ChelseaCommunityNews.com (CCNews) is an independent online newspaper providing news, arts, events, and opinion content to Manhattan’s Chelsea community and its adjacent areas. That free content is made possible by advertising revenue, grants, and voluntary reader donations. Click here to contribute to our GoFundMe campaign. 

************************************************

Policy Perspectives:

A Conversation with NYC Housing Authority Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt

Wednesday, April 30, 5pm Online

NYC Council Member Erik Bottcher–whose District 3 area of coverage includes Chelsea–presents the latest installment of his online Policy Perspectives series, this time featuring the Council Member in conversation with NYC Housing Authority Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt.

What a “get” of a guest, at a time when Chelsea’s NYCHA properties (Fulton Houses and Elliott-Chelsea Houses) are the topics of a divisive debate. On one side is the public/private partnership of NYCHA and Related Companies, whose plan calls for the demolition of all tenant buildings, replaced with new tenant structures aside market-rate towers. On the other side is a tenant-led scenario that would repair the aging buildings instead. So kudos to organizers of this event devoted exclusively to, the promo flyer notes, “the future of NYCHA and the plan for Elliott-Chelsea and Fulton Houses.” Your questions can be submitted alongside the registration neessary to attend. To register, click here.

Meeting on Tuesday, April 29, 10am

At City Hall in the Council Chambers (enter at Broadway & Murray St.)

As the future of NYCHA’s Elliott-Chelsea and Fulton Houses is a topic of intense debate, the plan for a nearby casino, resort, office space, and new housing project has been winding its way through a vetting process that, if approved, would allow the project to move forward via changing current zoning protocols. Having received a decisive “No” from Manhattan Community Board 4 and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, the proposal is now in the hands of the NYC Council, whose vote is expected in June. Sans mayoral override, it represents Manhattan’s final say on the matter. (Not for nothing to note that Wynn Resorts’ partner in this project is Related Companies, the “private” half of NYCHA’s public/private partnership plan for Chelsea’s two NYCHA properties.)

The NYC Council takes up the topic at an April 29 meeting of its Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises. “This is an in-person hearing, and your testimony in support of the High Line, and against the rezoning plan, will make a huge impact!” states a call-to-action email from Protect the High Line, a group opposing the Related plan, whose proposed construction of new properties would compromise the view and literally cast a long shadow on Chelsea’s beloved elevated park. To Livestream City Council meetings, click here. Members of the public who want to testify via Zoom can click here to do so and click here for more info on the process. To testify in person, show up to the Council Chambers (enter at Broadway & Murray St.) and fill out a form from which you’ll be called to testify when the pubic portion of the hearing opens.

New York State Assemblymember Tony Simone’s Town Hall

Saturday, May 3, 11am to 1pm

At the PS11 Auditorium (320 West 21st St. btw. 8th & 9th Aves.)

“I’m excited to invite you to my upcoming Town Hall,” Assemblymember Simone recently wrote, declaring it will be “a space for open dialogue, community engagement, and solutions-driven discussions on the issues that matter most to you… This is your chance to ask questions, share your concerns, and connect with neighbors working toward a stronger, more inclusive New York.” Click here to RSVP and secure your spot. Among the guests are some of the elected officials who’ve appeared at previous Town Hall events sposored by Assemblymember Simone (namely, NYS Senator and Manhattan Borough President candidate Brad Hoylman-Sigal and NYC Council Member Erik Bottcher.

Click here to read our account of Simone’s 2023 Town Hall, whose then-and-now hot topics included the NYCHA public/private partnerships and casino gambling in Manhattan. At the time, In response to a question that solicited opinions regarding casinos in Manhattan, Assemblymember Simone garnered applause for noting that “very few constituents want to see it,” further noting, “I am personally opposed to a casino on the West Side.” NYC Council Member Erik Bottcher took the audience through the vetting process, noting a panel would examine any proposals before the matter went to the state level. With the NYC mayor, NYS governor, and the proposed area’s NYC Council Member, State Senator, State Assemblymember, and Borough President all getting appointments to those panels, Bottcher said he’d be “surprised” if, ultimately, “any [casinos] get approved.” (The state-run Gsming Commission has stated they’ll quash any casino plan that is rejected by 2/3 of panel mebers.)

Elsewhere in the meeting,Assemblymember Simone responded to an audience member’s skepticism regarding a plan to demolish Chelsea’s NYCHA properties and build new ones for current tenants an an influx of new market-rate residents.“I understand why you have this fear,”said Assemblymember Simone. “No one will be displaced,” he insisted, adding,“We’re working with [the] Legal Aid [Society],” to ensure an outside party will review and approve as legit the paperwork that NYCHA residents sign in order to be moved during construction, and welcomed back into a new apartment that can be passed down to others eligible for succession. “The elected officials,” he insisted, “have the back of every NYCHA resident.”

Back to the present: Click here to RSVP to Assemblymembr Simone’s May 3 Town Hall and secure your spot.

—Compiled by Scott Stiffler

—END—