WHAT: Community Board 4 Transportation Planning Committee Meeting

WHEN: Wednesday, December 21, 6:30pm

WHERE: Online, Via Zoom or live stream on CN4’s YouTube channel

HOW: For the Zoom registration link, click here. To view the live stream, click here. To attend by telephone, dial 646-518-9805 (Webinar ID: 97- 3488 0256).

BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Taking place at 6:30pm on the third Wednesday of the month, a typical meeting of the Transportation Planning Committee (TPC) of Manhattan Community Board 4 (C4) might find its 15 members itself assessing the effectiveness of Select Bus Service; facilitating the installation of better—and more—bike lanes; or considering changes in traffic patterns to improve pedestrian safety. And more often than not, co-chairs Christine Berthet or Dale Corvino will find themselves fielding questions from committee members and members of the general public following a presentation from a City or State department or agency. That discussion segues into a committee vote, from which TPC takes an agreed upon position put into letter form and voted on by the full board membership at their next gathering (in this case, January 4, 2023; click here to register).

See that vetting process in action—and we do mean action—in the form of two Agenda Items scheduled for the Wednesday, December 21 TPC meeting. Both have been sources of lively debate, to say the least, at past gathering of the TPC and the full board.

Agenda Item I is a presentation by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) that means to walk all assembled through the formation, and launch, of a Community Construction Coordination Committee for the 28th Street Substation—a public engagement initiative notable for its use of alliteration and its alluring presence as an enigmatic Agenda Item (not one single search result on the MTA website). All will be revealed at the meeting—but from what we know, the CCCC (official abbreviation pending) will meet monthly, and its membership will almost certainly draw upon the roster of “usual suspects” including elected officials, CB4 members, NYC departments/agencies, and local residents whose lives will be impacted by the construction of an MTA power station set to be located, in subterranian fashion, on West 28th Street.

Expect members of the public—Penn South residents in particular—to be in attendance and eager to add their two cents. Many who live in very close proximity to the proposed construction area have been with CB4 all the way, calling the MTA out for a less-than-robust vetting process and its insistence that 28th Street remain the project’s location. All of this and more is on the table for discussion Wednesday night—and, one would think, at the many CCCC meetings to follow.

No less contentious, to say the least, is TPC Agenda Item III, in which those on both sides of the issue will make presentations meant to shore up their perspective on whether West 22nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues should remain part of Open Streets.

Created during the pandemic era’s traffic and commuter lull, the all-borough Open Streets program closed side streets to most vehicular traffic for up to 12 hours a day, transforming the middle of the road into a place for play, exercise, and reasonably spaced socialization. Generally well-received at the outset, Open Streets begat the more contentious Open Restaurants program.

When the pandemic began to ebb, some assumed both programs would end or at least be peeled back. That’s the impasse Open Streets remains at today—and with participating streets up for renewal next year, supporters and detractors of the W. 22nd St. block have become vocal, organized, and, more than just occasionally, nasty at a level exceeding the limit of language and behavior one should expect from good citizens and decent human beings. Both sides of the organized opposition will have representatives at Dec. 21’s TPC meeting, to present their position in an organized, documented manner. Let’s hope it’s a positive step toward fact-based discourse and civil compromise.

West 22nd isn’t the only Open Street up for discussion. Agenda Item II involves a presentation by representatives of the HY/HK Alliance (the Hudson Yards/Hell’s Kitchen Alliance, a neighborhood Business Improvement District). Their proposal calls for Open Streets at Hudson Boulevard East (33-34 & 34-35) and Hudson Boulevard West (36-37).

And with that, you’ve got all you’d ever want and then some, as mid-week, early evening plans go. Sorry Netflix, you’re just a little boring in comparison. If that’s not the case for you, dear reader (maybe you prefer to spend Wednesdays watching Wednesday), then attend the TPC meeting after the fact, at your convenience. You’ll find it archived on CB4’s excellent, comprehensive YouTube channel. To access that channel, click here.

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NOTE: If you didn’t find a divisive topic to your liking so far–well, as the T-shirt says, “You’re probably not paying attention.” But here’s one final morsel of food for thought: Chelsea Community News identifies the Transportation Planning Committee as “TPC” rather than CB4’s longstanding “TRANS.” Although we certainly don’t believe the good people of CB4 (and they are good, consistently progressive) mean to be disrespectful, we’ve pointed out many, many times that in this day and age, “trans” as a word most commonly refers to “transgender.” Those who identify as “trans” rarely are doing so because they wish the world to know they are part of Manhattan Community Board 4’s Transportation Planning Committee community. And hey, if they were, we would support them as “TRANS.” But as abbreviations go, it’s time to go back to the days of “TPC”–or some other place. Just please, CB4, discontinue your use of “TRANS”–which, let’s face it, was never very good at its assigned task (TRANS may describe “Transportation,” but it leaves “Planning” to fend for itself!).

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