Columbia Spectator: Community Board Debates Subway, Post Office Concerns
From Social Justice Wiki
Community Board Debates Subway, Post Office Concerns
After a long summer hiatus, Community Board 9 reconvened last night for a four-hour general board meeting. About 50 people attended the meeting, including most board members, members of the public, and liaisons for public officials. The board discussed dozens of issues important to community members in its jurisdictional area, which spans from 110th St. to 155th St. west of Morningside Drive.
CB9 Pushes 197-A Manhattanville Plan
At the top of the agenda was CB9’s 197-A document, a master plan that will outline the board’s vision for the Manhattanville region and other areas under CB9 jurisdiction.
Ron Schiffman, the senior planner in charge of developing the 197-A, said that he will make newly-revised maps and data from the plan available to the public within a few weeks.
CB9 hired Schiffman to develop an alternative master plan to challenge Columbia’s proposal for Manhattanville. The board’s intention is to provide the City Planning Commission with an alternative to Columbia’s plan, forcing the Commission to take community members’ concerns into consideration when redeveloping the area.
“We think the best way to counter Columbia’s plan is to have a community plan to go to the city with,” said Tom DeMott of the Coalition to Preserve Community. “That way we can say: ‘This is another plan; try this one instead.’”
Both DeMott and Schiffman emphasized the need to preserve well-paying, unionized manufacturing jobs in Manhattanville.
Schiffman also focused on the 197-C rezoning plan, eliciting concern from community members that see the 197-A plan as more important.
“Let’s be realistic about what we can do and what we can’t do at this moment,’” said George Goodwill, the chairman of CB9. “To say that we cannot proceed with the 197-A until we have some movement on the 197-C is not appropriate.”
Board member Tom Kappner said that Columbia is rumored to be aiming for January as a release date for its own plan.
“The timing factor is very key here, because we know that Columbia is moving very quickly,” Kappner said.