Civic Center Residents Coalition Jan Lee on "the Races" 2013 - Downtown Express - Undercover

Under Cover, May 15, 2013 The Downtown Express

Jan Lee        Photo: CCRCNYC.com

May 15, 2013 | Filed under: Under Cover | Posted by: admin

Lee on the Races  

Chinatown leader Jan Lee has had his share of political fights with Margaret Chin over the years so we were surprised last week when he told us he hasn’t ruled out supporting her reelection bid to the City Council.

“Margaret and I are certainly cordial,” he told us, saying their disagreements have always been about issues. Lee, a founder of the Civic Center Residents Coalition, fought against the creation of the Chinatown Business Improvement District, which Chin strongly supported.

“We need to talk in a very candid way about the next four years on how she would improve,” Lee added.

His biggest concern is neighborhood traffic problems caused by several things including the security closure of Park Row. He said he has been dealing with family issues, but he hopes to be able to speak sometime soon with Chin and her Democratic primary opponent,Jenifer Rajkumar.

He has flirted in the past with running himself, but said he definitely will not be on the ballot this year.

In other races, Lee is backing Comptroller John Liu for mayor and Julie Menin for borough president.  He praised Liu’s work exposing the CityTime scandal, and Menin’s effort helping to get the Khalid Sheikh Mohammed trial moved out of Lower Manhattan.

“We really connected on that issue,” he said of Menin. “I find her to be a good problem solver and not just a complainer.”

Chin Notes  

Speaking of Councilmember Margaret Chin, we had been thinking she scheduled her announcement strategically around the time of Downtown Independent Democrats’ fundraiser in Battery Park City to lessen the chance of naysayers attending, but even Chin critic and D.I.D. veteran Sean Sweeney, who often ascribes ulterior motives to opponents, said there was nothing to the theory.

Sweeney said Chin showed up to the fundraiser right after the announcement and “she gave more [of a donation] than the average politician gave.”

He did take a dig at Chin, pointing out she did not win the Coalition for a District Alternative endorsement that she won four years ago. CoDA voted not to endorse, but its most powerful member, Councilmember Rosie Mendez,  is backing Chin.

Chin’s campaign spokesperson, Austin Finan, laughed at the notion that Chin is weaker without CoDA.  “Whatever makes them sleep at night,” he told us.

He said in addition to support from Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver and Cong. Nydia Velazquez, Chin will be getting nods from most if not all of the local elected officials.

“We’re stretching it out so to speak,” Finan said.

City Move  

A last quick one on Margaret Chin. Amy Varghese has just joined her staff as the new communications director. She replaces Kelly Magee, who is now working in the press office at the Dept. of Buildings.

Rockwell,  Imagination & Reality   

We were recalling the hoopla that began five years ago when renowned local architectDavid Rockwell started talking about designing — at no cost — a new Downtown playground with professional playmates (Rated G of course), a k a “play associates,” to help children interact with innovative, movable equipment.

We paid a visit the other day with a 3-year-old source close to UnderCover to see how the promise of Imagination Playground was holding up three years after opening.

The playmate at the Seaport park did not seem to do any sort of play facilitation, which seemed fine since perhaps it’s better for kids to, well, use their own imagination.

Rockwell’s large and light building blocks are more than a nice touch, although creativity apparently extends only so far since we were told to bring one of them back to the approved block play area.

Overall, the design puts the playground above most in the city, but what really sets it apart is the well-maintained bathroom and the extremely clean sandbox — no small measure considering pediatricians and public health experts will tell you that germ-wise, sandboxes are the most hazardous part of a playground.

Bike Monitors  

We noticed city Dept. of Transportation workers Tuesday holding up stop signs on the Ninth Ave. bike lane when the bike lights turned red. D.O.T.’s Scott Gastel said the rush hour program started last month and is part of the city’s effort to make sure things are safer when the new bike share program rolls out Memorial Day.

Exceptional video about the conflicting traffic demands of NYC Streets

3-Way Street from ronconcocacola on Vimeo.

Civic Center Residents Coalition received this video tip from Jack Brown of the Coalition Against Rogue Riding.

Chatham Towers and Chatham Green Withdraw from The Chinatown Working Group

Chatham Green co op photo: midcenturymundane

Chatham Towers co op photo: condodomain

In an emailed letter today two residential co ops informed the CWG co-chairs that their properties and volunteer boards are formally withdrawing from the planning exercise known for the last two years as "The Chinatown Working Group". Danny Chen submitted the following statement:

"To: Members of the Chinatown Work Group

With this letter we would like to announce the withdrawal of our two buildings, Chatham Green and Chatham Towers, from active participation in the Chinatown Work Group. We each have our reasons for withdrawing but we have common hopes and concerns which we would like to share with you.

Two years ago, when presented with the opportunity to participate in what appeared to be a

ground breaking effort to bring the minds and voices of our community together, we deliberated on the pros and cons of participating. The pessimistic view said that the effort would be mired in politics while the optimistic view saw a wonderful opportunity to amplify our own voices to get the City to focus on the right issues for our community. Looking back, we can say there were elements of the CWG that both the optimists and the pessimists could point to in support of their views.

As members of volunteer boards for our respective co-ops, we are forced to choose where

we focus our time and attention. Despite our best efforts to open the organization to different

modes of communication and participation, CWG participation remains constrained to the once monthly in-person meetings - with alternate meetings occurring during business hours. Our calls to open up the CWG mail list to facilitate member to member communications have been met with puzzling resistance. There is no better example of this than this very letter - which we are forced to route through the co-chairs for distribution. We also note that our suggestions for weighted voting for “decision making” seems have fallen off the agenda for discussion.

Despite all this, we feel that our participation in the CWG has been worthwhile. We have met

some truly dedicated people who sacrifice much for our community. On the flip side, we have

also met people from outside of our community with a disproportionate voice in the CWG.

Navigating the politics of trying distinguish altruistic volunteers from potential carpet baggers

has been an interesting experience.

The draft Preliminary Action Plans represent a good amount of work and captures some of

the issues that are relevant to our community. And while we have often objected to co-chairs

stepping beyond their roles as “facilitators” and instead acting like former President Bushstyle

“deciders”, we commend all co-chairs, past and present, for taking on the facilitator role. It

is a difficult role but we should all remember that when one makes a unilateral decision, voices

are being silenced.

We end this letter with well wishes and a note of caution. Even though much work has gone

into drafting the various Preliminary Action Plans, even more work is required to keep these

documents “alive”. These documents should have an “expiration date”. Otherwise, future

decision makers may be basing their direction on ideas that have gone “rancid”.

Respectfully,

Danny Chen, Chatham Green

Jeanie Chin, Chatham Towers

Comm. Board 3 Full Board 11/23/10 hears community critiques of Chinatown Partnership - B.I.D. proposal

CLICK HERE to hear an audio podcast of lower east side native, tour guide and activist Rob Hollander regarding the proposal of a Chinatown BID. Hollander feels the CPLDC has "done an end run past the Chinatown Working Group".

On November 23rd 2010 Community Board 3 heard a presentation by the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corp.. The presentation was meant to highlight the reasons why Chinatown needs a Business Improvement District (BID) and why "The Partnership" (CPLDC's BID Steering Committee) should ultimately be responsible for the formation of a BID.

The public session had several speakers voicing their opinions about why Chinatown should not have a BID.

The CPLDC's presentation was not followed a vote. The next presentation by the CPLDC will be before the Economic Development Committees of both Community Boards 2 (Dec. 9th) and 3 (in a month from now). The CB3 economic development committee will then vote on whether the BID issue will go forward to the full Community Board for a final vote whether or not to endorse the Chinatown BID. In 2002 Community Board 3 voted to DENY approval for a Chinatown BID, with many of the same BID supporters of 2002 on The Chinatown Partnership LDC such as Bill Lam of Longines Property development and Asian Americans For Equality. The reasons for denying a BID were "deception and obfuscation".

Full Chinatown Working Group Meeting of Nov. 1 2010 PODCAST

PLEASE CLICK THE TITLE TO HEAR THE PODCAST OF THE FULL CHINATOWN WORKING GROUP MEETING NOV 1 2010.


PODCASTS of Chinatown and Civic Center events and meetings are now available on this blog...

It's important to attend community meetings, precinct meetings, and community board meetings but we all have lives that must lead as community volunteers and we find it impossible to be at every meeting. It's for this reason that wish to make these podcasts of public meetings available to as many people as possible.

We feel that these podcasts should not be substitutes for actually attending meetings, because after all your voice counts, even if you are an individual resident with no group affiliation whatsoever. Think of podcasts as a way to catch up on issues, hear viewpoints, and prompt yourself for the next meeting.

If you have a digital mp3 recording (on a CD or flash drive) of a meeting you wish to share with the public, please email us at janccrc@gmail.com and we'll review it. Kindly limit your entries to meetings pertaining to or occurring in the Chinatown or Civic Center areas

Enjoy
CCRC

NYers still living behind post-9/11 checkpoints - Washington Post - CCRC contributorsParlk

By EVA DOU

The Associated Press
Wednesday, July 7, 2010; 3:06 PM

NEW YORK -- The street below Danny Chen's window in lower Manhattan has changed over the last decade from a bustling four-lane thoroughfare to an empty road lined with police barricades.

To get home each day, Chen has to present his ID at a police checkpoint. When the officer lowers the metal gate into the ground to let him in, he drives through as quickly as he can. More than once, the barricade has risen too soon, lifting his wife's minivan into the air.
Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the New York Police Department barricaded off its headquarters on Park Row. About 2,000 residents in two apartment complexes found themselves living inside a security zone.
Nine years later, they still are.
Many vehicles, including commercial traffic, are forbidden on the street, which used to be a key link between the Financial District and Chinatown.
"This used to be a bustling area," said Chen, a 52-year-old software engineer. "Now, it's ghost-townish."
In big cities across the country, security planters, metal gates and the concrete slabs called Jersey barriers have sprung up near government buildings.
Washington, D.C., is littered with bollards. Nearly half of Los Angeles' financial district is now partially restricted, according to a study at the University of Colorado Denver. Roads across dams have been closed to traffic for security concerns.
"I don't want us to lose a way of life that we've had, but sometimes we have to consider security, too," said Pace University Professor Joe Ryan, whose daily commute has been rerouted because of a road closure over the Kensico Dam in Valhalla.

The restrictions are especially noticeable to those sharing a backyard with the NYPD.
Park Row residents say ambulance response times have risen and traffic has become bottlenecked since they began living behind barricades.
Business owners say foot traffic has plummeted. Paul Lee says his family's 113-year-old general store folded in 2003 because of the new security measures."The suppliers don't want to come down anymore, and you have no more customers," Lee said.

Those who live and work behind the barricades say 9/11 is when everything changed, but, in a way, their struggle started long before.
John Ost, who lives near Park Row, says community members opposed the arrival of the police headquarters in the 1970s. They fought the transformation of a public parking lot to a police-only lot. They filed a lawsuit against the NYPD for constructing a $30 million command center next door, which they say makes the neighborhood an even bigger terrorism target.
Local elected officials also want Park Row reopened. Last month, U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and other politicians sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano urging that the street be reopened.
"Right after 9/11, you say, 'OK, fine,' but nine years later, people are saying, 'How much longer am I going to have to suffer?'" Nadler said.
Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said the department has received the letter and will respond directly rather than through the media.

Residents have had some wins, such as when a judge ordered police to stop using a park as a parking lot.
But for the most part, the interests of police - and ostensibly, public security - have won out. The eastern half of the street, from the Brooklyn Bridge to Chatham Square, has been closed to commuter traffic even as other spaces have reopened. Three other streets near headquarters have been blocked off entirely or partly.
Police officials say most of Park Row must be blocked off to protect its headquarters against terrorist threats, especially truck bombs.
One problem is that the security interests of police and the community don't always align.
The barricades, for example, stand right outside the Chatham Towers apartments. Resident Jeanie Chin, 61, said any bombing attempt to disable the barricades would occur at a safe distance from police headquarters - but right on her doorstep.
"They seem to be completely disregarding the safety of people who are living here and actually providing a human shield," said Chin, who works at a PR firm.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said he understands residents' frustration, but the street will remain closed.

"People are burdened by it, they're inconvenienced by it," he said. "And we're sensitive to that issue, but unfortunately I can't see opening it."
Besides the practical inconveniences, some residents dislike the emptiness of the street. Park Row today has an abandoned air, with a rust-streaked median and thistles creeping out of cracks in the asphalt.
"It feels like a war zone," Ost said.
There are some residents who like the tight security. Elaine Nachanis, 76, has lived on the street for 48 years and says she feels safer.
"As long as there's the word 'terrorism' in the dictionary, we need it," she said.
But Ost says the police brought the security risks along with them when they set up headquarters in the neighborhood, about a mile south of their old home in Little Italy.
"We thought we could coexist with the police department, but they're making it difficult," he said.
Residents say they are angry that their neighborhood is being sacrificed for a greater security cause.
"If this were Park Avenue, not Park Row, this wouldn't have happened," said Chen, referring to the more prestigious Manhattan address.
Chen says despite the inconveniences, he isn't considering moving.
"My parents moved into Chatham Green in 1963," he said. "I got my own place here in '95. I'm just trying to defend home."
(This version corrects that politicians' letter was sent last month.)

John Gambling Radio Show - Jeanie Chin, CCRC

SLIDESHOW

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This Thursday, July 1, 2010 photo barricades placed in the middle of Park Row in New York. Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the New York Police Department barricaded off its headquarters. About 2,000 residents in two nearby apartment complexes found themselves living inside a security zone. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)(Mary Altaffer - AP)

Civic Center Residents Coalition and neighbors of the terror trial Moynihan Courthouse - send their message to Dept. Of Justice and President Obama - MOVE THESE TERROR TRIALS

Residents of Chinatown and the Civic Center in Lower Manhattan oppose being

"hard zone prisoners" if the terror trials move in NEXT DOOR.

On Friday February 5, 2010

over 50 residents of Chinatown and the Civic Center - next door neighbors of the U.S. Federal court house -- where the Department of Justice and Attorney General Eric Holder proposed to have the terrorist trials, protested loudly and declared "MOVE THESE TRIALS"

Geoff Lee (left) says "so long as placard parking exists we're unprotected, remember the white van at Times Square? That was left alone for two days because it had a fake placard, Chinatown is inundated with the same problem already".

9/11 Terror Trials Will Create War Zone in

Lower Manhattan

The Civic Center Residents Coalition believes the 9/11 terror trials should "not be held in anyone's backyard" - having lived through the post 9/11 street closures/lockdowns/checkpoints that thousands still live with today, residents rally to move the terror trials.

The decision to move dangerous 9/11 terrorists from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Worth Street for trial was not carefully thought out and lacked comprehensive evaluation of the logistics, failed to consult with local authorities and communities, vastly underestimated the security costs that could easily exceed $1 billion and overlooks the human toll on courthouse neighbors. Holding the terror trials in the city must be “taken off the table” immediately.

Political ideologues identify us as suffering from a case of “nimby (not in my back yard).” We suffer from “oimby” (only in my back yard). Since 2001 we are the only post 9/11 community in Manhattan still suffering from the “chokehold” of massive street shutdowns, security checkpoints, rerouting of traffic and bus routes, invasive government permit parking abuse requiring an NYPD internal affairs crackdown, takeaway of parks that were returnedonly after lawsuits, bomb sniffing dogs on our street corner and clanging barricades under our windows.

Patricia Tsia , executive representative of Lin Sing Association, 110 year old family organization with deep roots in the Chinatown community at 47 Mott street.

We are the only residential community now faced with having our neighborhood imprisoned behind a “hard” and “soft” security zone. Here are a few of the intensive security measures presented by Police Commissioner Kelly last week. Our streets and air space would be patrolled for years by:

Community Board 1 Marc Ameruso (right), co author of the original "move the trials to Govenor's Island" resolution.

• ATLAS, Hercules, Special Operations, Armored Assault, Office of Emergency Management, and other armed, specialized security teams
• 2000 metal barricades completely restricting vehicles and pedestrians from Chatham Square to Broadway on Worth
• License plate readers for the entire soft zone,
• Surveillance towers with 24/7 video of all citizens
• Additional vehicle check points with DELTA barriers
• Helicopters “aerial surveillance”

Vinnie Imbrosciano (right) - Chatham Towers resident, a neighbor of the court house where the terror trials will be held if the Dept. of Justice doesn't find a suitable alternate location.

For pedestrians inside the soft zone:

• Random pat downs of anyone at any time (we assume this would include mourners/hearse/coffins of the three funeral homes across from the courthouse)
• Random bag searches of anyone at any time (including backpacks of children attending after school programs across the street or playing in the one of the busiest playgrounds in Manhattan)
• I.D check of anyone at any time
• Radiation and bio-terrorism detection surveillance
• Pop up check points for all three - pat down, ID check and bag search at different locations
• Many signs to instruct GOVERNMENT workers where to enter the zone according to occupation and building of employment
• Sharp shooters both Federal and NYPD located on government buildings and residential buildings throughout the two zones
• Bomb sniffing dogs
• "Conspicuous NYPD presence at all times"

Councilperson Margaret Chin - Coauthored a resolution to permanently remove the terror trials out of her district.

The true cost of the terror trials would be borne by tens of thousands of innocent Lower Manhattan residents and hundreds of small business and property owners who would risk living in an armed camp under rooftop sharpshooters. These are people who did not bow to terrorism and chose to stay after 9/11. Ironically we are now being accused of NOT BEING TOUGH enough to “show the world” the U.S. terror trials can be held here safely – How many years would we have to live in a war zone - three, four, five? Would that be justice for all of us who live in
Lower Manhattan?

Eric Holder: Terror Trials “Off the Table” in New York City!

Gov. Mike Huckabee with Cb1 Chair Julie Menin And Civic Center Residents Coalition Jan Lee - National Coverage on "The Huckabee Show"

CLICK THIS LINK TO WATCH VIDEO

Bill Thompson rally at City Hall - One Year anniversary of the hijacking of democracy in NYC

FRiday Oct. 16th 2009 marks the anniversary of the removal of term limits.


 This video is from the www.Thompson2009.com website.
Jan Lee of the Civic Center Residents Coalition spoke at the rally:
 Bill Thompson, today is the anniversary of the hijacking of democracy


It was an honor to stand with the democratic Mayoral Candidate Bill Thompson today at his rally to mark the anniversary of the day Michael Bloomberg hijacked democracy from the people of New York. Fire fighters and council members, residents and business owners stood strong in the frigid weather today chanting "RESPECT TERM LIMITS" and "EIGHT IS ENOUGH".

"When billionaire bosses "bend the rules" or ignore them completely for their own personal gains in the private sector we blow the whistle on them.  We won't stand for it in the private sector, why should we stand for it in the public sector? When a billionaire boss gets away with it by going around the rules once, they do it again and again. The proof is that virtually every fortune 500 company has been in court for doing exactly that. Where does it stop?  The practice needs to stop now, and we're speaking out on Nov. 3 to do just that". - Jan LeeThe Civic Center Residents Coalition

From City Hall News "Chinatown pushes back against Mayor's reelection"

photo - city hall news



Chris Bragg of City Hall News
Sept. 18th 09

Closing of Park Row, Chatham Square development create backlash for Bloomberg

When he ran for re-election in 2005, Mayor Michael Bloomberg had few bigger boosters than Eddie Chiu.

Chiu, head of the 109-year-old Lin Sing Association social club in Chinatown, allowed Bloomberg to use the group’s six-story headquarters on Mott Street as his Chinatown campaign office—and the mayor proceeded to take upwards of 80 percent of the vote in the neighborhood, winning the overwhelming support of Chiu and other small business owners.

But four years later, Chiu said his feelings have changed dramatically.

Far from allowing the mayor to use his office, Chiu is now refusing to endorse Bloomberg, despite numerous entreaties from his campaign. In fact, he recently allowed an anti-Bloomberg group to hold a press conference at the group’s headquarters blasting the mayor.

“It’s very different from when he was running for a second term, to where he is now,” Chiu said. “A lot of people in Chinatown have had a change of heart. I think they’ll vote for Thompson.”

Bill Thompson has been trying to take advantage of the unrest, making several campaign stops in the neighborhood and holding a press conference at Park Row in late June to receive the endorsement of the Civic Center Residents Coalition. The population flexed its political muscles recently by electing Margaret Chin to the Council and unseating incumbent Alan Gerson.

A bike lane on Grand Street that further narrowed the already tight street is a major concern, but Park Row appears to be the main point of contention for Chinatown voters. The thoroughfare once connected Chinatown with the rest of Lower Manhattan, but was shut down after 9/11 because of concerns about an attack on 1 Police Plaza.

Eight years later, the street remains closed.

Residents say that this has crippled both the economy and the quality of life in Chinatown, choking it from the rest of Manhattan, with traffic often clogging neighborhood streets.

Late last year, the Economic Development Corporation, the Department of Transportation and the Police Department proposed a fix to alleviate the traffic flow problems: a $50 million plan to redevelop Chatham Square, a complicated seven-way intersection south of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Most Chinatown business and civic leaders, however, have objected to the plan since it would essentially make the closing of Park Row permanent.

They also say it was developed without hearing concerns from affected residents.

“We’ve made offers and proposed many alternatives,” said Jeanie Chen, of the Civic Center Residents Coalition, a group that advocates for the reopening of Park Row. “But the mayor’s office wants to do this without community input.”

Bloomberg appears aware of the unrest. In late June, he held a private dinner with 10 leading members of the Chinese business community and members of the Chinese press. Following the meeting, the Chinese press declared that the mayor had indicated he was open to reopening of Park Row.

But when reporters then followed up with the mayor’s office after the meeting, it denied that the mayor had made any such promise.

The Bloomberg campaign did not respond to a request for comments on this or other issues related to Chinatown, or about his standing in the neighborhood.

Justin Yu, head of the powerful Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association business group, attended the dinner. A Bloomberg ally, Yu said that the mayor had promised to delay the start of the Chatham Square development—it had been scheduled to begin in July—and had not specifically promised to advocate for Park Row’s reopening.

Yu, who is considered so influential locally that some people call him the mayor of Chinatown, said that though he opposed the Chatham Square proposal, he would continue to support Bloomberg because of the mayor’s record on education and crime.

“Nobody satisfies people 100 percent of the time,” Yu explained.

Others contend that Yu has divided loyalties because his daughter, Pauleen Yu, is the Chinatown liaison for Bloomberg’s community affairs unit.

And they say the mere fact that Bloomberg is speaking only to the Chinatown elite, rather than seeking input from the community at large, represents the mayor’s attitude towards its residents.

“It’s indicative of a selective, colonial mentality,” said Jan Lee, a Chinatown small business owner and opponent of Bloomberg’s proposal. “In colonial situations, government has chosen to speak only to a select few leaders. They stay away from the masses.”

Others in the community wonder if the unrest with Bloomberg is as deep as some of the rhetoric suggests. During the 2005 campaign, they note, Bloomberg made a concession to the community by allowing bus traffic to again begin traveling down Park Row.

But Lee said that while Thompson has been campaigning often in the neighborhood, Bloomberg had not yet held an appearance.

“He can’t walk down Mott Street anymore,” Lee said. “We will no longer welcome him with open arms. And he knows that.”

--
ABOVE: Bill Thompson has been nurturing support among a Chinatown community unhappy with the mayor’s record, gaining support from local leaders like Jan Lee, a small business owner and executive vice president of the Civic Center Residents Coalition