CIVITAS News

Save the Date: CIVITAS Benefit on March 14

2012-02-24T11:36:00.008-08:00

ENCARNITA and ROBERT QUINLAN, Honorary Chairs, and the CIVITAS Benefit Committee request the pleasure of your company at a cocktail reception, celebrating 31 years of achievement by CIVITAS and honoring this year’s recipients of

The August Heckscher Award for Community Service:

CARMINE BRANAGAN, Director, and the NATIONAL ACADEMY MUSEUM AND SCHOOL

PENELOPE MAYNARD and LYNDEN MILLER for the Transformation of Central Park’s Conservatory Garden

In Recognition of Major Contributions to Quality of Life on the Upper East Side and in East Harlem

The awards will be presented by JOAN K. DAVIDSON, President Emeritus, The J.M. Kaplan Fund, and REBECCA ROBERTSON, President and Executive Producer, Park Avenue Armory

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2012

6 – 8:30PM

AMERICAS SOCIETY, 680 PARK AVENUE (At 68th Street)

Music by Alex Donner

Festive Attire

To RSVP, email info@civitasnyc.org or call 212.996.0745

For ticket information, please click here

* There is a limited number of reduced-price tickets available for individuals under 40 years old. $75 per ticket or $150 per couple.

Please make checks payable to CIVITAS or donate online*

*Please note that there is an additional tax-deductible 5% surcharge for credit card purchases through Network for Good.

Since 1981, CIVITAS has worked to improve quality of life on the Upper East Side and in East Harlem through planning studies, transportation advocacy, zoning reform and promotion of responsible development and a sustainable urban environment

NYU Wagner: Community Engagement Survey: And the Results Are In...

2011-11-15T12:14:00.000-08:00

By Samuel Myers

Prepared for the CIVITAS Fall 2011 Newsletter

The NYU Wagner team presents Community Engagement Survey results.

CIVITAS capped off the 2011 Community Engagement Survey with an April forum at the Museum of the City of New York. We embarked on the project with New York University’s Robert Wagner School of Public Service to determine the concerns and needs of the Upper East Side and East Harlem communities. The project coincided with the CIVITAS thirtieth anniversary and was intended to get feedback on the greatest concerns of the communities we serve. As Executive Director Hunter Armstrong was quoted in a July issue of Our Town, “As an organization focusing on quality of life initiatives, we’re always reaching out to the community to gauge [its] needs and interests.”

Surveys were conducted on the internet, over the phone, and on the street at points across the East Side, including La Marqueta, Carl Schurz Park and the Institute for Puerto Rican and Hispanic Elderly. More than 400 neighbors responded, resulting in a representative sample for both neighborhoods. Befitting the similarities and differences in the Upper East Side and East Harlem, the results reflected the characteristics and concerns of their communities.

Hot-button topics like bicycle lanes, access to open space and the waterfront, and the Second Avenue Subway construction generated impassioned comments. Public health, environmental, and aesthetic issues such as tree-plantings, sidewalk obstruction, and garbage collection were also major topics of discussion. Community members demonstrated profound awareness of the issues facing their neighborhoods and expressed a clear desire for proactive, responsive policies that take their civic concerns into account.

To announce the results and get more feedback on the project, CIVITAS and the NYU Wagner team presented findings at the April forum. After the formal presentation, the forum participants, who included community leaders from the Upper East Side and East Harlem, discussed the survey comments in breakout groups.

Results of the survey and the breakout groups have resulted in different approaches to CIVITAS’ current projects, as well as influenced the direction of future initiatives. Since the survey results covered a broad range of community concerns, the final report on the survey has also been shared with other groups addressing quality of life on the Upper East Side and East Harlem. The survey illustrated the great interest in the community for a vision for the East River Esplanade. This feedback resulted directly in our ideas competition and public outreach project, Reimagining the Waterfront. Further, the comments have been directly incorporated into our advocacy related to land use, streetscapes, transportation and environmental quality.

Find more information about the survey and report at: www.civitasnyc.org/publicneedssurvey

Call for Designs: East River Waterfront Competition

2011-11-11T14:49:00.000-08:00

By Sharon E. Pope

Prepared for the CIVITAS Fall 2011 Newsletter

In September 2011, CIVITAS launched Reimagining the Waterfront, an ideas competition to tackle design problems on the East River Esplanade, 60th to 125th Streets. As we documented in our Spring 2011 newsletter, multiple sections of the Esplanade are in severe disrepair and even sinking into the East River. CIVITAS is proud to organize the competition with the growing number of public officials, neighbors and advocates who are calling for a better future for the waterfront park.

Reimagining the Waterfront is a first step toward developing a vision for improving the Esplanade. The CIVITAS team of volunteer architects and planners organizing the competition selected the boundaries East 60th to 125th Streets. This emphasizes the broad span of park between the Ed Koch Queensboro and Robert F. Kennedy Bridges and the role the Esplanade does, and could, play in many diverse communities.

Open to architects, urbanists, students and community stakeholders, the competition is intended to produce exceptional designs and ideas that profoundly enhance the public’s relationship with the park and river, and bridge the urban and the aquatic.

The waterfront is the transitional boundary between New York City’s hard and soft edges, between life on land and life on water. As such, urban waterfronts offer infinite opportunities to craft and maintain that relationship. In his book, Waterfront: A Journey Around Manhattan, writer Phillip Lopate stated “Any redesign on the waterfront must start from the premise of public access.” Competition design goals include public access, attention to active and passive uses, effective use of existing amenities, and neighborhood context.

The competition will be open to submissions through January 15, and winners will be determined in winter 2012 by a jury of renowned, highly-skilled designers, park advocates and representatives of the Upper East Side and East Harlem. Winning and creative submissions will be available on the competition website for the public to review and to envision an improved park in the future. Competition winners will receive monetary prizes and publicity for their top-notch designs.

It is important to distinguish between an ideas competition, such as Reimagining the Waterfront, and a design competition, which results in a commission for the winner and includes construction documents for the project. There is not yet money available for an ambitious redesign of the Esplanade, but CIVITAS’ goal for the ideas competition is to begin developing the necessary community and political support.

Fortunately, funding is already being allocated to make much-needed repairs to the Esplanade. Council Member Jessica Lappin has secured over $1 million to fix some of the worst sinkholes and to conduct an engineering study. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Council Member Lappin co-chair a task force of elected officials and government agencies to address Esplanade concerns.

CIVITAS is grateful for competition support, which includes grants from Council Member Lappin and the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation. We will publicize the competition and the winning designs during 2011 and 2012 through public events, including an October 26 lecture by Lopate.

The grassroots citizen efforts of the Friends of the East River Esplanade, Community Boards 8 and 11, and Transportation Alternatives have helped raise the waterfront discourse through which the CIVITAS competition can explore designs and ideas of not only what is possible for the Esplanade but what can be dreamed for it as well.

On a recent cloudy day, an intrepid jogger was asked what he would like to see for the East River Esplanade. He gazed forlornly up and down the waterfront. He decided instead to discuss what he generally liked about the Hudson River and Riverside Park greenways. He is envious of West Siders, but that may change over the coming years as the East River waterfront is improved. Through the combined efforts of the competition and other stakeholders, the spotlight of scrutiny will help to formulate a long-term plan for the park incorporating definitive, targeted waterfront designs and substantial improvements. These actions will produce a waterfront that engages everyone. Only then will the Esplanade along the Upper East Side and East Harlem become, observes Lopate, “the place that will finally tell us we have arrived.”

Learn more about the competition at www.reimaginethewaterfront-civitas.com

30 Years of Making a Difference: A History of CIVITAS

2011-11-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

By Lucienne S. Bloch

Prepared for the CIVITAS Fall 2011 Newsletter

CIVITAS board members and volunteers with Paul Newman during the 1985 filming of No More Tall Stories. Watch the video at www.civitasnyc.org/multimedia

CIVITAS is celebrating its 30th year of working to maintain and improve the livability and character of residential neighborhoods in a constantly changing city. CIVITAS began in 1981 as a small group of concerned citizens, led by August Heckscher, that mounted a vigorous protest against the massive apartment-building complex rising on Third Avenue and 92nd Street. CIVITAS has continued to proactively promote smart, neighborhood-sensitive development in scale with its immediate surroundings. Over the years, CIVITAS has kept a sharp eye on zoning and land use, proposed and in-progress development, affordable housing opportunities, urban planning and public policy, transportation and traffic, community facilities and institutions, infrastructure, environmental problems, pedestrian amenities, trees and recreational space, streetscapes, and historic preservation, all fundamental to the quality of life in big-city neighborhoods. CIVITAS repeatedly advocated for those essentials in its specific area of concern on Manhattan’s east side from 59th Street to 142nd Street, but its influence as an early and effective grassroots community-based organization stretched into the larger metropolis and to other cities.

A key to CIVITAS’ effectiveness has been its working Board of Directors, who have always contributed their time and professional expertise to help the organization achieve its varied initiatives. CIVITAS hired its first Executive Director in 2008, after the death of Trayco Belopopsky, the Office Administrator for over 20 years. In 1985, founding member Marcia Fowle organized a task force of volunteers to scrub the grimy walls of the 96th Street subway station, which encouraged the station manager to keep it clean. Making a difference with soap and water was comparatively simple. Getting a developer to remove the top 12 already-built and illegal floors of 108 East 96th Street was much more complex, and famously successful. Hearing Genie Rice, founding board president, describe the legal twists and turns of that battle is positively dizzying.

Like several of CIVITAS’ other successes, that daunting five-year effort originated in a planning study that CIVITAS commissioned, published and circulated. In 1984, a survey and mapping of the East 96th Street corridor was conducted by a professional planning consultant with the assistance of early CIVITAS Directors Jo Ahern Bressler. Jeanne McAnaney, Cora Shelton and Jim Tripp. During the survey, the illegal height of 108 East 96th Street, then under construction, was discovered and publicly identified by CIVITAS. In 1991, CIVITAS published The ABC of Zoning, a witty explanation of the city’s complex zoning terminology and regulations. The booklet was sent to hundreds of organizations and individuals as far afield as Tokyo, Moscow, and Kenya, and is now available online. Working closely with professional urban planers, local community boards, municipal officials, architects, student interns and its board members, CIVITAS published studies of street activity on Madison Avenue from 94th Street to 125th Street (1993), a study of opportunities and issues on East 125th Street (1995), a report on community facilities’ expansions (1997), an East Harlem rezoning plan (2000), and a detailed proposal to build a pedestrian bridge across the East River from 116th Street to Randall’s Island (2006). Many of CIVITAS’ recommendations led to important changes, such as the city’s rezoning in 2003 of a large area of East Harlem that is now protected from out-of-scale midblock development, and is a model for contextual zoning in other neighborhoods.

Win some, lose others, as too-visibly demonstrated by the huge Memorial Sloan-Kettering tower on East 68th Street and the still-rising Mount Sinai-sponsored midblock apartment tower on East 102nd Street. CIVITAS keeps fighting the good fight, and is currently engaged in getting another big area in East Harlem rezoned. It is also spearheading an effort by a coalition of neighborhood groups to enlarge and beautify the East River Esplanade between 60th and 125th Streets.

The past is prologue. A new generation of CIVITAS board members is focusing on what will be a transformed and denser east side when the long-awaited Second Avenue subway is completed. Phase 1 service is tentatively scheduled for 2016. That new mass transportation spine, along with the newly-operational Select Bus Service on First and Second Avenues, will spark residential, commercial and institutional growth on the entire east side of Manhattan. Zoning has to be rigorously examined, and altered, to provide light, air, and pedestrian-friendly streets. More public amenities, such as green space, schools, libraries, community facilities, and playgrounds will be needed, as well as better infrastructure. All of this presents an enormous challenge that can’t be tackled after the built fact. Now is the time to work on making a more populous east side livable, to ensure that its still-extant historic fabric is preserved, and to enhance its civic allure. CIVITAS is already on the job.

Phillip Lopate's Lecture for Reimagining the Waterfront

2011-11-02T07:28:00.000-07:00

"We need a way to weave the waterfront into the normal street life in New York City."

In the kickoff lecture for the Reimagining the Waterfront competition, Phillip Lopate provided inspiring words and reflections from his book, Waterfront at the Park Avenue Armory on Wednesday.

NYC Council Member Jessica Lappin opened the evening with remarks about Esplanade repairs and an engineering study that is underway. The landmark Veterans Room, a collaboration of major 19th century designers, was the venue for the discussion.

If you were unable to attend the event, we hope you will stay tuned for upcoming public programming related to the Reimagining the Waterfront Design-Ideas Competition. Read on for more information.

More news about the October 26 lecture and competition is on DNAinfo.com.

About the Waterfront Competition

CIVITAS is calling architects, landscape architects, urban planners and professional designers to enter the Reimagining the Waterfront Ideas Competition for the East River Esplanade, East 60th to East 125th Street.

Visit the competition website www.reimaginethewaterfront-civitas.com for information about the competition including guidelines, prizes, and helpful resources. Registration began on September 15. Competition winners will be announced winter 2012.

The deadline for submissions is January 15. Please help spread the word. Thank you!

Upcoming Presentation

CIVITAS will present details about the competition to the Manhattan Community Board 8 Parks Committee on Thursday, November 3, at 6:30 pm at the New York Blood Center,
310 East 67th Street. The most up-to-date meeting details are here.

Community Events

TODAY: El Barrio/East Harlem Anti-Displacement Task Force, NYC Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito and have organized the 1st Annual Haunted Housing March, organized by the El Barrio/East Harlem Anti-Displacement Task Force. The march will begin at 110th Street and Lexington Avenue at 3:30 pm. The purpose is to bring attention to the practice of "warehousing" vacant apartments in East Harlem. More information about the issue is in today's New York Times.

More information about the march is here.

Mom and Pop vs. Big Box: Retail in New York City
Wednesday, November 2 at 6:30 pm
The Museum of the City of New York

1220 Fifth Avenue

New York has long been a city of both large department stores and small, independently owned businesses. But in recent years the balance seems to be shifting with the rise in franchise chains and even big-box retailers traditionally associated with suburban shopping. Has New York reached a point where there are too many chains? Which neighborhoods are oversaturated and which are under-retailed? Do chain stores necessarily undercut independently owned businesses? In conjunction with the release of the Center for an Urban Future's "New York by the Numbers" retail report, Jonathan Bowles, Executive Director of the center, moderates a discussion with Gale Brewer, New York City Council Member, District 6; Marlene Cintron, President, Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation; Jeff Roseman, Executive Vice President, Newmark Knight Frank; Victor Vora, Owner, Concord Market; and Vicki Weiner, Director of Programs, Pratt Center for Community Development, exploring the changing nature of retail in the city.

Presented as part of the ongoing Urban Forum series New York Infrastructure

Co-sponsored by the Center for an Urban Future
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED
$12 Non-Members
$8 Seniors and Students
$6 Museum Members / CIVITAS Friends discount
*A two dollar surcharge applies for unreserved, walk-in participants.

To receive the Members rate (50% discount) use code Retail112 when ordering: https://boxoffice.mcny.org/public/show.asp

Recent and Upcoming Events

2011-10-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

Join CIVITAS for the Shaping Urban Design and Public Policy Tour

On Saturday, October 15 CIVITAS Executive Director Hunter Armstrong gave a tour of East 96th Street as part of openhousenewyork weekend. The tour focused on the way zoning and land use policies have shaped the Upper East Side and East Harlem.

Phillip Lopate Lecture at the Park Avenue Armory

The Kick-Off Event for Reimagining the Waterfront Design-Ideas Competition
A lecture by award-winning author Phillip Lopate
on his book Waterfront: A Journey Around Manhattan
Wednesday, October 26 at 7pm
Veterans Room, Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue (Between 66th-67th Streets)
The event is $10. There is no charge for CIVITAS members.
Space is limited, and registration is required. Please RSVP to info@civitasnyc.org or 212.996.0745.

Community Events on the East River Esplanade

Cleanup with Upper Green Side for It's My Park Day
Saturday, October 15, 10 am - 3 pm
Meet at the 96th Street on the East River Esplanade

Activities include: scraping, painting and daffodil planting. Email uppergreenside@gmail.com to volunteer.

CIVITAS Reimagine The Waterfront: Design-Ideas Competition for the East River Esplanade and Upcoming Events in the Community

2011-09-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

Reimagine the East River Waterfront: Design-Ideas Competition for the East River Esplanade

CIVITAS is pleased to announce the Reimagining the Waterfront Design-Ideas Competition for the East River Esplanade, East 60th to East 125th Street. We are launching the competition this month to create a vision for the future of this potentially world-class park. We are calling architects, landscape architects, urban planners and professional designers to develop dramatic and original concepts for the waterfront between 60th and 125th Streets. Our goal is to jump-start a process that aspires to the transformation of the entire East River Esplanade experience. Stay tuned to the CIVITAS website and watch your email for announcements of upcoming public events for Reimagining the Waterfront Design-Ideas Competition.

Submissions from professional designers will be judged by the competition jury, including:

Al Butzel, Principal, Albert K. Butzel Law Offices
Warren James, Principal, Warren A. James Architects + Planners
Hon. William Castro, Manhattan Borough Commissioner, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation
Signe Nielsen, FASLA Principal, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects
Rob Rogers, FAIA, Partner, Rogers Marvel Architects
Jack Travis, FAIA, Principal, Jack Travis Architects
Billie Tsien, AIA, Principal, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects
Adam Yarinsky, FAIA LEED AP, Principal & Co-Founder, Architecture Research Office (ARO)

Visit the competition website www.reimaginethewaterfront-civitas.com for information about the competition including guidelines, prizes, and helpful resources. Registration will begin on September 15. Competition winners will be announced winter 2012.

PROUDLY ORGANIZED BY CIVITAS

WITH:
U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney
NYC Council Member Jessica Lappin
NYC Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito

CO-SPONSORED BY:
U.S. Congressman Charles B. Rangel
Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer
NYS Senator Liz Krueger
NYS Senator Jose M. Serrano
NYS Assemblyman Micah Z. Kellner
NYS Assemblyman Robert J. Rodriguez
NYC Council Member Daniel R. Garodnick

The competition is made possible through a grant from NYC Council Member Jessica Lappin and the generous support of the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.

In the News
East River Esplanade
Check out the August 11 issue of Our Town which profiles work that is underway to improve the crumbling infrastructure along many sections of the East River Esplanade in the article "Esplanade Emergency".

You can also read about the Esplanade in CIVITAS' Spring 2011 newsletter, "East River Esplanade: A Gaping Hole in NYC's Waterfront".

Upcoming CIVITAS Events
Discussion and Drinks Meetup at The Lexington Social
Join CIVITAS members for a casual get-together at The Lexington Social.
Come introduce yourself and tell us what urban planning and quality of life issues interest you.
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
6:30 – 8:00 pm
Lexington Avenue between 103rd and 104th Streets
RSVP by email: info@civitasnyc.org or phone: 212.996.0745 or through our Meetup Group: http://www.meetup.com/CIVITAS/.
Join the Meetup to find out about upcoming events.

2011 openhousenewyork Walking Tour
For the second year, CIVITAS will participate in openhousenewyork weekend with a walking tour Shaping Urban Design & Policy: The East 96th Street Corridor. The tour will focus on the way zoning and land use policy shape the physical landscape of New York, and how city policies and neighborhood advocacy have affected the built environment of the Upper East Side and East Harlem.

The event will take place on October 15, 2011. Stay tuned for more details and registration instructions.

Upcoming Community Events
Department of Transportation Community Presentation on First and Second Avenue Bike Lanes
Presentation to Community Board 8
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
6:30 pm
NY Blood Center, 310 East 67th St (between 1st and 2nd Avenues)
Visit the CB8 website for the most up to date details.

Community Forum On Parks & Waterfront Access On The East Side
Hosted By:
NYS Senator Liz Krueger
NYS Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh
NYC Council Member Daniel R. Garodnick
And Community Boards 6 and 8

Thursday, September 8
4:00-7:00 pm
Sutton Place Synagogue
225 East 51st Street (between Second and Third Aves.)
Please visit www.eastsideopenspace.com for more information.

Recycling Events
Third Avenue Street Fair/Recycle- O-Rama
Saturday, September 10
Visit the first "Green Block" - Third Avenue between 83rd-84th Streets - to recycle electronics,
paper items for shredding, textiles, and more. For a full list, visit: http://thisweekatthemarket.wordpress.com/

Electronics Recycling
Tuesday, September 20
11 am to 7 pm
Church of the Heavenly Rest

Rally To Save Ruppert Playground
Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011 at 2:00p.m.
Between 92nd & 93rd Sts and Second & Third Avenues

East River Esplanade: A Gaping Hole in NYC's Waterfront

2011-08-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

By Sharon E. Pope

Prepared for the CIVITAS Spring 2011 Newsletter

Photo by Anton Brookes, www.mockturtlemoon.com

New York City’s waterfront is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, heightened by new public and private investment and interest to enhance, repair and improve its vast waterfront. The NYC Department of City Planning has recently released its Comprehensive Waterfront Plan and several waterfront advocacy groups and water-dependent businesses have undertaken renewed efforts to bring attention to the city’s waterfront. With over 500 miles of shoreline, these initiatives comprise a massive effort to redesign the waterfront to accommodate a wide range of recreational and commercial activities; to reconnect it with adjoining upland areas; and to provide direct access to New York’s “Sixth Borough” (i.e., the waters of our bays, inlets, rivers and ocean).

The East River Esplanade on the Upper East Side and in East Harlem stretches from 60th to 125th Street. For these communities it is the portal to the river and their “living room” on the water, providing serene and stunning views of the East River, Roosevelt Island and the Robert F. Kennedy (Triborough) and Hell Gate Bridges. Residents visit the Esplanade to pause and reflect as well as to fish. It also serves as a significant recreational resource used by strollers, joggers, and bicyclists.New York City’s waterfront is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, heightened by new public and private investment and interest to enhance, repair and improve its vast waterfront. The NYC Department of City Planning has recently released its Comprehensive Waterfront Plan and several waterfront advocacy groups and water-dependent businesses have undertaken renewed efforts to bring attention to the city’s waterfront. With over 500 miles of shoreline, these initiatives comprise a massive effort to redesign the waterfront to accommodate a wide range of recreational and commercial activities; to reconnect it with adjoining upland areas; and to provide direct access to New York’s “Sixth Borough” (i.e., the waters of our bays, inlets, rivers and ocean).

CIVITAS has had a long history of advocacy for an improved East River Esplanade. In February and March 2011, members of CIVITAS walked the length of the Esplanade to assess and document its existing condition; to identify areas of infrastructure distress; to note areas of limited or impeded access; and to highlight related critical needs.

They documented a shockingly deteriorated Esplanade that included breaches of the bulkhead, crumbling infrastructure, unsupported rails and sidewalk sink holes, buckling or bulging sidewalks, and piers and platforms in need of such dire repair as to necessitate fencing to protect the public.

The worst sections were found north of East 110th Street. To rescue the East River Esplanade much has to be done. As a start:

Document, evaluate and repair the Esplanade’s pedestrian walkways.
Repair sinkholes at 110th and 111th Streets, 114th and 115th, and at 124th Street. These are not the only sinkholes; however, they are the ones that could impact public safety. They require immediate repair.
Increase signage at pedestrian entrances. Many entrances do not have any signage indicating access to the Esplanade.
Enhance the 60th and 96th Street Esplanade entrances. These entrances serve as major access points and should be welcoming, safe and easily accessible.
Install noise attenuation barriers to reduce automobile traffic sounds and exhaust pollution.
Add sufficient quantity and variety of seating along barren stretches of the Esplanade.
Replace trees in existing empty tree pits.

Despite its degraded condition, the Esplanade is still actively used by the public. Accordingly, its rescue and restoration are of critical importance. To restore the Esplanade will require the combined resources and efforts of Community Boards 8 and 11, community-based organizations, local businesses, adjoining institutions and elected officials. Funding will have to come from city, state and federal agencies, and possibly from the private sector. Only then will the Esplanade be able to fulfill its promise of park space for the communities of the Upper East Side and East Harlem, as well as a destination for visitors and tourists.

Since its founding as a Dutch trading post, New York City’s shoreline contributed substantially to the growth of the city with significant maritime trade. Although New York remains a premier port city, its traditional shoreline uses have been declining due, in part, to changes in shipping operations and an overall decline in the city’s manufacturing and industrial base. With waning traditional waterfront use (abandoned piers) its infrastructure fell into disrepair and subsequent physical decay. In 1992, the Manhattan Borough President unveiled a grand vision for Manhattan’s waterfront: a near continuous, publicly accessible esplanade around the entire island. It is this grand vision that many have today for Manhattan’s shoreline.

The East River Esplanade as a public open space has the promise of a vibrant gathering point for residents and visitors alike. With the renewed focus on the city’s waterfront and its adjoining “Sixth Borough,” we have an opportunity now to ensure that this promise is fulfilled.

CIVITAS in the News & Discount for Lecture at the Museum of the City of NY

2011-08-02T12:45:00.000-07:00

CIVITAS in the News

Read about CIVITAS' efforts to improve newsrack box enforcement throughout New York City in the following July 2011 media coverage:

The 1,200 Learning Annex boxes that have been empty—and in violation—for much of summer 2011:
“Group Blasts Learning Annex Boxes as a Sidewalk Blight” - DNAinfo

Columnist Ralph Gardner's humorous take on the campaign:
“Much Ado About boxes” - Wall Street Journal and CIVITAS’ Letter to the Editor of the Wall Street Journal

And efforts on the Upper West Side to improve neighborhood streetscapes:
"Upper West Siders Fight to Rid Streets of Dirty Newspaper Boxes" National Public Radio WFUV

“Upper West Siders Join Battle Against Grimy Newspaper Boxes” - DNAinfo

Please sign and circulate our online petition urging NYC Council Transportation Committee chair James Vacca to schedule an oversight hearing to address the current legislation and improve regulations for newsrack placement and maintenance: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/newsracks/

Learn more at www.civitasnyc.org/newsrack-enforcement

CIVITAS Initiatives in the News

Air Quality
Read about the co-op 910 Park Avenue's decision to convert their No. 6 heating boiler to a dual burner that uses cleaner burning No. 2 heating oil or natural gas in the July 22, 2011 New York Times article: "Going Green in New York: One Co-op’s Story"

In April 2011, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection passed a rule that will require many buildings that burn air pollutant No. 6 heating oil to convert to a less polluting heating oil by 2015. Learn more about the legislation updates at http://www.edf.org/pressrelease.cfm?ContentID=11722 and about CIVITAS' advocacy towards cleaner air on the Upper East Side and in East Harlem at http://civitasnyc.org/heatingoil/

East River Esplanade
The New Yorker architecture critic Paul Goldberger writes about the newly opened Esplanade park near Wall Street in his piece "On the East River Waterfront Esplanade" from July 22, 2011.

CIVITAS applauds this positive step towards an improved waterfront park and looks forward to similar public space enhancements along Upper East Side and East Harlem section of the East River Esplanade. Stay tuned for exciting news about CIVITAS' upcoming design-ideas competition to reimagine the waterfront.

Upcoming Community Events

Friends of CIVITAS are invited to this upcoming Museum of the City of New York lecture. Mention "CIVITAS" when ordering your ticket and receive a discount.

Whose Park Is It? Financing and Administering New York's New Parks
Tuesday, August 9 at 6:30 PM
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue

In the past 20 years New York City has added over 20,000 acres of parkland to its acclaimed public park system. Recent additions, such as the Hudson River Park, the Highline, and Brooklyn Bridge Park represent a new generation of park design as well as financing and administration. In an era of budget cuts and declining revenues, how is the city paying for its new parks? How does new park administration differ from the past? What role does private funding play in the administration of the city's parks? What makes a successful park in today's New York? Parks commissioner Adrian Benepe; Alexander Garvin, professor of urban planning, Yale University; and Catherine Nagel, Executive Director of the City Parks Alliance, discuss the past, present, and future of New York's public parks.

Presented as part of the ongoing Urban Forum series New York Infrastructure. Co-sponsored by the Central Park Conservancy, the City Parks Foundation, CIVITAS, Friends of the Hudson River Park, Friends of the Upper East Side, Hudson River Park and the Prospect Park Alliance.

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED
To receive the Museum Member rate of $6, enter CVTS0809 when purchasing tickets on-line https://boxoffice.mcny.org/public/default.asp (https://boxoffice.mcny.org/public/default.asp) or mention CIVITAS when ordering by phone at 917-492-3395. *A two dollar surcharge applies for unreserved, walk-in participants.

Sharing the Road on Manhattan’s East Side

2011-07-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

By Elizabeth Manus

Prepared for the CIVITAS Spring 2011 Newsletter

Protected bike lanes on Columbus Avenue

Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan told an audience of design-minded people in midtown Manhattan that now is the time “to build more choices” into “underperforming” streets that were engineered for car travel. Thus, she stated, bicycle lanes represent an important part of DOT’s overall strategy. Indeed, over the past four years approximately 250 miles of bike lanes have been introduced into the 6,000 miles of city streets.

The implementation of Select Bus Service (SBS) along First and Second Avenues has afforded DOT an opportunity to redesign a part of Manhattan’s East Side streetscape to provide a place for bicycle travel. Accordingly, DOT planners are in the process of considering various bike lane designs along these corridors.

Essentially, there are four types of bike lanes DOT can choose from. Along a physically protected bike lane, cyclists travel a green strip running between the sidewalk on one side and a white painted area, flanked most often by a parked-car lane, on the other. In a buffered lane, cyclists have the parking lane on one side and a parallel dashed-line painted buffer on the other; the barrier is visual, not physical. The conventional bike lane, designated by pavement striping, is the most common type of lane. Finally, the shared lane is a route cyclists share with motor vehicles. All bikeways feature the symbol of a helmeted rider perched on a bicycle, and a shared lane is marked additionally by chevrons.

Currently, on the First and Second Avenue SBS routes cyclists enjoy access to protected lanes below 34th Street, a situation which provides maximum protection. When protected lanes are laid, “injury crashes for all road users (drivers, pedestrians, cyclists), typically drop by 40 percent and by more than 50 percent in some locations,” according to a March 21, 2011 memo by Howard Wolfson, Deputy Mayor for Government Affairs and Communications. For this reason, bike advocacy groups are urging that protected lanes be extended north to 59th Street and in East Harlem.

In considering which type of bike lane to make part of the roadway, DOT designers, planners and engineers will be analyzing everything from bicycle volume to parking needs, pedestrian crossing distances and store loading plans. Many cyclists stress that to travel on a physically unprotected lane, even under optimal pavement conditions, is to travel unsafely.

Find more about NYC bicycling routes and regulations for riding at:

www.bit.ly/NYCDOTbike

Street Tree Stewardship Workshop, May 26

2011-05-31T08:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the Tree Enthusiasts who attended CIVITAS’ Street Tree Stewardship workshop at the Central Park Arsenal. We are thrilled that many attendees signed up to Adopt a Tree. Mission accomplished! We would like to thank our presenters, Morgan Monaco of MillionTreesNYC, Susan Gooberman of Trees New York and especially the Honorable Liam Kavanagh, First Deputy Commissioner, and the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation for their hospitality.

We hope to see a continued growth of tree stewardship efforts citywide. Send your wish list for new tree plantings around your neighborhood, and find more information about CIVITAS Tree Stewardship initiatives on the Upper East Side and in East Harlem at www.civitasnyc.org/trees
If you would like to make a donation to CIVITAS to help fund future events, visit: www.civitasnyc.org/get-involved or let us know if you would like to become involved in CIVITAS’ tree stewardship efforts as a volunteer.

You can find more information about the topics and programs discussed last night at:

MillionTreesNYC

MillionTreesNYC Stewardship Corps
Adopt-a-Tree Program and Map

New Yorkers For Parks - Daffodil Project

Trees New York
*Upcoming Event*
East Side Street Tree Stewardship Event
Saturday, June 18, 2011
10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Meet at the Southwest corner of 102nd Street and Lexington Avenue
RSVP 212-227-1887 or sam@treesny.org

To report dead or sick trees or request a new tree, contact 311...
By phone:
• Dial 311, request the Parks Department
• State the location - if possible, the street address
• Describe the state of the damaged tree
• Record a confirmation number to follow up
• Follow up on the status your request
Online:
www.bit.ly/ReportTrees

CIVITAS News & Events: May 13, 2011

2011-05-16T11:10:00.000-07:00

CIVITAS Presents...

STREET TREE STEWARDSHIP WORKSHOP
Thursday, May 26, 2011
6-8pm
On the rooftop terrace of The Arsenal, Central Park (Fifth Avenue at 64th Street)
RSVP Required: info@civitasnyc.org or 212-996-0745

Presentation by Trees New York

Learn how to report and care for sick trees, maintain healthy trees, and other resources for tree advocacy. Attend this event to tell us where you would like to see new trees planted, and sign up to “Adopt a Tree”.

Special Thanks to the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation

Community Events:

It’s My Park Day – East River Esplanade
Saturday, May 21
9am-4pm
Volunteers should enter at the East 60th Street Greenway entrance - gardens near dog run.
It’s My Park Day is an opportunity to improve parks throughout the city. Join Carl Schurz Park Conservancy, East River C.R.E.W., Inc., Upper Green Side, and Friends of the Esplanade in cleaning and painting the East River Esplanade. Volunteers are welcome to join for any length of time. For more information, visit: http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/2011/05/21/its-my-park-day-at-east-river-esplanade

CIVITAS discount admission for Museum of the City of New York program:
How Hugh Carey Saved the City (Who Will Save New York?)
Wednesday, June 1 at 5:30 pm
Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue
Reservations required: 917-492-3395 or e-mail programs@mcny.org
$25 for priority seating, $20 for non-members. $15 when you mention CIVITAS.

In 1975 New York City stood on the brink of bankruptcy. But insolvency never came, thanks to the leadership of Governor Hugh Carey. What steps did Carey take to solve the fiscal crisis? Given the perennial budget problems in Albany, are there parallels at the state level today? Does New York State need saving?

Sam Roberts of The New York Times moderates a discussion with Stephen Berger, former executive director of the Emergency Financial Control Board under Governor Carey; Ester R. Fuchs, Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science, Columbia University; Peter Goldmark, former New York State Director of Budget under Carey; Richard Ravitch, former chairman of the New York State Urban Development Corporation; and Felix G. Rohatyn, former chairman of the Municipal Assistance Corporation of the State of New York, on the current budgetary woes of New York through the lens of the fiscal crisis of 1975.

Co-sponsored by the Citizens Budget Commission, the Fiscal Policy Institute, and the Drum Major Institute and presented as part of the ongoing Urban Forum series Power and Politics, New York Style.

Recycle-O-Rama
Sunday, June 26
9am–3pm
92nd Street Greenmarket (on First Avenue between 92nd-93rd)
Accepted recycling materials include:
Electronics (computer equipment and accessories, network devices, TV and audio-visual equipment, cell phones and telecommunication devices), paper and usual recycling. Appliances will not be accepted.
For more information, visit http://uppergreenside.org/blog/

CIVITAS News and Events: May 6, 2011

2011-05-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

Street Tree Stewardship
On Thursday, May 26, CIVITAS presents a Street Tree Stewardship workshop. The event will take place at The Arsenal in Central Park (Fifth Avenue at 64th Street) at 6pm.
RSVP Required: info@civitasnyc.org <mailto:info@civitasnyc.org> or 212-996-0745.
Learn how to report and care for sick street trees, maintain healthy trees, and how to advocate for new trees on your block. Attend this event to tell us where you would like to see new trees planted, and sign up to “Adopt a Tree.”

CIVITAS has been responsible for planting street trees on East 86th Street, and other locations on the Upper East Side and in East Harlem. We have also reported more than one hundred dead or injured street trees and empty tree pits for urgent attention to the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. Find more information and event updates at: http://civitasnyc.org/live/trees/ <http://civitasnyc.org/live/trees/>

Newsrack Box Enforcement
Please take a minute to sign the electronic petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/newsracks/ <http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/newsracks/> and spread the word by forwarding this link. CIVITAS has been working for several years to clean up the plastic and metal newsrack boxes cluttering the sidewalks in our neighborhood. We are pleased to report that as a result of CIVITAS and partnering efforts, the A1 News boxes, which were long neglected and did not contain newspapers for over two years, have been removed. More boxes that are broken, vandalized, or filled with garbage, still clutter NYC streets, and the current law does not require sufficient maintenance. You can learn more about the Newsrack Box Enforcement initiative and view recent press at http://civitasnyc.org/newsrack-enforcement/ <http://civitasnyc.org/newsrack-enforcement/>

Community Events:

It’s My Park Day – East River Esplanade
Saturday, May 21
9am-4pm
Volunteers should enter at the East 60th Street Greenway entrance - gardens near dog run.
It’s My Park Day is an opportunity to improve parks throughout the city. Join Carl Schurz Park Conservancy, East River C.R.E.W., Inc., Upper Green Side, and Friends of the Esplanade in cleaning and painting the East River Esplanade. Volunteers are welcome to join for any length of time. For more information, visit: http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/2011/05/21/its-my-park-day-at-east-river-esplanade <http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/2011/05/21/its-my-park-day-at-east-river-esplanade>

Recycle-O-Rama
Sunday, June 26
9am–3pm
92nd Street Greenmarket (on First Avenue between 92nd-93rd)
Accepted recycling materials include:
Electronics (computer equipment and accessories, network devices, TV and audio-visual equipment, cell phones and telecommunication devices), paper and usual recycling. Appliances will not be accepted.
For more information, visit http://uppergreenside.org/blog/ <http://uppergreenside.org/blog/>

Community Forum & Presentation on April 27

2011-04-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

You are invited to a Community Presentation & Forum
The results are in!

In Winter 2011, CIVITAS and the NYU Wagner School administered a Community Engagement Survey to take stock of community views on neighborhood concerns and future needs of the Upper East Side and East Harlem.

We hope you will participate in the Community Presentation & Forum when we present the survey results addressing the following areas: Transportation, Land Use, Streetscape, and Environmental Quality

Wednesday, April 27, 2011
6-8pm
Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue (103rd street entrance)

RSVP required:
info@civitasnyc.org or 212-996-0745

For more information and project updates, visit: www.civitasnyc.org/publicneedssurvey <http://www.civitasnyc.org/publicneedssurvey>

Recent News Coverage on CIVITAS' Newsrack Initiative

2011-03-31T11:51:00.000-07:00

CIVITAS speaks out against lax enforcement of vandalized and abandoned newsrack boxes and urges NYC Council to schedule an oversight hearing to address this issue. You can sign the petition at www.ipetitions.com/petition/newsracks and find recent media coverage at:

Our Town East Side
DNAinfo.com
WPIX11 News Video

Plan to attend and show your support at CIVITAS’ upcoming presentation on newsrack enforcement at the Community Board 8 Transportation Committee meeting:

Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 6:30pm
New York Blood Center, Conference Room 1
310 East 67th Street, (Between First and Second Avenues)
New York, NY 10065

CIVITAS' Select Bus Survey Results and Recommendations

2011-03-28T07:11:00.000-07:00

March 21, 2011

Jay Walder
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Metropolitan Transit Authority
347 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017-3739

Dear Mr. Walder,

CIVITAS has been a strong supporter of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) plans on First and Second Avenue and has been an active member of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) since 2009. We saw as a sign of progress the October 2010 launch of the Select Bus Service (SBS) line and its promise to improve travel times along the corridor from 125th Street to South Ferry, a route that is underserved by efficient transit.

Throughout the planning process, led by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and partner New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), CIVITAS has been impressed by the efficient implementation of the new bus line, and opportunities for community input at CAC meetings, and public open houses. Since its October 2010 launch, the highly anticipated SBS has been met with a mix of enthusiasm and skepticism charged by new procedures such as off-board ticketing, proof of payment receipts, three bus entrances, and a designated bus lane with camera enforcement.

In order to gauge the success and shortfalls of SBS’ first few months, CIVITAS conducted a survey from November 1, 2010 to January 3, 2011 focusing on rider experience in the areas of ticketing, boarding, traffic flow, and overall efficiency. We received 262 responses from riders throughout the First and Second Avenue corridor.

Although CIVITAS’ Select Bus Rider Survey revealed an overall—62%—positive response to SBS, particularly due to the noticeable decrease in travel time, the public response includes a list of complaints and concerns that must be addressed. These fall into the following seven categories:

MTA Outreach/Education
Off-Board Ticket Machines
Bus Stops
Bus Ride/Design
Bus Lanes
Paper Receipts
Customer Service

While some of these items may pertain to larger issues such as infrastructure and technology, there are short-term and manageable concerns that would significantly improve the public impression of SBS if properly addressed. The Raw Data attachment includes survey statistics from over 250 responders and the Summary attachment highlights comments most frequently addressed within the survey. For immediate improvement we would like to make three recommendations.

1. Consistent Publication of SBS Stop Locations

CIVITAS commends the MTA and DOT for the public outreach that took place prior to the implementation of the new system and especially staff orientations at bus stops within the early months proved to be beneficial. There is a lack of consistency, however, regarding the exact stop locations along the SBS route. This can be found in publications such as the M15 bus schedule pamphlet, (“MTA/New York City Transit Manhattan Bus Schedules." Mta.info. Web. 17 Mar. 2011. http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/bus/mhtnsch.htm), the Bus Rapid Transit webpage, (“Bus Rapid Transit - First and Second Avenues." NYC.gov. Web. 17 Mar. 2011. http://www.nyc.gov/html/brt/html/current/first_ave.shtml), and the Select Bus Service Newsletter (+selectbusservice First Avenue/Second Avenue. Newsletter 2/Fall 2010. Print). It is crucial for riders, local to NYC or visiting tourists, to have these maps readily available at each stop, online, and on buses in order to plan ahead and anticipate the connections to other transit lines. Similarly, updates to the Second Avenue bus route due to subway construction should be prominently featured.

2. Improved Maintenance and Additional Machines

The MetroCard machines are frequently inoperable, whether due to technical problems or lack of paper receipts. This creates a backup at congested bus stops and increases the risk of passenger fines. We recommend that MTA increase inspection frequency, and set up a direct and efficient method for customers to report locations of broken machines. The current method for reporting broken machines by calling MTA’s customer service number, 718-330-1234, is time-consuming and confusing. Furthermore, installing additional machines at congested stops such as 14^th, 34^th, and 79^th Streets would speed the boarding process and reduce crowding around working machines.

3. Better Cross-Town Bus Connections

CIVITAS has been a strong supporter of the limited nature of the SBS stop locations and has advocated for roughly 10-blocks separating each express stop. There are stops, however, where the distance between an SBS and local bus, or a cross-town bus should be reexamined. This is apparent throughout the corridor where riders must cross a major cross-town intersection to transfer buses, a situation that is unsafe for riders of all ages, and especially those who are less mobile. This is evident at the 25^th, 88^th, 97^th and 100^th Street stops, which are two or more blocks from the 23^rd, 86^th, and 96^th Street cross-town buses respectively.

We urge MTA and DOT to reevaluate the stop locations that are placed blocks away from the cross-town connection.

Although a significant number of survey comments addressed the lack of a stop at the 72^nd Street cross-town bus connection, CIVITAS feels strongly that an additional stop would deter from the efficient and established route. This discussion should be reconsidered, however, with the future completion of the 72^nd Street Second Avenue subway stop.

The Select Bus Rider Survey revealed complaints about the SBS experience that have longer-term solutions relating to the established SBS infrastructure. We recognize that paper receipts are central to the off-board payment and three-door boarding opportunities of the SBS model, but they create excessive litter and are easily misplaced. CIVITAS supports the implementation of a universal MetroCard that will electronically store off-board purchases and transfer information. We hope MTA will continue to utilize technology to streamline payments and boarding procedures.

We thank you for your continuing efforts to engage the community in order to better serve riders and East Side transit. Our objective is for this information to be useful as MTA moves forward in improving the Select Bus Service on First and Second Avenue and implementing new SBS routes throughout New York City.

Sincerely,

Hunter F. Armstrong
Executive Director

Tali Cantor
Associate Director

Hon. Carolyn Maloney, US Congresswoman
Hon. Christine C. Quinn, NYC Council Speaker
Hon. Scott M. Stringer, Manhattan Borough President
Hon. Liz Krueger, NYS Senator
Hon. Jose M. Serrano, NYS Senator
Hon. Jonathan L. Bing, NYS Assembly Member
Hon. Micah Z. Kellner, NYS Assembly Member
Hon. Daniel R. Garodnick, NYC Council Member
Hon. Jessica S. Lappin, NYC Council Member
Hon. Melissa Mark-Viverito, NYC Council Member
Robert Marino, Director, MTA NYCT Government & Community Relations
Ted Orosz, Director, MTA NYCT Long Range Bus Planning
Kate Mikuliak, NYCDOT BRT Outreach Coordinator
Manhattan Community Board 8
Manhattan Community Board 11

Summary of Comments & Raw Data

Upcoming Upper Green Side Events: Electronic Recycling and It's My Park Day

2011-03-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

Saturday, April 30th: Recycle-O-Rama – Spring Edition
82nd Street Greenmarket (between First and York), 9 am – 3 pm. Electronics recycling. Paper shredding. All usual recyclables.

Saturday, May 21st: It’s My Park Day
From 10 am – 4 pm Join Upper Green Side in cleaning the segment of the East River Esplanade south of 96th Street: Scraping and painting railing, cleaning plantings, getting rid of graffiti. Come for an hour. Be there the whole day.

Sunday, June 26th: Recycle-O-Rama – Summer Edition
92nd Street Greenmarket (on First between 92nd-93rd), 9 am – 3 pm More electronics recycling. Paper shredding. All usual recyclables.

For more information on these events, visit www.uppergreenside.org

Community Engagement Study Closed March 18

2011-03-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

Thank you for participating in our Community Engagement Survey!

CIVITAS, working with NYU’s Capstone program at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, administered a Community Engagement Survey to take stock of community needs and priorities for the present and future of East Harlem and the Upper East Side.

The purpose of the project is to evaluate what community stakeholders view as the future needs of the neighborhood in the key areas that CIVITAS addresses through our work: land use and zoning, transportation, environmental quality and streetscapes.

The survey closed on March 18, 2011. For updates on the project, visit:
www.civitasnyc.org/live/publicneedssurvey

Free Screening of GASLAND Film

2011-02-02T14:45:00.000-08:00

CIVITAS is co-sponsoring a FREE screening of GASLAND, the critically acclaimed documentary film about hydrofracking, a controversial process to extract natural gas.

Filmmaker Josh Fox will be the guest speaker.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

6:30-9pm

Dalton School, 108 East 89th Street.

Seating is on a “first-come first-serve” basis, so please arrive early.

The evening’s co-sponsors include: The Dalton School, Grass-Roots, ,the Sierra Club

Learn more about the film at www.gaslandthemovie.com.

Check out the event description in Our Town East Side : http://ourtownny.com/2011/01/26/gasland-at-dalton-school/

Recycle-O-Rama at the 92nd Street Greenmarket

2010-12-02T07:47:00.000-08:00

Join Upper Green Side and GrowNYC for a Waste Reduction Celebration!

Sunday, December 5th, 9am-3pm, at the 92nd St. Greenmarket (at 1st Ave.)

RECYCLE: (no electronics)

clothes (including hats, belts, & shoes)
textiles (like linens and towels)
batteries
eye glasses
#5 plastics
wine corks
ink cartridges

PLUS: Free paper shredding (10am-2pm)
AND: Learn how to compost!

For more information, visit: http://uppergreenside.org/blog/2010/11/27/dec-5th-recycle-o-rama-at-the-92nd-street-greenmarket/

Park Avenue: Historic, Iconic, and Only Partly Protected

2010-11-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

By Lucienne S. Bloch

Prepared for the CIVITAS Fall 2010 Newsletter

CIVITAS has joined our neighborhood partners Carnegie Hill Neighbors and Historic Park Avenue in supporting an application to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission for historic designation for Park Avenue from 79th Street to 96th Street. Park Avenue between 63rd Street and 79th received local historic designation in 1981. At present, only a few blocks of the avenue between 86th Street and 96th Street fall within the boundaries of the Carnegie Hill Historic District. In June 2010, the New York State Historic Preservation Office determined Park Avenue between 79th Street and 96th Street to be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, and that application is under way. A listing on the State and National Registers is more of an honorific title than a locally protective measure for historical structures, but it does add a layer of review for proposed alterations that receive state or federal funding.

Historic Designation: For and Against

Local historic designation for Park Avenue to 96th Street is long overdue, and a matter of some urgency to many people who see the all-too-obvious outcome of non-designation, as demonstrated on both eastern corners of 87th Street. One is the site of a new entirely glass-fronted building that is glaringly insensitive to the look and feel of the avenue. The other is a tower in a plaza that was completed in 1974 and is hugely out of scale with its surroundings. The publicized and unstoppable plans for that tower spurred the better-late-than-never establishment of the Park Improvement Special District in 1973. The district set standards for building height and adherence to the avenue’s predominant streetwall, although it doesn’t protect low-rise 19th and early 20th century buildings from demolition or radical face-lifting.

Some of the arguments that have been used against landmark status include: the time and expense of additional bureaucratic paperwork for building permits, and of committee review of exterior alterations that must be historically appropriate; the stringent contextual regulations for new buildings that may preclude opportunities for innovative architecture; stricter city building codes that may mandate and enforce sustainable design in construction and building maintenance, as well as eco-friendly retrofits of older buildings. These are cogent issues, but they don’t address another reasonable bottom line: the past matters, especially in a city that has only patches of its irreplaceable historic fabric still standing.

It is Time to Get the Job Done

The grounds for Park Avenue’s historic designation are visible and compelling. Apart from 19th century mansions and row houses, small flats buildings, religious and educational institutions, Lenox Hill Hospital, and the Seventh Regiment Armory, residential Park Avenue from 63rd to 96th Streets is pretty much all of a piece. Most of the apartment houses were constructed between 1913 and World War II. Different noted architects designed buildings with entrances, cornices and ornamentation in different idioms, Georgian, Italian Renaissance Revival, and Art Deco among them, but the similarity of height, 12 to 17 stories, and of building materials, stone and brick, on both sides of the broad boulevard gives Park Avenue an overall and palpable coherence. There is a sense of harmonious scale on residential Park Avenue, and a sense of place that has both historic and architectural significance. Several of the 19th century structures belong to the wide avenue’s past as a busy open rail corridor with at-grade tracks in the middle of it. Between 1871 and 1877, a tunnel was constructed for the lowered tracks from 97th Street to Grand Central Depot, bridges were built over the sunken tunnel for pedestrians and vehicles, and row houses and tenements sprang up along the still-gritty avenue. The tunnel wasn’t covered over until 1913, when the new and present Grand Central Station was completed. At that time, the median malls were landscaped with grass, trees, paths and benches, transforming the newly parklike avenue into a prime area for luxury apartment houses, and soon making it the world-famous iconic boulevard we know today.

Park Avenue between 63rd and 79th Streets has been landmarked for over a quarter of a century. It is time to finish the job by designating the entire stretch of residential Park Avenue to 96th Street. This will make it possible for future generations to enjoy its architectural quality and balance, its historic allure that evokes the early and still important connection between transportation and urban development, and its continuing presence in a constantly changing city.

Complete a Short Survey: Select Bus Service on First and Second Avenue

2010-11-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

CIVITAS supports the October 2010 implementation of Select Bus Service (SBS) on First and Second Avenue (South Ferry to 125th Street), which replaces the M15 Limited. The East Side was chosen for the Manhattan bus rapid transit (BRT) pilot project after the successful BRT line was implemented in the Bronx. If successful, SBS represents an inexpensive and innovative transportation approach to New York City. Since 2009, CIVITAS has participated in the Community Advisory Committee, a coalition comprised of the MTA, NYC DOT, elected officials and community stakeholders, to help plan and provide feedback to implement SBS. If the M15 Select Bus Service line proves to be a success, we hope to see additional bus rapid transit lines built throughout New York City.

If you use the SBS line on First and Second Avenue, we want to know about your SBS experience. Please complete this 5-10 minute survey with your feedback. If you don’t have an answer to every question, please make your best guess. Your anonymous feedback will be provided to the MTA New York City Transit and NYC Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) to help them work out the kinks.

Visit http://bit.ly/SurveySBS to fill out an electronic survey

Please forward this survey to your neighbors who use the M15 SBS line.

2010-10-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

Support Park Avenue Historic Designation

Join CIVITAS and sign the petition supporting a New York City historic district on Park Avenue from 79th-96th Streets (Click Here)

------------------

August 3, 2010

Hon. Robert Tierney
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
One Centre Street
New York, NY 10007

Dear Chair Tierney,

CIVITAS supports the nomination of Park Avenue between 79^th and 96^th Street to be designated a New York City historic district

Park Avenue is one of the world’s most famous thoroughfares and is well regarded for its central median, lined by stately apartment buildings, low-rise nineteenth century buildings and houses of worship. Yet almost half of the avenue on the Upper East Side is not protected by New York City landmark status. Except for a few blocks of Park Avenue located in the Carnegie Hill Historic District, most of this corridor between 79^th and 96^th Street does not fall within a New York City historic district.

Park Avenue is best known as a twentieth century streetscape as it rose to prominence in the 1910s and 1920s. Yet it has a significant nineteenth century layer as well, including several buildings that pre-date “Park Avenue” itself and were constructed when this thoroughfare was known as Fourth Avenue, before the railroad tracks were covered. The avenue’s predominant scale – 12-17 story apartment buildings that follow a uniform street wall—is mostly protected under the Special Park Improvement zoning district. But this offers no protection to the nineteenth century layer, which is increasingly threatened. At least two of these structures have been demolished in recent years.

The architectural character of Park Avenue is not just about scale. The architects who designed many of the proposed district’s greatest buildings—George and Edward Blum, Rosario Candela, J.E.R. Carpenter, and others—followed a relatively uniform bulk in designing the luxury apartment houses. Much of the designers’ individual expression is articulated through architectural details, such as windows, decorative medallions and door surrounds. The structures present a wonderfully eclectic face to the avenue, evoking Renaissance Revival, Art Deco and Georgian references. Designation of Park Avenue as a New York City historic district will protect those details for future generations to enjoy.

As part of our support, CIVITAS raises the following issues for consideration by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

First is the historical condition of the Park Avenue median. When the railroad tracks were covered in the 1880s and the landscaped median was created in the 1910s, it was a wide park with seating and meandering paths located in the middle of the avenue. Over the course of the twentieth century, the median has been whittled down to its current width, a “park” meant to be looked at but not entered and enjoyed. As the current movement in New York City continues to reclaim green space and public space in previously overlooked spaces, we would like to see additional thought given to restoring Park Avenue to its historical plan and configuration with a public park in its center. Designation on as a New York City landmark district should call special attention to the avenue’s original plan and not act as an impediment to possible restoration of the median.

Further, there is much discussion on the local and national level devoted to incorporating energy efficient components into historic structures. Preserving the “embedded energy” expended in constructing the historic buildings on Park Avenue represents the greenest a pproach there is, but we would like to see continued dialogue between the preservation and environmental communities to support eco-friendly upgrades that respect the aesthetics and historic integrity of Park Avenue’s buildings.

We encourage the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to move quickly in designating the Park Avenue corridor between 79^th and 96^th Street.

Sincerely,

Hunter F. Armstrong

Executive Director

Cc.
Hon. Carolyn Maloney, U.S. Congresswoman
Hon. Scott M. Stringer, Manhattan Borough President
Hon. Liz Krueger, NYS Senator
Hon. Jonathan Bing, NYS Assemblymember
Hon. Daniel R. Garodnick, NYC Councilmember
Manhattan Community Board 8
Michele Birnbaum, Historic Park Avenue
Lo van der valk, Carnegie Hill Neighbors

Clearing the Air on the Upper East Side: No.6 Heating Oil Pollutes East Side Air

2010-10-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

By Sharon E. Pope

Prepared for the CIVITAS Fall 2010 Newsletter

In an effort to improve air quality on the Upper East Side and East Harlem, CIVITAS launched an initiative to educate building owners, managers and residents about the air quality dangers of burning “dirty” fuel oil No. 4 and No. 6, and the benefits of converting to either No. 2 fuel oil, natural gas, or steam. Recent studies have documented how burning No. 4 and No. 6 heating oil adversely impacts New York’s air quality, contributing more to soot air pollution than all the combined cars and trucks on city roads. Although buildings burning No. 4 and No. 6 heating oil are scattered throughout the five boroughs, the Upper East Side is home to the highest concentration of sludge burning (No. 4 and No. 6) buildings. Burning “dirty” heating oil releases soot, heavy metals (such as nickel) and other particulate matter into the air. The Upper East Side has earned the troubling distinction of having the worst air quality in New York City.

To proactively address these concerns, CIVITAS organized “Clearing the Air on the Upper East Side,” a panel discussion targeted to co-op board officers and building managers. During his opening remarks, Hunter Armstrong, CIVITAS Executive Director, outlined a specific two-fold framework for the discussion: to present relevant and timely information; and to enable those who want to convert from No. 4 or No. 6 to meet and discuss the experiences of those who have already converted. The evening’s panelists included: Isabelle Silverman, Attorney, Environmental Defense Fund; Lewis M. Kwit, President, Energy Investment Systems, Inc.; Sean Wade, Certified Multi-Family Building Operator and Analyst; and Kizzy Charles-Guzman, Policy Advisor on Air Quality, Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability.

Panelist Isabelle Silverman led the discussion as she displayed a vial in each hand. One vial contained No. 2 heating oil, an amber, almost transparent oil. In contrast, the other vial contained No. 6 heating oil, or “residual fuel.” The No. 6 heating oil was dark, dense and seemingly impenetrable and comprised of the dregs of the refining process. Silverman, referring to the recent EDF report and the New York City Community Air Survey, noted that 1% of New York City’s buildings produce approximately 85% of the city’s heating oil soot air pollution. In particular, the Upper East Side 10021 zip code contains the most buildings burning “dirty” heating oil, No. 4 or No. 6. These “dirty” buildings contribute to unhealthy air quality by producing “air pollutants such as particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and sulfur oxides.”

As Silverman stated, the recent EDF report on the issue outlines the strategy including: policy recommendations to the city for banning heating oil, guidance for converting buildings to cleaner fuels and guidelines for proper maintenance and efficiency measures to help reduce heating fuel expenses.

With extensive experience converting boilers from No. 4 and No. 6 heating oil, Lewis M. Kwit addressed the practical issues and cost of boiler conversions. He discussed the importance of obtaining a building-wide energy audit which must include roofs, windows, lighting, electrical services, and elevators. When considering a boiler conversion Kwit recommends starting with hiring an energy consultant. To take advantage of price fluctuations, he advises utilizing a dual boiler system capable of burning No. 2 heating oil and natural gas. He notes that natural gas is domestically produced, lower in cost (at this time), has a lower carbon footprint and also has lower levels of pollutants.

“Energy, we all need it. We use it. You can never eliminate it,” Sean Wade said as he began his presentation. Wade expertly walked through a detailed step-by-step cost analysis of various fuels, including electricity, natural gas and No. 2 and No. 6 heating oil. He used BTUs (a method of measuring heat) as a benchmark to average out and compare each energy options. He debunked the widely-held rationale that using No. 6 heating oil was less costly. Wade provided analysis showing that No. 6 heating oil was not cheaper to burn and required on-going maintenance. Additionally, burning No. 6 produced more carbon dioxide than natural gas or No. 2. Wade noted that many Upper East Side buildings are cooled using cooling towers which burn more No. 6 oil during the summer than the winter. Not only is No. 6 burned for heating, more is burned for cooling. He encouraged everyone to “insulate it tight, ventilate right” noting that fifty percent of energy is wasted within the distribution process.

Kizzy Charles-Guzman observed that the City bears the burden of poor air quality. “Every kid, elderly person, every vulnerable population, in the City shoulders” this problem imposed on us by 1% of NYC buildings. The Mayor’s Office of Sustainability has embarked on a comprehensive energy strategy that includes utilizing biodiesel, lowering the sulfur level of No. 4 heating oil, gradually phasing out No. 4 and No. 6 fuel oil and increasing use of No. 2 heating oil. NYC Housing Authority buildings have converted to No. 2 and report fuel savings and efficiency gains.

Addressing the problem will take a multi-year effort and coordinated approach of community-based organizations like CIVITAS, legislators and homeowners. We look forward to working with neighborhood partners to educate the community and with elected officials to push for additional strong legislation.

Photo by Isabelle Silverman, Environmental Defense Fund
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Do you live in a
dirty building?

Almost 8,000 buildings in New York City burn No. 4 or No. 6 heating oil. To read EDF’s report The Bottom of the Barrel: How the Dirtiest Heating Oil Pollutes Our Air and Harms Our Health, and see if your building is on the “dirty buildings” list, visit: www.dirtybuildings.org.

For additional resources and details from the July 21 forum visit the “Clearing the Air on the Upper East Side” event page: www.civitasnyc.org/live/heatingoil.

TURN IT OFF - Idling in New York City is illegal

2010-10-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

By Marcia Fowle

According to New York City laws that have been in place since 1971, it is illegal to idle a vehicle for more than three minutes while parking, standing, or stopping. Since 2009, it is illegal in a school zone (streets that border both public and private schools) to idle for more than one minute. Agencies that can issue tickets for violations include NYPD Traffic Enforcement, NYC Department of Sanitation, and NYC Department of Parks & Recreation. Fines range from $100 to thousands of dollars for repeat offenders.

Idling an engine for more than 10-15 seconds uses more fuel and causes more wear and tear than turning off the engine and restarting it.

Each year in New York City, idling vehicles produce tons of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, soot, and carbon monoxide according to the Environmental Defense Fund. These pollutants cause asthma, contribute to ozone depletion, and play a part in climate change.

Community Board 11 has worked on the problem of idling MTA buses in East Harlem with Manhattan Borough President Stringer’s Go Green initiative, which is aimed breaking the pattern of hazardous environmental condition. East Harlem is home to a multiple bus garages and bus route turn-arounds where vehicles are sometimes put in a “sleep” or idling mode.

Here’s what to do:

-Report offenders—trucks, buses, and cars—to 311, Mayor Bloomberg’s hotline
-Do not hesitate to rap on the window of an idling car and inform the driver of NYC’s idling laws
-Turn your own car’s motor off when sitting for more than a minute or two

With a simple switch off of the ignition, you can improve New York City’s air quality.

Bus Rapid Transit on the East Side to Start Fall 2010

2010-10-06T10:36:00.000-07:00

A radically improved form of bus service is scheduled for the notoriously slow M15 route (down Second Avenue and up First Avenue) as soon as Fall 2010. For CIVITAS, a strong advocate of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) for a decade, it has been a long time coming. The M15 is the city’s busiest route with 57,000 riders every weekday and also one of the slowest, averaging below 10 miles per hour.

The goal of BRT is to cut travel time for long distance riders by a combination of four techniques.

1) Distinct branding: MTA has designated its BRT routes as Select Bus Service (SBS). Buses – the standard articulated model – will be painted in a distinctive pattern with flashing lights that are easy to spot at a distance. They will replace the LIMITED bus.

2) Wide spacing of bus stops: This will result in slightly fewer than the LIMITED now makes.

3) Pre-boarding fare collection: Passengers will swipe metrocards at outdoor ticketing machines that issue time-stamped receipts. When the SBS bus arrives, passengers debark and board through all doors without involving the driver. MTA agents will conduct random inspections for bus passes and issue summonses with a heavy penalty.

4) Improvements to street design: Using the success of the West Side Highway as a model for bicycle, bus, and pedestrian coexistence, MTA has presented design scenarios including offset or curbside bus lanes and bicycle lane upgrades depending on the traffic needs in the corridor. Using an interior lane and pulling up to the “bus bulb”, the SBS avoids the necessity of pulling in and out from the curb to accommodate passengers. Experience shows that police presence and enforcement are required during the inaugural phase of a dedicated bus lane. MTA hopes to use bus-mounted cameras to record lane violations.

As with any transit reform there are good news and bad news. The good news is that an SBS route has already been launched in the Bronx on Fordham Road with instant success. Travel times have been reduced by more than 20% and customer satisfaction with the improved service is an astonishing 89%. Thanks to pre-boarding ticketing, Bronx SBS buses rarely take more than 30 seconds to discharge and pick up riders.

The bad news for some uptown portions of the M15 SBS route is that there will be disruption for several years due to Second Ave. Subway construction. However, the SBS route on First Ave. should show an immediate drop in travel time.

MTA has expressed its desire to engage the public as it proceeds to bring BRT to Manhattan’s East Side. It has scheduled open houses as well as regular meetings of a community advisory committee. Make plans to attend.

By Gorman Reilly

Upcoming Land Use and Zoning Programs at The Museum of the City of New York

2010-09-27T08:53:00.000-07:00

CIVITAS is pleased to announce three upcoming programs at the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY). MCNY has continuously offered engaging forums that address New York City’s ever-growing and developing neighborhoods. Such educational programs directly address CIVITAS’ efforts towards rezoning and building-height regulation to maintain the quality of livable neighborhoods on the Upper East Side and in East Harlem. In 2008 CIVITAS had the pleasure of honoring MCNY and director Susan Henshaw Jones with the August Heckscher Award for Community Service.

Because of our ongoing relationship, MCNY is offering friends of CIVITAS a discounted admission to upcoming programs at the museum. Please register to programs@mcny.org or 917-492-3395 and mention CIVITAS to pay $6, the regular price for museum members.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30
6:30 p.m.
LINDSAY’S FORGOTTEN PRESERVATION LEGACY: AIR RIGHTS AND THE STRENGTHENING OF THE LANDMARKS LAW
The Lindsay administration activated and extended the Wagner-era landmarks law, using a variety of strategies to protect historic buildings and districts, including Grand Central Terminal, the South Street Seaport, and the Theater District. How important was the tool of air rights transfers in this program, and how did air rights factor into the pivotal Penn Central Co. vs. New York City Supreme Court decision? How well have air rights held up as a preservation tool? These and other questions will be considered by former City Planning Commission Chairman Donald Elliott; Chief Assistant Corporation Counsel Leonard Koerner; Frank Sciame of F.J. Sciame Construction; and former Office of Lower Manhattan Development Director Richard Weinstein. The conversation will be moderated by former Landmarks Commission Chair and former President of the Municipal Art Society, Kent Barwick, with closing remarks by Robert Tierney, Chair, Landmarks Preservation Commission. Co-sponsored by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Historic Districts Council, the New York Landmarks Conservancy, and the South Street Seaport Museum. Presented in conjunction with America’s Mayor: John V. Lindsay and the Reinvention of New York. Reception to follow. Reservations required.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5
6:30 p.m.
IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION: GENTRIFICATION IN EAST HARLEM AND THE LOWER EAST SIDE
Residents of these two diverse, vibrant neighborhoods have long dealt with the pressures of gentrification and have struggled for affordability. Their story is told in two recent documentaries. Join the filmmakers for a screening and discussion of The Lower East Side: An Endangered Place by Robert Weber and Whose Barrio? by Edward Morales and Laura Rivera, with opening remarks by The Honorable Melissa Mark-Viverito, New York City Council, District 8. Co-sponsored by the office of New York City Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito and East Harlem Preservation. This program is presented as part of the ongoing series The Urban Forum: New York Neighborhoods, Preservation and Development. Reservations required.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 18
5:30 p.m.
DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN: A PORTRAIT IN LETTERS OF AN AMERICAN VISIONARY
When Daniel Patrick Moynihan died in 2003, the Economist described him as "a philosopher-politician diplomat who two centuries earlier would not have been out of place among the Founding Fathers." Steven Weisman, Editorial Director and Public Policy Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, has culled the papers of this gifted author and voluminous correspondent to create a vivid portrait of the Senator's life in Daniel Patrick Moynihan: A Portrait in Letters of an American Visionary (Public Affairs Books, 2010). Mr. Weisman will moderate a panel with Peter W. Galbraith, Senior Diplomatic Fellow at the Center for Arms Control; Stephen Hess, Senior Fellow Emeritus in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution; Richard Ravitch, Lieutenant Governor of New York; and The Honorable Charles E. Schumer, United States Senator for New York. Reception to follow. Co-sponsored by the American Irish Historical Society, the Glucksman Ireland House at New York University and The Maxwell School at Syracuse University. Reservations Required.

Museum of the City of New York,
1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street
For more information visit www.mcny.org

2010-09-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

Electronics Recycling Day

Tuesday, September 28, 2010
11am-7pm
Church of the Heavenly Rest (90th Street and Fifth Avenue)

Items accepted include: cell phones, computers, laptops, copiers, fax machines, iPods and PDAs, modems, monitors, keyboards, computer mice, printers, stereo and radio equipment, telephones and telephone equipment, televisions, typewriters, speakers, digital cameras, VCRs, DVD players.

Special thanks to Carnegie Hill Neighbors for sponsoring this event.
CIVITAS is a proud supporter with our neighborhood partners:
The Brick Presbyterian Church, Church of the Heavenly Rest, Carnegie Hill/Yorkville CSA, Grass-roots

For more information, visit the Lower East Side Ecology Center’s website: www.lesecologycenter.org or call 212-477-4022

CIVITAS in the New York Times

2010-09-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

CIVITAS received coverage in Wednesday's New York Times on our work on the Second Avenue Subway ancillary buildings.

Read about it at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/realestate/01subway.html

August 31, 2010

Above Ground, a 2nd Ave. Subway Plan Attracts Critics

By TERRY PRISTIN

The Second Avenue subway, finally under construction on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, is of course a vast underground project. The $4.45 billion first phase, now scheduled to be completed in 2018, will extend from 96th Street to 63rd Street and Lexington Avenue.

But the project will also include construction above ground — not just station entrances but also a half-dozen boxy buildings on corners along Second Avenue that the transit agency acquired through condemnation. These so-called ancillary buildings, ranging in height from five to eight stories, will house ventilation equipment. They are also intended to disperse smoke and allow for evacuation from subway tunnels in the event of an emergency.

To the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York, the proposed buildings, designed by DMJM+Harris and Arup, part of the team that designed the Jet Blue Terminal at Kennedy International Airport, are “handsome in proportion and detail, while simple and straightforward in design.”

But to some real estate specialists, the structures represent a missed opportunity or an unwelcome industrial intrusion into a residential neighborhood, or both. Richard Bass, the chief planning and development specialist for Herrick, Feinstein, a law firm based in Midtown Manhattan, said that at three of the sites — on 97th Street, 72nd Street and 69th Street — the M.T.A. could have worked with private developers to incorporate the ancillary buildings into residential towers.

Mr. Bass represented a co-op on 69th Street in negotiations with the M.T.A. over the adjacent ancillary building. He is not involved in a lawsuit the co-op filed against the Federal Transit Administration and the M.T.A.

On each of the corners cited by Mr. Bass, the developers could have sought development rights, known as air rights, from smaller adjacent residential buildings, Mr. Bass said. He said taller apartment buildings would have been more in character with a residential neighborhood and would have helped fill a need for moderately priced housing. In addition, the M.T.A. could have had the developers share in the cost of the subway structures, Mr. Bass said.

“It seems that the M.T.A. missed an opportunity to play in the real estate game in a way that would have been a win-win-win,” Mr. Bass said. “This could have provided the M.T.A. with a more cost-effective facility, a more urbanistically appropriate structure for the surrounding community, and an opportunity to create more housing in partnership with developers.”

Citing the pending lawsuit filed by the 69th Street co-op, M.T.A. officials were unwilling to be interviewed. But they did agree to answer written questions by e-mail. They said they would not release cost estimates for the ancillary buildings until they had hired the contractors. Nor would they say how much they had paid for the building sites.

Kevin Ortiz, an M.T.A. spokesman, said by e-mail that the agency had worked with developers on both the 97th Street site, where the Century Lumber Corporation once stood, and on 72nd Street, the longtime home of Falk Drug and Surgical Supplies. Plans for 72nd Street, where the site measures 75 feet by 75 feet, were scuttled because “in order for a development to work, additional property would have had to be acquired, which we couldn’t justify as a transportation use,” he said.

On 97th Street, “M.T.A. Real Estate worked very long and hard to make it work, but in the end the developer lost interest,” he said.

In a subsequent e-mail, Aaron Donovan, another M.T.A. spokesman, said the developers that the agency had consulted owned the sites. Mr. Donovan said the agency had not issued requests for proposals from developers “because we didn’t own the properties,” which were acquired through eminent domain.

According to the M.T.A., only the 97th Street site, which measures 100 feet by 125 feet, is large enough to accommodate a residential development. The M.T.A. also would not say why it did not consult a second developer for that site.

Several developers, architects and engineers took issue with the M.T.A. and said the agency should have sought to work with private developers. “It does sound like a missed opportunity,” said Douglas Durst, who developed the Bank of America building at One Bryant Park. The 69th Street site, at 50 feet by 80 feet, “is a little tight,” he said, “but the others are the perfect size for residential.”

Some real estate specialists said the transit agency could have found a model in an agreement struck in connection with the extension of the No. 7 subway line on the far West Side of Manhattan.

On a large site at 26th Street and 11th Avenue owned by the Moinian Group, the M.T.A. plans to build a seven-story ancillary structure for that line. The building was designed so Moinian Group could eventually build a residential tower that would incorporate the M.T.A. building, said Oskar Brecher, director of development for Moinian.

“It was a very complicated process that required a great deal of time,” Mr. Brecher said. “The midwife was the Hudson Yards Development Corporation,” he added, referring to the city agency overseeing the development of the area.

Around the country, public officials have worked with the private sector to encourage development along new mass transit lines to increase ridership. Of course, no one thinks the Second Avenue subway will lack riders.

But transit-oriented developments can also be used to defray construction costs. Julia Vitullo-Martin, director of the Center for Urban Innovation at the Regional Plan Association, said the M.T.A. typically had not engaged in strategic thinking when it came to its real estate. “The M.T.A. does not think of its real estate as either an investment opportunity or a development opportunity,” she said.

For Civitas, a civic group representing the Upper East Side and East Harlem, the critical issue is how the buildings, to be made of terra cotta tile, glass and granite, will affect street life along Second Avenue. The local community board has yet to take a formal position on the ancillary buildings.

“Certainly, the design of these structures could be improved,” said Hunter Armstrong, the executive director. “Having large blank industrial buildings inserted into a lively streetscape will diminish the activity and appeal of Second Avenue,” he said. Civitas persuaded the M.T.A. to include retail spaces in two of the sites — 360 square feet at 69th Street and 240 square feet at 72nd Street.

Mr. Ortiz said the M.T.A. chose this style so that the public would recognize the buildings as industrial. He said the structures were not intended to be “starchitecture” but would be “respectful of their immediate surroundings.” The building materials “need to be robust,” he said, “as they will receive only very minimal maintenance attention.”

The M.T.A. did not always intend to make the buildings look industrial. In the final environmental impact statement, completed in 2004, it said they “could be designed to appear like a neighborhood row house in height, scale, materials and colors.”

The M.T.A.’s decision to build industrial rather than brownstonelike buildings was cited in a federal lawsuit filed in January against the Federal Transit Administration and the M.T.A. by a cooperative apartment building, 233 East 69th Street. Residents say that, as now conceived, the auxiliary building would be so close to their building that 32 windows facing east would be blocked. They also contend that the building “would be totally out of harmony” with the neighborhood.

At a conference on April 14, the M.T.A. argued that its building would blend in with the surroundings, but Judge William H. Pauley III of Federal District Court in Manhattan disagreed. “You’re asking me to suspend my common sense,” he said.

The M.T.A. had no comment on the lawsuit, which is still in its early stages.

2010-08-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

Check out the latest CIVITAS news in the Summer 2010 Newsletter at www.civitasnyc.org/newsletters.html.

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Save the Date for openhousenewyork on October 10, 2010. CIVITAS will lead a tour of the Upper East Side and East Harlem and discuss how public policy and community activism have
shaped the neighborhood.

Stay tuned for openhousenewyork event listings in Time Out New York next month
and at www.ohny.org.

2010-08-05T09:38:00.000-07:00

Clearing the Air on the Upper East Side Forum:

Each espousing an irrefutable barrage of photographs, statistics and graphs, four allies converged to urge New York City’s building residents and managers to switch from burning No. 6 oil to either No. 2 oil or Natural Gas. Brought together by CIVITAS, they collectively argued that utilizing No. 2 oil would not only drastically reduce air pollution and the city’s carbon footprint, but—in a most vital sticking point—save the buildings money.

Their push may have come at a fortuitous moment, given widespread concern about the Gulf oil spill, Global Warming and the city’s current heat-wave, the last of which was on full display July 21.

Isabelle Silverman of the Environmental Defense Fund kicked off the proceedings with familiar images of billowing black smoke. She explained that this kind of smoke—most common to “fancy, Park Avenue” buildings—was responsible for the city’s high asthma rate, “twice the national average.”

She added that, despite all the focus elsewhere, heating oil “puts out 50% more pollution” than cars and trucks combined. She invited audience members to check out EDF’s interactive website, www.dirtybuildings.com, shows which buildings burn No. 6 oil.

Lewis Kwit of Energy Investment Systems and a building resident manager Sean Wade continued the discussion, with presentations tailored more to the economic benefits of converting to No. 2 oil or Natural Gas.

Kwit said that Natural Gas prices are 20-30 cents lower than No. 6 oil “and projected to stay that way.” He claimed that the heating cost of the average No. 6 oil-burning building had shot up precipitously over the last 10 years, and that building managers would continue to pay a higher price

Wade used case studies to present the economic benefits of the switch. He said using No. 2 oil had cut oil consumption in one of his former buildings by around 40% and, like the others, presented No. 2 oil and Natural Gas use as an unequivocal no-brainer.

Mayor Bloomberg’s Policy Advisor on Air Quality Kizzy Charles-Guzman concluded the presentation by touting the Mayor’s work on the issue. Leading off the discussion by joking that she’s “not an intern, just short,” Guzman stood tall against the No. 6-oil burning buildings that are responsible for the city's residual oil consumption.

Charles-Guzman also discussed Intro 194, a bill before the City Council. According to a testimony submitted by City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Caswell Holloway, the bill “caps the allowable sulfur content in No. 4 fuel” and “would effectively” lead No. 6 oil to “no longer be used.”

Yet for all the reasons their push makes sense now, there’s still a sense in which getting buildings to change their heating oil comes at a bad time.

As soon as the Q&A session began, a property manager shot up and explained that buildings’ finances were already stretched thin by the recession. “We’re already overburdened…how can you ask [the] board to undertake a cost and keep a modicum of control over finances,” he asked.

This sentiment was echoed by Joe, a man I spoke with before the conference began, who neglected to give his last name. Joe, a handyman for a Park Avenue building, said that he’s “interested” in potentially making the switch, but that “the cost is the main thing.”

Still, against the low hum of the air-conditioning, Kwit in particular pushed back at the notion that the switch constituted a financial sacrifice. He assailed the notion that the switch would even necessarily cause a short-term dip into a building’s pockets, saying, “you can still start in the black.”

Jeff Stein, Cornell ’13, is a CIVITAS intern and writes for the Cornell Sun

2010-07-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

You may have seen recent news coverage of air quality problems on the Upper East Side. According to the New York City Community Air Survey, our neighborhood has particularly high levels of sulfur dioxide as a result of heating oil burned for fuel. You can read the New York Times article here. CIVITAS is teaming up with the Environmental Defense Fund and other neighborhood organizations to address this problem.

Please join us for Clearing the Air on the Upper East Side, a panel discussion to raise awareness of pollution caused by heating oil and guidelines for converting from “dirty” oil (No. 4 or 6) to cleaner burning options, including No. 2 oil or natural gas. A panel of experts will provide practical resources to apartment owners, building managers, and co-op board members about costs and incentives for converting building infrastructure, as well as information about current city policies and initiatives to improve air quality. A reception will follow for more informal discussion of the issue.

The event will take place:
Wednesday, July 21, 6:30pm
Doyle New York, 175 East 87th Street

Registration is required. Free for CIVITAS members, $5 for nonmembers. Email info@civitasnyc.org to register.

2010-07-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

Statement before the Landmarks Committee of Community Board 8

in Support of Proposed Designation of the Park Avenue Historic District

Between 79th and 96th Street

June 14, 2010

CIVITAS supports the nomination of Park Avenue between 79th and 96th Street to be designated a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places and as a New York City local historic district.

Park Avenue is one of the world’s most famous thoroughfares and is well regarded for its central median, lined by stately apartment buildings, low-rise nineteenth century buildings and houses of worship. Yet almost half of the avenue on the Upper East Side is not protected by landmark status. Except for a few blocks of Park Avenue located in the Carnegie Hill Historic District, most of this corridor between 79th and 96th Street does not fall within a New York City historic district.

Park Avenue is best known as a twentieth century streetscape as it rose to prominence in the 1910s and 1920s. Yet it has a significant nineteenth century layer as well, including several buildings that pre-date “Park Avenue” itself and were constructed when this thoroughfare was known as Fourth Avenue, before the railroad tracks were covered. The avenue’s predominant scale – 12-17 story apartment buildings that follow a uniform street wall—is mostly protected under the Park Improvement special zoning district. But this offers no protection to the nineteenth century layer, which is increasingly threatened. At least two of these structures have been demolished in recent years.

The architectural character of Park Avenue is not just about scale. The architects who designed many of the proposed district’s greatest buildings—George and Edward Blum, Rosario Candela, J.E.R. Carpenter, and others—followed a relatively uniform bulk in designing the luxury apartment houses. Much of the designers’ individual expression is articulated through architectural details, such as windows, decorative medallions and door surrounds. The structures present a wonderfully eclectic face to the avenue, evoking Renaissance Revival, Art Deco and Georgian references. Designation of Park Avenue as a New York City historic district will protect those details for future generations to enjoy.

As part of our support, CIVITAS raises the following issues for consideration by the United States Department of the Interior, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

First is the historical condition of the Park Avenue median. When the railroad tracks were covered in the 1880s and the landscaped median was created in the 1910s, it was a wide park with seating and meandering paths located in the middle of the avenue. Over the course of the twentieth century, the median has been whittled down to its current width, a “park” meant to be looked at but not entered and enjoyed. As the current movement in New York City continues to reclaim green space and public space in previously overlooked spaces, we would like to see additional thought given to restoring Park Avenue to its historical plan and configuration with a public park in its center. Designation as a National Register or New York City historic district should call special attention to the avenue’s original plan and not act as an impediment to possible restoration of the median.

Further, there is much discussion on the local and national level devoted to incorporating energy efficient components into historic structures. Preserving the “embedded energy” expended in constructing the historic buildings on Park Avenue represent the greenest approach there is, but we would like to see continued dialogue between the preservation and environmental communities to support eco-friendly upgrades that respect the aesthetics and historic integrity of Park Avenue’s buildings.

We encourage the United States Department of the Interior, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to move quickly in designating the Park Avenue corridor between 79th and 96th Street.

2010-06-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendars for two upcoming meetings related to land use, transportation and quality of life on the Upper East Side.

The Second Avenue Subway and impacts on small businesses and quality of life:

The New York City Council Small Business and Transportation Committees have scheduled a special hearing on Monday, June 14 at noon to discuss the Second Avenue Subway. Among the topics to be addressed will be: construction effects on quality of life, business revenues, and the subway’s current budget and timeline projections. Councilmembers Daniel R. Garodnick (District 4) and Jessica Lappin (District 5) are both members of the Transportation Committee.

The meeting will take place in NYC Council Chambers in City Hall. Call the offices of Councilmember Garodnick (212-788-7393) or Lappin (212-788-6865) for the most up-to-date details.

Proposed Park Avenue Historic District:

Join CIVITAS in supporting the proposed Park Avenue national and local historic district between 79th and 96th Streets. The Community Board 8 Landmarks Committee presentation and discussion will be Monday, June 14 at 6:30 pm at the Hunter School of Social Work (Room 1010) at 129 East 79th Street. Visit www.cb8m.com http://www.cb8m.com> or call the CB8 office (212-758-4340) for the most up-to-date meeting details.

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Also, a schedule for Upper East Side greenmarkets:

Community Gardens

St. Stephen of Hungary, East 82nd Street between First and York
Opening Saturday, June 19, 9 am to 3 pm

92nd Street and First Avenue
Opening Sunday, June 20, 9 am to 5 pm

Recycling options include: batteries, compact fluorescent lamps, #5 plastic containers, printer cartridges and corks

Special thanks to market sponsors, Upper Green Side.

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Join us for the 2010 CIVITAS Annual Benefit

2010-02-04T08:13:00.000-08:00

2010 CIVITAS Benefit

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Honorary Chair
and the CIVITAS Benefit Committee
request the pleasure of your company at a festive cocktail reception, celebrating 29
years of achievement by CIVITAS and honoring

Joan K. Davidson and Robert Quinlan

Thursday, March 4, 2010
6-8:30pm
Americas Society
680 Park Avenue

Awards presented by Honorable Pete Grannis,
Commissioner, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Angel $2,500 per guest Patron $1,000 per guest Benefactor $500 per guest
Supporter $300 per guest Friend $200 per guest
Ticket $150
*Junior $75 per individual or $150 per couple

*CIVITAS will be holding a limited number of tickets at a discounted price for interested individuals
or couples who are age 35 or below. We anticipate these tickets will sell out quickly and
will only be available to guarantee the price until February 19th.

Pay online through Network for Good or mail checks to
CIVITAS
1457 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10128
Email info@civitasnyc.org or call (212) 996-0745
For more information about CIVITAS, please visit www.civitasnyc.org

Electronics Recycling Day

2009-10-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

CIVITAS is proud to support an:

Electronics Recycling Day

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
11am-7pm
Church of the Heavenly Rest (90th Street and Fifth Avenue)

Items accepted include: cell phones, computers, laptops, copiers, fax machines, iPods and PDAs, modems, monitors, keyboards, computer mice, printers, stereo and radio equipment, telephones and telephone equipment, televisions, typewriters, speakers, digital cameras, VCRs, DVD players.

Special thanks to Carnegie Hill Neighbors for sponsoring this event.
Additional supporters include: The Brick Presbyterian Church, Church of the Heavenly Rest, Carnegie Hill/Yorkville CSA, Grass-roots

Other Electronics Recycling Opportunities:

Sunday, November 22, 2009
8am - 3pm
Isaacs/Holmes Parking Lot (93rd Street and First Avenue on the East side of First)
Sponsored by Gracie Point Community Council and Upper Green Side
For more information call 212-759-6895

Support/Volunteer/Get Involved

Support CIVITAS by visiting Network for Good or www.civitasnyc.org.
Let us know which zoning, transportation and quality-of-life issues concern you for the present and future of the Upper East Side and East Harlem. Get involved with finding the solution by joining one of CIVITAS’ active committees. Our current projects are listed at www.civitasnyc.org.

East Side Update: CIVITAS Summer Newsletter

2009-07-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

Read the full Newsletter Online!

If you would like a copy mailed to you, please email info@civitasnyc.org

CIVITAS: Update on Second Avenue Subway and Other Projects

2009-06-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

Second Avenue Subway Presentation on June 29

Show up and speak up at the Monday, June 29 meeting of Community Board 8’s Second Avenue subway task force. CIVITAS has been working with BFJ Planning consultants to evaluate the design of proposed station entrances and the ventilation shafts and mechanical structures.

The findings are the product of discussions with stakeholders, Second Avenue neighbors and MTA. A draft presentation is available by visiting http://civitasnyc.org/current_initiatives.html.

The meeting will be at the New York Blood Center, 310 East 67th Street, Auditorium at 6:30 pm. Current schedule information is available at www.cb8m.com.

MTA recently released an environmental assessment of the 86th and 72nd Street stations and still favors the controversial mid-block entrances on 86th Street. The opportunity for public comment will end soon, so make your voice heard. The full report is available at http://www.mta.info/capconstr/sas/ea.htm.

Third Avenue Street Trees

Enjoy the new street trees on Third Avenue (82nd to 96th)! In summer 2008, CIVITAS worked with the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation to determine locations for dozens of new trees. We’re pleased to report that locust, oak and pear saplings were planted this spring and commend the city’s MillionTreesNYC initiative for funding and streamlining this process.

Summer Newsletter

CIVITAS is preparing our Summer 2009 newsletter that highlights green design in our neighborhood. Do we have your address? Send us an email (info@civitasnyc.org) with your contact information so you can receive your copy.

Volunteer and Get Involved

Let us know which zoning, transportation and quality-of-life issues concern you for the present and future of the Upper East Side and East Harlem. Get involved with finding the solution by joining one of CIVITAS’s active committees. Our current projects are listed at www.civitasnyc.org.

Panel Discussion & Film Screening May 4th, Park Avenue Armory, 7pm

2009-04-21T08:08:00.000-07:00

click on the image to see the poster in detail.

Coming Soon... "Twilight Becomes Night" film screening & panel discussion

2009-03-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

TWILIGHT BECOMES NIGHT

A documentary film
By Virginie-Alvine Perrette
Produced by 2 Spot Digital

NEIGHBORHOOD STORES SAVE US. THE TIME HAS COME TO SAVE THEM.

“It is possible to watch the sky from morning to midnight … without ever being able to put your finger on the precise point where a qualitative change takes place; no one can say, “It is exactly here that twilight becomes night …” - The End of the Road, John Barth

Each time a neighborhood shop closes its doors for good, something vital is lost forever. Twilight Becomes Night examines the pivotal role of neighborhood stores in our individual lives, our communities, and in our society as a whole. Using the streets and shops of New York City as a backdrop, the film moves beyond nostalgic regret to reveal a high-stakes transformation and its potential to affect us all.

Twilight Becomes Night is an intimate and emotional portrait of the struggle of small businesses today. It also explores the issues that are threatening neighborhood stores - the large chains, high rents, and public policy, among others. And yet, in the end, it reminds us of the power of individual commitment and community activism in preserving local business. You can save your neighborhood store. Twilight Becomes Night warns: Don’t wait until it’s too late.