by Sara G. Levin

Is the Empire Zone Another Name for SPURA?

Broom Street near Clinton, a view from the eastern property line of SPURA, looking west In 2003, a storm erupted in the CB 3 meeting on SPURA. Will cooler heads prevail this time?

hen Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced last month that New York State now considers Chinatown and the Lower East Side an Empire Zone—a package that offers expanding local businesses tax breaks and credits—many advocates praised the decision. But some local leaders held concerns prior to its passing, that small businesses might not adequately receive benefits, and that incentives may attract big business to the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area [SPURA].

“[The Empire Zone is] not a magic potion, it won’t automatically revitalize the community by existing, but it will encourage business that invests and expands in the zone,” said John Wang, president of the Asian American Business Development Center.

For any business hiring full-time employees in newly created positions, the State offers thousands of dollars in tax credits. But Joseph Cunin, executive director of the Lower East Side Business Improvement District, said his impression of Empire Zones was that they are typically geared toward larger businesses. Cunin wrote a letter of support for the initiative, but wasn’t sure how much the Lower East Side’s many mom and pop shops would gain from it.

Jim Quent, a spokesperson for Silver, insisted small businesses will be eligible for benefits, and said that the Speaker is putting together a packet of information describing who is eligible and how to apply. “There are benefits [in the program] that create jobs and the size of those job doesn’t matter,” said Quent.

Concern over preserving housing, especially for low-income families, was the reason previous District 2 councilmember Margarita Lopez opposed the Empire Zone. At the Sept. 15 City Council meeting in which Alan Gerson fought to pass the proposal, Lopez said, “We talk about affordable housing in this campaign year…but we don’t act.” Lopez implied Empire Zoning might entice big business to overtake areas which otherwise could be used for low-income housing on that spot.

Ultimately, an appointed local board will decide which businesses receive Empire Zone status. The board will include at least one resident of the designated area. Joseph Cunin said that even though the Empire Zone officially includes SPURA he does not think it will affect housing, because the area is owned by the City. Community Board 3 former president Harvey Epstein in 2002 wrote Robert W. Walsh, Commissioner of the Department of Business Services, “We have one of the largest tracks of vacant developable land on the island of Manhattan (the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area)… and it would be a real loss to our community if the site is developed as a primarily commercial project.”

Current CB 3 president David McWater said he still supports housing for SPURA, a sentiment which he says is shared by many on the board. “I don’t think the board has changed their mind much since [the Epstein letter],” he said. However, unlike his predecessor, he isn’t worried about the impact of big business.

“I don’t think [business] will overshadow housing,” McWater stated, adding the Empire Zoning “was done with the best intentions and there are a lot of good people working on it” – he mentioned City Councilmember Alan Gerson. “There will definitely be some kind of mix [of business and housing in SPURA] and it will be good for everybody.” He added that he hopes development of something begins there soon, while the market is still favorable.

The next few months will reveal whether making the LES an Empire Zone results in significant business empowerment or reawakened old confiicts over the balance of housing and commerce in SPURA.

Avalon Deal Yields Major Community Center

niversity Settlement, one of the oldest institutions on the Lower East Side, in partnership with the Chinatown YMCA, will open its Houston Street Center to the public in March 2006. Built and donated by AvalonBay Communities, Inc., the new center is the result of what some consider the richest community minded real estate agreement in Lower Manhattan in generations.

“After over thirty years of dialogue and negotiation, the community’s needs have been heard and will be met in this exciting new space,” says Michael Zisser, Executive Director of University Settlement.

The 42,000-square-foot facility, at Houston and the Bowery, will welcome all Lower East Siders with meeting rooms, classrooms and community offices, a swimming pool, gym and fitness center, and state-of-the-art educational and recreational facilities.

For information call Karina Glaser, karina @universitysettlement.org, 212.453.4575.

Affordable Housing On 11th Is Loved By All

Architect Richard Vitto (with glasses) Phipps Houses CEO Adam Weinstein presenting their plan to the CB 3 Housing Committee

tanding before two sets of blueprints, Principle Architect Richard Vitto and Phipps Houses CEO Adam Weinstein reassured attendees of the Community Board 3 Housing Committee meeting last month that upcoming building renovations will preserve the East 11th Street delicate infrastructure. At the end of the meeting, which attracted a smattering of local activists, the committee voted to support Phipps’ effort to build new homes for low-income residents.

The project, called Fabria Houses, involves renovating three abandoned buildings on 11th Street, between First Avenue and Avenue B, and constructing two new structures on empty lots on East 7th and 9th Streets. The units are expected to remain under a low-income lease for at least 99 years, according to Phipps’ agreement with the New York City Housing Authority.

Phipps Houses, a longstanding nonprofit developer, needed CB 3’s support to apply for New York State low-income housing tax credits, Weinstein said. The extra money, he explained, would enable all 67 apartments to be “affordable.” Without it, Phipps would go ahead with the project, but would sell 30% of the apartments at market rate.

“I view this as our chance to make more affordable housing available,” said Weinstein.

While income requirements vary depending on the admittance program set by NYCHA, Weinstein said he thought maximum income for a 2-bedroom apartment was approximately $32,000. Under his current agreement with NYCHA, the authority will fill 39 units with New Yorkers off its Section 8 waiting list. Ten will be given to families from the City’s homeless shelter system and the remaining will be distributed by lottery.

“Our community has felt a loss after the shutting down of these buildings, so I’m very happy to see that this element of our community be restored,” said Daniel Nauke, president of the East 11th Street block association. However, Nauke added that neighbors must insist that the buildings remain faithful to their intended use and do not cause structural damage to surrounding areas. He explained that a subterranean spring is running close to the surface on 11th Street, and careless digging could cause it to flood nearby basements. “We’re trying to stay away from any sub-surface damage,” said Vitto, who explained that the shells of the buildings will be remodeled, but remain intact. Floors will be gutted and redone to allow for new apartments—which will be small, around 750 sq. ft. for two bedrooms and 580 sq. ft. for one-bedrooms.

Susi Schropp from the Cooper Square Committee attended the meeting to make sure local organizations like hers can be involved in overseeing the lottery drawing process. She said it is important to make sure locals and former residents who were relocated get first consideration. In agreement with her was Damaris Reyes, director of Good Old Lower East Side.

Committee Chairman Sam Wilkenfeld presided ably over the meeting, which ended with a unanimous vote in favor of Phipps’ project.

Unequivocal Praise for Chanukah Party

UJC Executive Director Joel Kaplan examining a raffle ticket

hat’s better than a community celebration of Chanukah? An organized community celebration of Chanukah, of course! That’s exactly what a group of about ten local volunteers, led by Meir Sinensky and Malki Cohen, created last December, at the Orenstein Building at 15-17 Willet Street. The party, geared for young children and sponsored by the United Jewish Council and the Bialystoker Synagogue, attracted some 50 adults and 150 children from the neighborhood. Attractions included face painting, dreidel making, photo T-shirts, and balloon figures. Entertainment was provided by Jeff Neckenoff of Azamra DJ. The menorah was lit by Rabbi Romm, of the Bialystoker Synagogue. Food was provided by Moshe Davidowitz, and there was a raffle for gift certificates to local stores such as East Side Glatt, Kosher Corner on Grand and Moshe’s Bakery. Everything except the raffle tickets was included in the price of admission. The party was fantastic.

Moshe Berman

Area Crime Continues to Drop

Captain Chang reviewing 2005 crime stats

rime in the 7th Precinct fell by 5% in 2005, reported Executive Officer Captain Ellen Chang at January’s Police Community Council meeting. For the first time in five years, robberies were down, she said, though they were only down by 5% as of Dec. 18. Burglaries and felony assaults, however, were 20% lower than in 2004, according to the Dec. 18 statistics report.

Undiscussed were murders and rapes which, while in the single digits, were up from 2004. Also up was grand larceny, the category with the highest number of incidents last year, 296. Chang confirmed that five car owners had reported finding their tires slashed the first week of January on Columbia Street, and said the precinct is pursuing leads, including video evidence.

Amidst an ongoing controversy over bar disturbances in the area, Carlo Schiano, manager of the popular Ludlow Street hangout, Pianos, spoke about how his bar has helped the community in one key way—surveillance. He said that Pianos, equipped with several closed circuit, digital cameras, two of which are looking out onto Ludlow Street, has helped stop numerous crimes. Because cameras raise privacy issues, Schiano said his records are not available for public viewing, but that they have helped police investigate offenses, like grand larceny, on Ludlow Street.

“I plan on checking what’s going on from Costa Rica,” said Schiano, who can access the digital data through the internet and is planning a vacation to Central America. Though Pianos uses cameras that have high resolution in the dark, many stores can use cheap web cams, he said.

Over the holidays, the community council distributed a total of 350 toys for Christmas and 127 toys for Hanukkah at precinct celebrations for local families. Local resident Stephen Yeung donated $1,000 to the council. Council President Donald West emphasized the need for further donations to help start an Explorer youth program at the precinct. The council, he said, has already pledged to fund 15-30 kids to be mentored under police officers after school once the program is underway. The Explorer program is an arm of the Boy Scouts of America that encourages young people to learn about different areas of law enforcement.

Captain Chang awarded Officer of the Month plaques to the precinct’s specialty unit, led by Sgt. James Nery and including Don Perrone, Joe Flood and Steven Hong, who arrested five violent felons after recovering three firearms and a large amount of crack cocaine. Det. Thomas Dana and Sgt. Nelson Vazquez were also honored for resisting and securing evidence of a bribery attempt.

Silver, Assembly to Block Federal Drug Program

Assembly Speaker Silver introducing emergency drug program

ssembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and key committee chairs last month introduced emergency legislation in response to “the crisis created by the newly implemented federal Medicare prescription drug program (Part D),” which they say could result in 600,000 lowincome elderly and disabled New Yorkers being wrongfully denied access to prescription drugs.

“This new Medicare program....could soon become one of our state’s greatest public health disasters,” said Silver. “Sadly, while Governor Pataki has the authority to step up and fix this problem, he has not demonstrated the leadership needed to do so.”

LoHo Venturing Beyond Co-Ops

oHo Realty, which has become synonymous with Co-Op Village sales on the Lower East Side, is now expanding into other properties in the neighborhood. According to broker Jacob Goldman, their first offerings are commercial properties, at 48 and 140 Orchard Street.

212.388.1115

Stanton Street Shul Revving Up the Renovations

he walk-up, 93 year-old tenement synagogue Congregation Bnai Jacob Anschei Brzezan (also known as the Stanton Street Shul) held its largest fundraiser to date last month, complete with a klezmer concert featuring Shtreiml and the Village Klezmer Quintet, and a silent auction, at the Lippman Auditorium on Grand Street, to support the synagogue’s continuing renovation.

“By 2013 (the year the shul turns 100), we want to have a more modern, functional space,” said member Jonathan Shore. The Shul was able to repair a leaking roof this summer, and will use proceeds to finish paying off those renovations, in addition to creating a multipurpose room downstairs, available for study, dinners and possibly a children’s program, Shore explained.

The synagogue, which hosts some 40- 50 worshippers every Sabbath morning, is experiencing a “resurgence,” according to Shore, who added that more young adherents have joined in recent years. “We are Orthodox, but we are incredibly open-minded and accepting of all types of Jews,” Shore said, adding the group is also open to Jews with alternative lifestyles.

The auction featured donations from Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the American Museum of Natural History and Chelsea Piers, as well as a trip to Chicago to attend a Yankees/White Sox game, and a cooking class by Sharon Lebewohl, daughter of 2nd Ave. Deli-founder, the late Abe Lebewohl.

Met Council Gets $11 Million Federal Boost

Met Council CEO William Rapfogel

he Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty received an $11 million grant last month, to construct senior housing in Co-Op City in the Bronx. Congressman Joseph Crowley secured the funds to build a 70-unit complex after negotiating with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

“There is so much need, we’d love to be able to do ten [buildings] instead of one,” said Met Council CEO William Rapfogel, who lives on the Lower East Side. According to Rapfogel, the building’s units will all be for senior citizens. Met Council markets apartments to the elderly of all religions and races, awarding them by a lottery. Thirty percent of the apartments will go to homeless individuals 62 or older.

“Over the past 20 years, the cost of market rate housing in NYC has risen many times faster than have the fixed incomes of the poor elderly, while the supply of new government subsidized housing is very small,” said Rapfogel. Met Council operates several similar structures for the homeless, mentally ill, and senior citizens in all five boroughs. According to Rapfogel, his organization receives some 60 eligible applications for every available unit.

When asked about the status of Lower East Side affordable housing, Rapfogel maintained it is important for every community throughout the city to embrace affordable housing, and to avoid “ghettoization” by mixing it with market-rate and middle-income units.

Government Control at Abrons

Butch by Michael Ferris Jr. (Photo by Martin Dust)

nner Limits is the somewhat scary title of a new show at the Abrons Arts Center, in which ten artists explore a murky area between imagination and reality. And we know from whence they come. Our government plants fake news stories, we watch late-night fictional news programs and politics and advertising spin black to white and back again. The works mostly use the human figure as subject and include photography, video, sewn fabric, sculpture, painting and installation. The exhibition was curated by Martin Dust, the Visual Arts Education Coordinator at Abrons.

Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street, 212.598.0400, Tue - Fri, 10 AM - 6 PM, Sat & Sun, 12 PM - 6 PM, through March 3.

Carol Markel

Community Board 3 February 2006 agenda

Please confirm all meetings on our website, www.cb3manhattan.org or call 212-533-5300.

SLA & Economic Development Committee, Mon, 2/13, 6:30 PM, JASA/ Green Residence, 200 E. 5th St. • Housing, Land Disposition, Zoning, & NYC Housing Authority Committee, Tue, 2/14, 6:30 PM, Project Renewal, Kenton Hall, 333 Bowery (Bet. 2nd & 3rd St.) • Parks, Recreation, Cultural Affairs, Landmarks, & Waterfront Committee, Thu, 2/16, 6:30 PM, Casa Victoria, 308 E. 8th St. (Bet. B & C) • Public Safety & Sanitation / Transportation Committees, Tue, 2/21, 6:30 PM, Casa Victoria, 308 E. 8th St. (Bet. B & C) • Executive Committee, Thu, 2/23, 6:30 PM, CB 3 Office, 59 E. 4th St. • Community Board 3 Meeting, Tue, 2/28, 6:30 PM, Chinatown YMCA Beacon Center, located inside MS 131, 100 Hester Street (Between Eldridge & Forsyth Streets).