No agreement on Riverside Dr. curb policy
BY CHRISS WILLIAMS
Residents of 54 Riverside Dr. will
continue to exit double-parked
vehicles street side, as Manhattan
Community Board 7’s transportation
committee rejected the building’s curbside
access request last week.
The decision signals a shift for Upper
West Side residents that have grown accustomed
to the board supporting building
curbside access requests, as the committee
is in the process of creating more stringent
guidelines. The board narrowly voted
against the Riverside Drive application,
with 4 in-favor 3 against and 3 abstains.
“It’s a safety and convenience thing,”
said retiree Andrew Rosenthal, a resident
of 54 Riverside Dr. during the Feb. 11
meeting. Rosenthal added that half of
the building’s 80 units have children or
elderly occupants. “It’s outrageous that you
are contemplating taking somebody on a
stretcher or in a wheelchair down the block
and around through traffic to get to their
Access-a-Ride.”
Before the vote, the committee debated
its guidelines for curbside access requests
for an hour. Last month, the committee
agreed on a set of criteria that curbside
access applicants had to meet before their
requests would be reviewed. Under the
The Upper West Side’s Community Board 7 Transportation Committee
members Doug Kleinmann (right) and Barbara Adler listen to fellow
members discuss potential curb-side access rules.
criteria, residential buildings had to have
more than forty apartments and could not
have a fire hydrant directly in front of its
entrance. If the building resided in an area
with a recognized block association, the
committee would need to get the OK from
the association before proceeding with a
review as well.
But after several committee members
changed their vote during a January fullboard
meeting, the proposed policy was
PHOTO BY CHRISS WILLIAMS
rejected forcing the committee back to the
drawing board.
Schmitt added, “we want to make sure
this is a space for people to voice different
opinions, help us improve upon resolutions
or if they are just not sure, vote against it
or abstain during committee. It may not be
ready to be taken out of the committee.”
“This is the antithesis of who I would approve,”
said Steve Brown, a non-committee
member of CB7, about 54 Riverside Dr.
curbside access request. Brown voted
against the guideline proposal last month
and seeks more stringent standards and
argued that not all applications should be
reviewed, even if it is within a building’s
right to ask for this type of consideration.
Brown added that CB7 has a reputation for
rubber-stamping approvals on its curbside
access applications.
Some members argued that it was
unfair to favor buildings with more than
forty units but all were in consensus that
applicants should have to make a compelling
case as to why they are requesting
curb access. “Before you can say we need
a parking spot in front of the building, “you
have to show or tell us that there is a higher
need.” Such needs do not include residents
unloading their weekend bags after a trip
to the Hamptons.
The board passed a resolution this month
to request a Department of Transportation
study on curbside usage before and after
the implementation of congestion pricing
in 2021. Brown suggested the committee
consider a moratorium on all applications
until the DOT concludes its study. “Why
not wait,” he said.
“Because it’s our job to review every applicant,”
said Robbins adding that telling
residents to wait for the conclusion of a possible
study of unknown duration is unfair.
West Siders celebrate supertall size ruling
BY TODD MAISEL
Manhattan community leaders hailed a judge’s
decision that could lead to developers of a nearly
completed Upper West Side high rise to tear up
to 20 stories off its current 66 stories.
Leaders gathered across the street from the site at 200
Amsterdam Avenue on Monday morning where they took
an early victory lap shouting a take famous French euphemism,
“off with their floors.”
While many local leaders and elected officials advocated
to lower the height of the building — much larger
than anything in the community — many credited Olive
Freud, a 40-year resident of the neighborhood. Freud is the
president of the non-profit Committee for Environmentally
Sound Development, and now a proven thorn in the side
of the developers.
It seemed that the developers SJP Properties and Mitsui
Fudosan America were home free until Freud and attorneys
representing her group hired George Janes, an urban planner,
to study the complicated zoning lot that the developers
had pieced together. Initially, the developers were allowed
it to build 668 feet high — twice the height of the buildings
immediately surrounding it.
Janes, however, found errors in the zoning lot that
would force the Department of Buildings to re-examine
the permits.
Then, on Feb. 14, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge W.
Franc Perry issued a staggering decision that the city must
PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL
A Manhattan skyscraper may be forced to lop
off 20 stories from its building on Amsterdam
Avenue and West 66th Street after a judge determined
that the builders had gone beyond
their rights.
revoke the building permit for the site and the developers
must remove a floors because the structure exceeds zoning
limits.
Leaders say this might be the turning point of a war
against over-development in other communities, officials
say.
“This ruling will set a precedent and that’s why it is
so important for us to be here today,” said Comptroller
Scott Stringer.
He and other elected officials including Congressman
Jerry Nadler, Assemblymembers Dick Gottfried and Linda
Rosenthal, Borough President Gale Brewer and numerous
council members hailed Freud as a hero and tenacious
fighter.
“I feel embarrassed because they came here and they
heard what I had to say and others were involved too,”
Freud said. “The developers used little pieces of land to
justify what they were doing and the judge said they were
wrong. We were not giving up.”
Nadler applauded local efforts and said leaders have
been “fighting over development for I don’t know how
long.”
Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal hailed Freud for not
giving up and finding a way to stop the high rise.
“To all of the advocates in the community: don’t stop,”
said Rosenthal, continuing, “Because at the end of the day,
you are right. What you are thinking about in your gut that
a 66-story building does not seem like the right thing to
be surrounded by 23 story buildings – your gut that said
that’s not right – keep going with it. So I can’t wait to be
here to see the 20-stories come down.”
Mark Diller, chairman of Community Board 7, has
maintained a position against the over development.
“I’m grateful for the advocacy behind us, and grateful
for Judge Perry who brought us back to common sense,”
Diller said. “This is inappropriate and thank heavens that
the court has returned us to the same reality and thanks
to people like Olive who would not give up.”
4 February 20, 2020 Schneps Media