Community Board 8 members throw shade on
proposed New York Blood Center tower plan
BY MICHAEL ROCK
Members of Manhattan Community
Board 8 gathered over Zoom
on May 25 to voice their concerns
about a proposed 334-foot research
tower that the New York Blood Center
hopes will replace their current building
on East 67th Street on the Upper East Side.
Plans for the new tower, known as “Center
East,” emerged last October as part of
Mayor Bill De Blasio’s intention to revamp
New York’s public health sector as part of
the city’s economic recovery. Center East’s
detractors argue that the construction, located
near a number of local schools, would
distract students.
They also note that shadows from the
tower would undermine neighboring St.
Catherine’s Park’s utility as a playground
for them.
Robert Purvis, New York Blood Center’s
chief of staff and executive vice president,
explained what he considered the tower’s
value to the city and how they managed
to accomplish getting the rights to build
it along with the aid of Longfellow Real
Estate Partners.
A rendering of what the redeveloped New York Blood Center would look like.
“There has not been a true hub of commercial
life sciences,” he said. “The Blood
Center and Longfellow will each own a
condominium within the building. We
have considered a capital campaign to raise
money for the tower, but we have found it
is not feasible.”
Michele Birnbaum, co-chair of the
board’s Vendor Committee, insisted that
PHOTO: DBOX/ENNEAD ARCHITECTS
it is not necessary for the New York Blood
Center to have such a tower, citing their
competition.
“There are plenty of places to donate
blood. We want the blood center to be a
good neighbor,” she said. “It’s not up to
us to satisfy all their needs and those of
Longfellow. There’s nothing in this proposal
that benefi ts us and nothing that can’t
be mitigated.”
Other board members expressed concern
that the sound of the tower’s construction
would be particularly overwhelming for
autistic students with sensory diffi culties.
Meanwhile, Paul Selver, co-chair of land
use at Kramer Levin, downplayed these
concerns, noting that zoning decisions can
change over time.
“We’re all more productive when we
work in person. … That’s why scientists
like to get together on a regular basis at
conventions, and why we chose to live
in New York City,” said Selver.“There is
nothing here that says zoning should not
change.”
Also in attendance was City Council
Member Ben Kallos, who grilled the Blood
Center’s lack of transparency of the tower
project.
“I’m so disappointed in the Blood Center
for failing to answer our questions,” he
said. “Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney
opposes it, state Senator Liz Krueger
opposes it, Assemblywoman Rebecca
Seawright opposes it, and City Council
Member Keith Powers and I oppose it.”
NYC leaders remember George Floyd’s murder with anniversary vigil
BY DEAN MOSES
A year after George Floyd’s life was
taken from him under the weight
of a Minneapolis police offi cer’s
knee for nine minutes and 22 seconds, New
Yorkers spent time on May 25 to pause and
refl ect on Floyd’s death and its impact on
the movement for justice.
During a ceremony at the National Action
Network’s Harlem home base, Mayor
Bill de Blasio joined Reverend Al Sharpton
and other offi cials in taking a knee for nine
minutes and 22 seconds to refl ect on the
horrifi c incident which was caught on
camera and sparked a national outcry.
“When he put his knee on his neck, he
put a knee on police brutality,” Sharpton
said, describing that Floyd’s death will not
be in vain if Congress passes the George
Floyd Justice in Policing Act. This police
reform bill looks to end law enforcement
techniques such as chokeholds on a federal
level.
The silence spoke volumes as elected
leaders joined Sharpton in kneeling for the
same amount of time that Chauvin kneeled
on Floyd’s neck. This symbol was intended
to display the need for police reform and
remind the country that Floyd’s death has
In honor of George Floyd, Civil rights leaders and elected officials kneel for
over nine minutes.
been the catalyst for change.
“As we took that knee, imagine how long
that was on a human being’s neck. He never
switched knees, he just dug in. It’s time we
correct policing in this country,” Sharpton
said after rising to his feet, calling Floyd’s
death a modern-day lynching.
The Black Lives Matter movement has
often been compared to the 1960s Civil
Rights protests, and Sharpton emphasized
that the death of Emmett Till led to the
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
1964 Civil Rights Act.
Sharpton pointed out that Floyd’s death
is one of the few criminal cases that has
seen the conviction of murder charges
against an offi cer. He said that legislation
must follow to ensure that all states are
protected from something like this from
happening again.
“George Floyd’s murder energized and
ignited a movement all over the globe,”
Sharpton said, describing the marches and
rallies as intergenerational and multiracial
adding, “You cannot have a movement that
is in any way shape or form progressively
successful if there is no legislation.”
The service looked back at over a year
of protests, demanding an end to systematic
racism and injustice. Attendees
underscored that what they are calling for
is not anti-police—it is for police reform
and accountability.
Sharpton underscored that just seven
years ago Eric Garner was killed by excessive
police force, which led to the legislation
banning chokeholds in New York City.
Garner uttered the words, “I can’t breathe”
11 times, and George Floyd pleaded with
the same sentence 27 times before dying
on May 25, 2020.
As New York City changed the laws to
protect against the use of excessive force by
the NYPD, like chokeholds, de Blasio and
Sharpton are imploring Congress to pass
the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
“We saw a murder, let’s be clear why
there is so much anger. We saw a murder
committed by someone who is supposed to
exemplify law. He was supposed to protect.
He took an innocent life and everything
we have been told is backwards and I understand
anyone who felt betrayed in that
Schneps Media May 27, 2021 3