget issues but White said she wanted to address the allegations that the two men fostered a sexually suggestive environment and rewarded with jobs women who flirted and participated in the strip parties. 

Parks officials recently took several steps to overhaul its Equal Employment Opportunity Office, she said, including giving additional training to 1,500 employees. 

The agency has also hired two new EEO officers, she said.

The chair of the City Council Parks Committee, Melissa Mark-Viverito, said it was important that a strong message is sent to all the agency’s employees, particularly its female staffers. 

Many of them are single parents who depend on the $14-an-hour seasonal jobs to survive.

 “I’m ... hoping that with the other measures you’re implementing in the agency, with regards to training, and enhanced training — because the training that was in place maybe was not appropriate — that we can avoid these kinds of incidents in the future,” Mark-Viverito said. 

The raunchy holiday parties go back as far as 2009, but were relatively tame. By late last year, sources say female workers were stripping down to their bras and panties and getting $20 tips for pole tricks.   

Read More:

New York Daily News - May 31,  2013 - By Erin Durkin and Ginger Adams Otis  

A Walk In The Park - May 29, 2013 



Thursday, May 30, 2013

Suicide Attempt In Riverside Park Spurs Intense Police Search






























Police investigate the incident early this morning at the OVER THE TRACKS TENNIS COURTS in Riverside Park at 119th Street.   (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Adovocates)  Click on images to enlarge

Manhattan 

By Geoffrey Croft

The discovery of a bloody knife and several pools of blood near the tennis courts in Riverside Park early this morning set off a tremendous police response as authorities searched feverishly for clues.

Police recovered a knapsack and knife behind some plants a few feet from the entrance of the Over  The Tracks Tennis Courts at W. 119th Street before 7:30 am.





























Officers en masse at W. 123rd Street inside Riverside Park while a police helicopter hovers above. 


Neighborhood residents were awakened to the sound of a police helicopter which began hovering around 8:am.

Police dogs were brought in and dozens of officers were dispatched into the park while investigators searched area hospitals.

Police turned away a steady stream of tennis players and joggers trying to go about their daily routines.

NYC Park Advocates has learned that a 54-year-old man attempted suicide.
   
According to sources the man transported himself to St. Luke's Hospital. 

Police awaiting orders at W. 116th Street and Riverside Drive before heading out into the park.  

The bloody knife and knapsack were found behind these bushes beside the tennis court fence.

The scene shortly before the police dogs arrived.  

Police on Riverside Park at 121st Street

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Central Park Drug Arrests Up 1,700 % - Overall Crime Up 14%


Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

Drug arrests in Central Park have seen dramatic increase over the same period last year while narcotic arrests city-wide are down according to NYPD crime data reviewed by NYC Park Advocates.

Regular NYPD patrol arrests for drug offences in the park shot up 1,700 % -   18 vs 1 arrest compared to the same time last year.  That figure does not include arrests in the park made by the Narcotics Division of NYPD's Organized Crime Control Bureau which are up 225 % - 13 vs 4 arrests for the same time last year.

Meanwhile drug arrests city-wide are down 7.1%.        

By the Numbers

18 vs 1 arrest for the year (Up 1,700% )
7 vs 1 arrest (for the 30 day period) alone
Citywide  - not including the park - narcotic arrests are down 7.1 %
Organized Crime Control Bureau - 13 vs 4  (up  225 %)
Overall crime in the Park is up 14.3 %

Year-To-Date vs. Last year:
Robbery 3 vs 3
Felony Assault 3 vs 5
Burglary 2 vs 0
Grand Larceny 16 vs 13
Overall crime 24 vs 21

Separate from the major crimes numbers 
Petit Larceny 28 vs 23 

Source: NYPD CompStat - May 20 - May 26 

Sexual Harassment & Degradation On Parkland



EXCLUSIVE: Sex-crazed male NYC Parks Dept. bosses urged female workers — who were mostly low-income single moms — to strip & pole dance at wild holiday parties for better paying jobs on Randall's Island. 

'It was out of control,' said a female worker who attended several of the parties. News of the shocking get-togethers, which date to at least 2009, follows bombshell sexual harassment complaints. 


 Photo taken of a Parks Department worker dancing on a stripper's pole inside the Randalls Island Park's garage./Photo taken of a Parks Department worker dancing on a stripper's pole inside the Randalls Island Park's garage. The photograph is being used against Parks Department official James Cafaro. Cafaro has been accused of sexual harrasment.
At left, a Parks Department worker dances at a Christmas party on a portable stripper pole at "five borough" a parks-owned facility on Randalls Island. At right, another photo from the party.  More recent ones featured groping, sources said. Someone allegedly demanded that workers get on the strip pole if they wanted jobs. 

Randall's Island

A stripper pole, free-flowing booze and female city employees performing sexy tricks are just a few staples at raunchy holiday parties hosted by Parks Department supervisors, according to the New York Daily News. 

Seasonal employees — some disrobing down to their bras and panties — tantalized as many as 10 men at a time during Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations going back to at least 2009, a Daily News investigation found.

The clandestine parties were held in a so-called “boom boom” room at a city-owned facility on Randalls Island. And the seasonal workers who “got on the pole” were rewarded with additional work or permanent jobs, sources told The News. 

A female worker who attended several of the parties said they got steamier each year.

PARKS & SEX - Front page of today's Daily News.

<p>
  A worker who skipped one of the parties was asked to come by a female colleague. </p>
A worker who skipped one of the parties was asked to come by a female colleague. 


“The men started demanding a lot more. They were like, ‘You want us to give you money, show us something,’ ” she recalled. “And for the New Year’s party, it got really grabby. Some women stripped to their panties and bras, and men were slapping asses. It was out of control.” 

She asked not to be identified because she feared retaliation. 

The city Department of Investigation launched a probe into the holiday party shenanigans. It is also investigating bombshell sexual harassment complaints, including a woman’s allegation that a supervisor accosted her when they were alone in an elevator. He lifted her shirt and ran his tongue across her stomach before shoving his face in her crotch, according to the complaint.  

<p>
 Dilcy Benn, president of District Council 37 Local 1505, the union that represents the workers who filed complaints, said the department immediately moved them. “I will do anything to protect my members and fight for them," she said. </p>
Dilcy Benn, president of District Council 37 Local 1505, the union that represents the workers who filed complaints, said the department immediately moved them. “I will do anything to protect my members and fight for them," she said.  (Photo: Andrew Savulich/New York Daily News) 

Another complained about sexually suggestive texts and inappropriate contact from supervisors, including one who would snap her bra straps.

Parks and Recreation Department spokesman Arthur Pincus told The News that the two female workers were transferred at their request. 

“On Wednesday, May 22, the Parks Department was made aware of sexual harassment allegations made by one full-time and one seasonal female parks worker against two male supervisors in the Five-Borough Technical Services division. Parks immediately referred the matter to the Department of Investigation,” he said.  

The two male supervisors named by the female workers are James Cafaro, a deputy chief of operations, and his supervisor, Angelo Figueroa, sources said. The men didn’t respond to calls for comment. Both have been transferred pending the outcome of the investigation. Sources said each has called out of work for the rest of the week.  


High-ranking Parks Department official James Cafaro, who is married with children, shoved a $20 bill in the pants of one worker at one of the sleazy parties, sources said.   (Photo: Joe Marino/New York Daily News) 


For years, as the official holiday party took place on the second floor of the low-level Parks Department building, Cafaro, Figueroa, another male supervisor and several other male workers would set up the X-rated recreation a flight below, sources said.

The crew fashioned a temporary stripper’s pole out of a huge wire spool and pieces of wood left in the telecommunications room. A short ladder was set up to allow access to the pole platform, and once the booze started flowing, women were encouraged to climb up. 

According to one female worker, a man at last year’s Christmas party yelled: “If you want a job, get on the pole.”   

<p>
 Many of the female workers in the Parks Department are low-income single mothers desperate for the work. </p>
Many of the female workers in the Parks Department are low-income single mothers desperate for the work.   


Cafaro, 53, married with children, started in the Parks Department in 1986 and makes $103,864 a year. He moved steadily up the ladder — but was demoted in 1997 for an impropriety involving an agency employee and a Parks vehicle. Details weren’t immediately available. In 2005 he reached his current mid-level management position. 

He oversees about 80 workers, about 30 of them who toil at city parks. Of those assigned to work at parks, most are women who clean pools, rake leaves or prepare properties for a given season, officials said.   


“I will do anything to protect my members, and fight for them. When these women came forward we got them out,” said Dilcy Benn, president of District Council 37 Local 1505, the union that represents the workers who filed complaints. 

“I brought this to (Assistant Commissioner) David Stark and to his credit within two minutes he made a phone call and moved them.” 

Cafaro laughed and enjoyed himself during at least three strip parties in recent years, as two or three female staffers took turns performing on the pole to the hoots and hollers of other male supervisors and Parks Department workers. He even shoved a $20 bill in the pants of one worker, sources said.  

<p>
 Parks supervisor Angelo Figueroa is one of the men named in sexual harassment complaints. One female worker alleged that a supervisor would pull her bra strap, and another said a supervisor who accosted her in an elevator lifted her shirt and ran his tongue across her stomach before shoving his face in her crotch.</p>
Parks supervisor Angelo Figueroa is one of the men named in sexual harassment complaints. One female worker alleged that a supervisor would pull her bra strap, and another said a supervisor who accosted her in an elevator lifted her shirt and ran his tongue across her stomach before shoving his face in her crotch.  

One woman made “a couple hundred bucks” during one party and shared it with her female colleagues, the sources said.

For the parties last December and New Year’s Eve, the men turned off the overhead lights, set up up a disco strobe and came prepared with plenty of dollar bills, the sources said. 

There was never a direct order from Cafaro or Figueroa for the women to participate, said Benn. But the seasonal workers get asked back for jobs or offered permanent positions based on the recommendations of Cafaro and Figueroa, she said. 

Many of the women are low-income single mothers, some of whom came into the job through the welfare system and are desperate to keep the seasonal positions that can run anywhere from four to six months at a time. 

The most junior positions start at $9, and city seasonal workers, who Benn represents, get $14 an hour. Cafaro tacitly encouraged women to go along with the suggestive atmosphere by rewarding those who stripped down to their skivvies and danced on the pole with more work, Benn said.   

<p>
 The parties were said to be held in a
The parties were said to be held in a "boom boom" room at "five borough" (above) a parks-owned facility on Randalls Island. (Photo: Norman Y. Lono for New York Daily News) 

One of the women, who started out as a temporary, six-month hire in 2009, danced on the pole at that year’s Christmas party. But when she rebuffed Cafaro’s alleged sexual overture in the elevator, she wasn’t asked back for two years. When she returned in time for last Christmas, she danced again at the annual party — and got offered a permanent position. 

Another worker, a single mother who refused to flirt with Cafaro, showed the Daily News text messages she said were exchanged between her and the deputy chief over the course of her six-month seasonal job that ended this month.  

The texts range from creepy to overtly sexual.

In one exchange, Cafaro said he was going home. 

“Want to come with me?” he texted.

The staffer declined.

“Will u make it up to me?” he wrote.

The worker didn’t go to the “boom boom” room last Christmas, which prompted another female colleague to text her to come down, adding that she was “at the strip party downstairs.” 

The abuse within the Parks and Recreation Department isn’t just sexual, Benn said.

A female supervisor at Randalls Island — who gave training about employee rights — was caught on tape screaming that her job wasn’t “to f---ing babysit” staffers. 

The supervisor, identified by sources as Kate Boland, then dared workers to call the union. 

The move backfired, Benn said.

“Our members were brave and called for us and we came,” she said.   

Alleged texts between Parks Department Deputy Chief of Operations James Cafaro and a seasonal worker: 

Dec. 30, 2012
*
Cafaro: Happy Birthday beautiful.
Worker: Thank you.
Cafaro: Thank you for saying happy birthday or for reminding you that you are beautiful? Probably for both lol. R u working?
Worker: Yes I am working and thank you for both.
Cafaro: How are we celebrating?
-
Jan. 24, 2013
*
Worker: You want me in the office? Am I in trouble?
Cafaro: Do u want to be in trouble?
-
Feb. 9, 2013
*
Cafaro: I’m leaving.
Worker: To go?
Cafaro: Home. Want to come with me?
Worker: Have to go get my daughter.
Cafaro: ;-((
Worker: Sorry.
Cafaro: Will you make it up to me?
-
Feb. 10, 2013
*
Cafaro: U didn’t answer my last text yesterday but it is ok.
Worker: I’ll try
Cafaro: I guess that is the best answer for now. U don’t need to try. If u wanted to u would have by now. I won’t bother you about it anymore. u will still be my favorite.
-
Feb. 14, 2013
*
Cafaro: I don’t kno what’s up but I don’t deserve this from u.
-
Feb 26, 2013
*
Cafaro: Don’t get u but i understand.
Worker: Don’t get me but understand okkkkkk.
Cafaro: I want to get u but u won’t let me.
Worker: Sorry.
Cafaro: Sorry for what. U aren’t interested. I get it.
-
Text from one female seasonal worker (staffer 1) to another (staffer 2) who refused to attend the Christmas Party in the “boom boom room” at Randall’s Island
-
Dec. 21, 2012
*
Staffer 1: Wya? (Where you at?)
Staffer 2: I’m in the training you. You?
Staffer 1: Come to the elevators. I’m at the strip party downstairs. (Sends picture of a co-worker on strip pole)
Staffer 2: Is that L****? That’s crazy.
Staffer 1: Yeah that’s her.”
-----------------

Getting in the park

Pathway to Parks and Recreation jobs, many of which are four- or six-months long depending on how much money the agency has to budget for staff and maintenance projects: 

1) Job training participant: A welfare-to-work program that places people in Parks for six months at a time while looking for permanent work. Pays $9.21 an hour 

2) City seasonal aide: An entry-level seasonal job that pays $11.11 an hour for workers not on public assistance but looking for employment. 

3) City park worker: A year-round or seasonal position that can be temporary or permanent. Pay is approximately $14 an hour or $29,971 annually for permanent hires. They are union members, but only permanent ones get health benefits and pensions.


Read More:

New York Daily News - May 28, 2013 - By Ginger Adams Otis


WCBS - May 29, 2013 - By Marcia Kramer





Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Officials Blast NPS Plan To Move Security Screenings To Ellis Island


With the Statue of Liberty scheduled to reopen on July 4, New York officials are pressing the parks department to reconsider new security procedures that they believe put the monument at "greater risk" for a terrorist attack, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

At issue is the point where visitors are screened for Statue of Liberty tours. The National Park Service has said it plans to move security screenings to Ellis Island, after visitors have taken ferry rides from New Jersey and Manhattan. Those wanting to visit the statue will undergo a second screening.

On Monday, New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer called on the park service to revert to the procedure that was in place before the park had to be closed for repairs following superstorm Sandy: screening visitors at Battery Park and New Jersey before they board ferries.

That security strategy, which involved having visitors go through the same detectors used at airports, has been in place since after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"The NYPD and the National Park Service have differences when it comes to protecting visitors from a terrorist attack," Mr. Kelly said.

"I believe this change can cause serious problems and make those who travel there at greater risk than they are now," Mr. Schumer said.

A National Park Service spokesman, Mike Litterst, said via email: "The National Park Service provides security at national icons across America and has done so successfully for decades. Safety...will continue to be our number one priority."

The statue and Liberty and Ellis islands have been closed since Sandy battered the region in October. The statue, which sits elevated on Liberty Island, was left unscathed by the storm, which flooded the island and destroyed infrastructure.

Park officials said the Battery Park and New Jersey screening sites were always meant to be a temporary solution. The storm damage accelerated the construction of the Ellis Island screening facility.

Mr. Kelly said there is no immediate threat to the statue, but said there remains an overall threat to key monuments. "In our judgment the threat has not abated," he said.

Messrs. Kelly and Schumer said they have had discussions with the parks service, which they said so far has resisted their overtures. Both recently sent letters to Sally Jewell, the department's newly appointed secretary, in hopes she will reconsider.

If money is the issue, they said, the additional costs could be offset by a "nominal" increase in the price of tickets, which now run from $9 to $20.

"They have talked to both of us repeatedly," Mr. Schumer said. "Thus far, they have resisted. With a new commissioner, hopefully they will change their mind....Right now the park service is not showing that carefulness we need."

Read More:

Officials See Risk in Statue Security Plan
Parks Department Asked to Reconsider New Security Procedures
The Wall Street Journal - May 27, 2013 - By Pervaiz Shallwani

SoHo Residents Protest DOT Bike Share's "Illegal" Take Over Of Petrosino Square's Art Space

Protesters lined new SoHo bike rack Saturday as bike share plan is set to start Monday in several areas across the city.
A R T  I N  P E T R O S I N O  P A R K. Protesters lined the newly installed bikes in Petrosino Square on Saturday to demand that the DOT restore the Parks Department property back to a public outdoor art space.  (Photos: Shawn Inglima for New York Daily News) 

Manhattan  


By Geoffrey Croft



Saturday's dreary weather did not deter dozens of people from coming out and demanding the City's Department of Transportation (DOT) remove the Citi-Share Bike docking station racks at Petrosino Square. For weeks area residents have been protesting the taking away of the park's northern most section which for decades has been used as a public art space.

Members of the Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino Lodge of the Sons of Italy in America joined the protest as did Comptroller John Liu and local councilwoman Margaret Chin.  

Former Councilmember Alan Gerson who allocated the funds to renovate the park was also in attendance.  

The DOT has already been forced to remove several docking stations as a result of lawsuits and negative publicly. 

"We do not want Citi Bank-branded and Mastercard-branded advertising in a space designated for beauty, contemplation, and independent thought," says Friends of Petrosino Square founder Georgette Fleischer.

Parks Department regulations specifically prohibit the erecting of any structure inside a NYC Park  without the "approval of the Commissioner." 


§1-05 Regulated Uses


"3. No person shall erect any structure, stand, booth, platform, or exhibit in connection with any assembly, meeting, exhibition or other event without approval of the Commissioner or his or her designated representative,"  the regulations state.  


Pete Davies of Friends of Petrosino asks how the DOT is getting away with this when the agency had previously gone on the record saying that the Petrosino location was "not an appropriate location for a bike station."   


On April 5, 2012 an email was sent to the DOT Borough Commissioner Margaret Forgione and the Director of Bike Share on behalf of Manhattan Borough Parks Commissioner Bill Castro stating the agency's objection.    

Davies points out that the Parks Department has been "SILENT & INVISIBLE"  since the controversy broke.

He says the group has collected almost 500 signatures on a petition to DOT saying the bikes & racks should be moved out of the arts space at Petrosino.

Artist Minerva Durham says she been "protesting the theft of the art installation space in Petrosino Square by the New York City Department of Transportation and Citibank," since April 28th, a day after they discovered DOT was planning to install the racks.   

She said she and Georgette Fleischer stopped the bike-rack installation the night before when DOT came but the agency "secretly" came back in the middle of the night and installed the racks.

"We love bikes we just want them in an appropriate location," said Ms. Durham.     

Spring Studio held free outdoor drawing classes on memorial day at Petrosino Square to protest DOT's continued occupation she said.     


Minerva will be teaching her 9:30 am and 1:00 pm art classes out doors all this week weather permitting.  



Several members of the group attended the city's official press launch event yesterday morning at a docking station near City Hall across from the Brooklyn Bridge.  The event was presided over by Mayor Bloomberg and attended by the DOT commissioner and Michele F. Imbasciani of Citibank, a sponsor of New York's new bike share program.

Critics held up signs that read,  "Cyclists for Art in Petrosino Park" and "Artists for Art in Petrosino Park." 

Mr. Fleischer said she hand-delivered a letter to DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan asking her to remove Citi Bike from the park.

NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpi
Lili Okellis, 10, protests in silence on a CitiBike in Petrosino Square in SoHo. She and others say the park space should be for art instead of bikes.  




Two weeks ago several elected officials sent a strongly worded letter to DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan demanding the bike racks be removed.

"Prior to the start of installation, the Department of Transportation agreed that placement within Petrosino Square Park was inappropriate. The Department of Parks concurred that such placement was improper,"  said the May 9th letter signed by State Assemblymember Deborah Glick,  State Senator Daniel Squadron and  Councilmember Margaret Chin.
  
"...they (Bike Share racks) should not, under any circumstances, be placed inside Petrosino Square Park," the letter continued.

"We urge the Department of Transportation to follow through on the previous agreement not to have a docking station within Petrosino Park, and relocate it immediately."


ART NOT ADS. (Photo: Peter A. Davis) Click on image to enlarge.

Read More:


The Wall Street Journal - May 27, 2013 - By Josh Dawsey

WPIX - May 27, 2013 - By Hilary Whittier

WCBS - May 27, 2013 

Guardian.co.uk  - May 27, 2013 - By Matt Williams and Amanda Holpuch 

My Fox - May 27, 2013  

New York Times - May 27, 2013  - By Matt Flegenheimer

New York Post - May 26, 2013 - By Jennifer Bain 


SoHo residents protest bike share station, say bicycles would get in the way of public art
New York Daily News - May 25, 2013 - By Peter Moskowitz and Erin Durkin

Bike Share Battle

Protestors Against Location Bike Share Program
WABC - May  25, 2013

Parks Dept. vs. DOT In Bike Fight As Soho Residents Blast Bike
Share Station Installed In Artist Exhibit Space In Park
A Walk In The Park -  May 9, 2013 - By Geoffrey Croft

Friday, May 24, 2013

CB 3 Rejects Willets Point Project


On Thursday CB 3 in Queens voted almost unanimously to reject The City/The Related Companies/Sterling Equities Willets West Mall /Willets Point development project.  Under the proposal the 1.4 million sq. ft. mall would be built in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park on parkland currently used for Citi-Field parking.  (Photo: Willets Point United)

Queens

By a wide margin of 30-1 (plus 1 abstention), CB3 voted on Thursday night to disapprove the proposed "Willets West" mall / Willets Point development, according to Willets Point United.  

The landslide vote endorsed the earlier recommendation, on Tuesday night, of several CB3 committees, and took place after a public hearing on the matter. Reasons for CB3's disapproval include the project's huge and unaddressed traffic congestion and related negative impacts, failure to prioritize housing and a school, overcrowding of subway and bus lines as a consequence of the project, and disregarding the Advisory Committee and Queens officials when selecting the plan and the developers. CB3 concluded: "The proposed project would change the character of the surrounding neighborhoods and impact the livelihoods of 250,000 residents and many small mom-and-pop businesses."

Likely aware of the committees' Tuesday recommendation to disapprove the project, no representative of developers Sterling Equities and Related Companies, or the city, bothered to attend the Thursday night public hearing.

Although CB7 voted last week to approve the same development project by a very slim margin of 22-18 (notoriously, after the CB7 committee had rejected it the week before by a vote of 7-2), the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure ("ULURP") entitles other affected community boards to also evaluate a land use application that "may significantly affect the welfare of the district or borough served by such board". CB3 has exercised that right, and decided to disapprove the application. So at the moment, the Willets West mall / Willets Point development has been approved by CB7 by a very slim margin, and rejected by CB3 almost unanimously. ULURP does not give any greater weight to any particular community board's recommendation – so both boards' recommendations must be equally considered by the next decision-makers.

Read More: 

Queens Community Board 3 nixes Mets mall
Willets Point United - May 24, 2013