Our Perspective
Headline
As Pandemic Recedes,
Appreciation for Essential
Workers Must Not
In June, as COVID infection rates, hospitalizations
and deaths in New York hit new lows and
vaccination rates rose above 70 percent, what
had appeared to be a light at the end of the tunnel
blossomed into a sunny summer day. Nearly all remaining restrictions on
businesses and social gatherings were eliminated, and sights we hadn’t
seen since early last year — crowded restaurants, full bars, and sold-out
full-capacity concerts and sporting events at arenas — once again
became commonplace in New York.
As the pandemic hopefully continues to recede, the debt and
gratitude we owe to our essential, frontline workers should not. These
workers — among them, thousands of RWDSU heroes — stepped up to
provide essential services for all of us when we were locked down during
the worst public health crisis in our country in a century. These working
men and women were thrust into a battle they did not choose, but it’s a
responsibility they courageously accepted. These essential workers in
food processing, health care, pharmacies, supermarkets and retail stores
and more were there for us throughout this crisis — often at great
personal cost to themselves and their families.
For a brief while, as the pandemic raged, our society and employers
recognized the sacrifices essential workers were making. An emphasis
was placed on making workplaces safer, with proper PPE provided, and
workplaces being kept clean and sanitized to an unprecedented degree.
And many employers agreed to “hero pay” for their workers; additional
hourly pay that recognized workers’ contributions.
As infection rates continue to drop and vaccination rates continue to
rise, it’s important to not lose sight of how important these essential
workers are to our economy, our society, and our families. The way we
view these workers needs to permanently change for the better, and so
does their treatment. Essential workers deserve the higher pay and
appreciation many of them received last year, and they deserve greater
emphasis on the health and safety of their workplaces.
At the RWDSU, we’ve always recognized the importance of these
workers, and fought for greater pay and benefits and safer workplaces to
protect them. During the pandemic, we’ve been a leading voice for hero
pay as well as proper protection for workers so that they can do their
jobs safely and go home to their loved ones. In our latest contracts for
retail workers at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s in New York, covering
thousands of working men and women, language was included not only
to protect workers and consumers from COVID-19, but also any future
pandemics we may have to fight through. The lessons we’ve learned
from the COVID-19 pandemic will not be forgotten.
It’s no exaggeration to say that RWDSU members —
and all essential workers — earned the title of
“heroes” during the COVID-19 pandemic. We owe
it to all of them to continue to fight for safer
workplaces, better pay, and better benefits for
the essential work they do not only during times
of crisis, but every single day.
6 COURIER LIFE, JULY 2-8, 2021
The fi ght for
sunlight (again)
CB9 disapproves Botanic Gardenadjacent
towers, citing harm to plants
BY BEN VERDE
Community Board 9 in Crown
Heights voted overwhelmingly on
Wednesday to disapprove a controversial
development near the Brooklyn Botanic
Garden, citing the potential harm
the building would cause to the garden’s
plant life.
The developer behind the project,
Continuum Company, is seeking a rezoning
at 960 Franklin Ave. that would
allow for two towers over 30 stories
high just 150 feet from the fl ower emporium,
as well as a number of other
smaller towers.
If approved, the buildings would
“block hours of sunlight to the Garden’s
23 conservatories, greenhouses,
and nurseries, which grow plants for
the entire 52-acre Garden site and its
community programs,” according to
the garden.
Citing the potential negative impact,
the civic panel voted 23-to-2 to cast
its advisory vote against approving the
rezoning. Now, Borough President Eric
Adams will weigh in on June 29, before
binding votes by the City Planning
Commission, the City Council, and the
mayor.
If approved, the project would bring
1,578 apartments, including around 789
earmarked as “affordable” based on
residents’ income.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden President
Adrian Benepe spoke at a June 21 public
hearing of the community board
subcommittee, presenting the pannel
with 55,000 signatures on a petition in
opposition to the project.
“The Garden stands with tens of
thousands of community residents
and the many elected offi cials and City
Planning Commission members who
have publicly opposed the project because
of the existential damage that it
will do to the Garden and surrounding
neighborhood,” Benepe said. “Unfortunately,
the developers have continued
to pit affordable housing aims and
union jobs against preservation of one
of the city’s most cherished and historic
collections of plants, a local college, a
children’s playground, and other public
spaces.”
The Garden has been vocal in its opposition
to the project through its Fight
for Sunlight campaign, and its experts
have explained in detail the potential
damage shadows cast by the buildings
could cause.
Shadow studies commissioned by
the Garden and other groups have found
that the development would also pose
NOPE: The proposed towers.
Rendering by Hill West Architects
signifi cant shadow effects on nearby
Jackie Robinson Playground and Medgar
Evers College. The existing zoning
was put in place in 1991 by the David
Dinkins administration specifi cally to
protect the garden, with height limits
currently capped at 7 stories.
Community board members cited
the blocking of the garden’s sunlight as
their chief concern about the project,
but also listed a number of other problems
— such as the strain on local infrastructure,
and the possible acceleration
of gentrifi cation due to an infl ux of
pricey market-rate apartments.
Board members also argued that the
affordability levels offered in the development
were too high for the surrounding
low and middle-income area.
“Most of the affordable housing that
was presented does not adequately provide
for the members of the community
currently present,” said Alejandra
Caraballo, chair of the board’s Housing
Committee.
Caraballo also expressed concerns
over the lack of clarity from the developer
over whether tenants in so-called
affordable apartments would have the
same access to amenities as those in
market-rate units.
The 34-story version of the project
is largely considered dead on arrival as
it moves through the land use process,
with Mayor Bill de Blasio voicing his
opposition to it.
Continuum Company has made it
clear, however, that something will be
built on that site with-or-without a rezoning.
If they are not granted a land
use change, they plan on erecting a
condo building with over 500 units as of
right — all of which will be offered at
market rates.
By Stuart Appelbaum, President
Retail, Wholesale and Department
Store Union, UFCW
Twitter: @sappelbaum
www.rwdsu.org
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