BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Scheduled for a special session during a time of the year when most committees allow for an annual one-month hiatus, an August 19 gathering of the Manhattan Community Board 4 (MCB4) Chelsea Land Use (CLU) committee has a single Agenda Item: Discuss and vote on “Committee Priorities for the NYCHA Fulton and Elliot Chelsea Land Use Proposal.”

The Proposal at hand would see NYCHA (the New York City Housing Authority) enter into a public/private partnership allowing Related Companies to facilitate demolition of all Chelsea NYCHA properties, construct new housing for current NYCHA residents as well as new market-rate tenants, and assume management duties for the new mixed-use landscape via a 99-year lease. (A vocal group of NYCHA tenants who’ve long advocated for simply renovating the properties are rarely if ever acknowleged by pro-demoltion proponents; this unmet need to be heard resulting in public disruptions during two recent Town Halls hosted by Assemblymember Tony Simone/Congressman Jerry Nadler and MCB4.)

Exiting the August 19 meeting with a letter that would outline the CLU’s position on the NYCHA/Chelsea matter would be a notable development for MCB4–whose committees and full board meetings have discussed and debated various scenarios dozens of times over the past half-decade. Despite this robust public vetting, the Board has yet to take a unified position on the options of full demolition, some demoltion and some renovation, or all-renovation. (At the committee level, a “vote” is cast regarding the contents of a letter sent to various stakeholders if and when approved by the majority of MCB4’s members.)

Public patience with a years-long review process yielding no definitive policy position has worn thin and, recently, became worn out–when Chelsea resident and “Don’t Demolish, Renovate” advocate Lizette Colon testified during the Public Session of MCB4’s July 23 Full Board Meeting.

Noting that MCB4 members “are the eyes and ears of their communities, working to ensure that local needs are heard and addressed,” Colon asked MCB4 to “stop using the excuse that you don’t understand all the details as a reason not to seek tenant-driven solutions…We cannot accept your neutral stance.” Seizing the chance to declare a stance, Colon implored the board members–specifically, those on the CLU–to “go for that suggested special session in August and get all the answers that you’re still looking for.”

Colon’s invocation of the special session option referenced a discussion at the most recent CLU meeting, held on July 21. At that meeting, committee member David Holowka’s comments crystalized the essence of several matters discussed during the proceedings. Noted Holowka: “Even if we took a position against this project, we’re simply advisory…However, I think it’s important to reflect what we’re hearing from the the community,” given we could, by October, “be seeing demolition of the first two buildings…I think we kind of owe it to all of the members of the public and the many residents who come out [to testify at MCB4 meetings]–some of whom have become as familiar to us as our fellow CB4 members–to take a position and I’m very concerned about the time frame and the fact that there are no [regular committee] meetings in August. The next full board meeting is Wednesday [July 23]. There’s not another one until September third…Given that time frame, I think we need to talk about how we’re going to continue this discussion and get a position issued in a full board meeting as soon as possible.”

And so, a special session of the CLU has been scheduled for Tuesday, August 19, 6:30pm, in-person at Hudson Guild Center (441 W. 26th St. btw. 9th &10th Aves.) and online via Zoom and on MCB4’S YouTube channel. To view the meeting via Zoom (the only option besides in-person allowing for public participation), click here. To attend via Conference Call, dial 646-828-7666 and, when prompted, dial the Webinar ID: 161 647 0667. For more info on the CLU, click here. 

—END—