City Council Continues to Waffle on Underground Railroad Safehouses
Warning: the following post includes confusing details meant to discourage public participation. Some patience and bravery is advised.
In a stunning move of extreme waffling, the office of Melinda Katz has rescheduled the public hearing on Duffield Street from April 11 to May 1. Or maybe it will be April 17, but we won't know for sure until a few days before the meeting.
Action Advisory:
Email Christine Quinn at quinn@council.nyc.ny.us and
Melinda Katz at katz@council.nyc.ny.usWrite that the destruction of the Underground Railroad deserves a fair hearing. The City should not waddle through the seizure by eminent domain of private homes in a haphazard manner.
Stick to the announced date of May 1 for the public hearing on the Duffield Street Abolitionist homes!
In their messy attempt to help squelch any further exploration of this history, the City Council has in the space of about three weeks rescheduled the public hearing on this three times. The EDC, with AKRF (a private entity dedicated to destroying communities in the way of big development plans), spent two years studying the historical record. The 500+ page report was released 3/13/07 and the first public hearing was scheduled 3/20, giving the public no time to review the report. After some pressure from Tish James and others, they rescheduled the meeting to 4/11. On April 5 at about 5:00 pm, Council Member Katz's office let word out that the meeting will be delayed until May 1. Or maybe not.
Downtown Brooklyn was a well known Abolitionist neighborhood and was the home of several churches that resisted legalized slavery in this country. Residents claim that the historical record shows that their homes were safehouses of the Underground Railroad. The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is slobbering at the bit to transform this rich history into an access road for a hotel and underground parking lot.
Whether this is a purposeful attempt to confuse the enemy, or simply a glorious fit of disorganization, the effect is the same: The City Council is stifling public input. It is not too much to ask the City Council to stick to one date.
The May 1st date also allows sympathetic City Council representatives to attend. The later date is also better for the residents who face eviction.
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African American | Breaking News | Culture | History | Landmark Preservation | Urban Development | Urban Development | US American | Christine Quinn
Yvette Clarke's letter coming
Submitted by Yero on 7 April 2007 - 3:38pm.
Yvette Clarke has written a letter, presumably in support of preserving the Abolitionist history. I will make a big deal out of that when I get a copy of it.
It seems to me that we don't want to alienate Quinn, so I urge people to write to her and remind her that the EDC's own document shows that the peer advisors recommend preserving the properties.
Good for Yvette!
Submitted by mole333 on 7 April 2007 - 7:07pm.
I would like to feel proud of Yvette one of these days. So far not so much. But I hope some day I will see her in a more positive light.
I believe this site is in Ed
Submitted by JAD on 8 April 2007 - 10:25am.
I believe this site is in Ed Towns' district. So it would make sense to ask the Congressman to take a minute or two from serving the interests of Big Tobacco and do the right thing here.
In addition, this would be a good opportunity for Councilman Yasskey, who I believe represents at least a part of this area, to win over some of the groups he alienated in last year's Congressional election.
The key here is presenting the preservationist position as an oppoerunity to accommodate those interests with the proposed economic developments. If they simply say "Don't develop" they will not get anywhere. There should, however, be room to forge a reasonable compromise that both sides can live with.
Yassky, Towns
Submitted by Yero on 8 April 2007 - 12:36pm.
This is Ed Towns' district... and I s'pose I should bite the bullet and contact them. I don't suspect he'd be very interested in this issue, given that people like Tish James, Velmanette Montgomery and Charles Barron have opposed the demolition of these properties.
I did call Yassky's office, and the person there said that "people" wanted to keep these properties quiet. When I asked what "people" she was referring to, she quickly realized that she said something that she shouldn't have. The only inference is that Yassky has been talking with the pro-parking side, because the residents don't want to keep this quiet.
Yassky has shown up to rallies at 227 Duffield Street, and he is well aware of the issue. He showed up at one rally AFTER a strident criticism by Joy Chatel at a public forum- see http://www.brooklyndowntownstar.com/StoryDisplay.asp?PID=4&NewsStoryID=3...
But if Yassky is going to continue his pandering to developers, he also has to pretend like he's down wit da people, so it's likely that he'll have to side with the residents. As long as he thinks people notice. (In case you can't get the hint: Contact Yassky's office!!)
As far as the "Don't Develop" rhetoric goes, let's call a spade a spade: It is pure stupidity to think that destroying a cultural destination will help Downtown Brooklyn's economy.
Here is how the EDC describes their plan on their first page of the Executive Summary of the recently released Duffield Street document:
The proposed Downtown Brooklyn Development project is a long-range planning strategy to create a vibrant, multi-use urban environment that serves the residents, businesses, and academic
institutions of Downtown Brooklyn and its surrounding communities.
If you really want a vibrant business district, then recognize that these homes are a museum.
The residents have already declared 227 Duffield a museum. Joy Chatel often repeats that she is not keeping the homes for her own sake- history does not belong to an individual.
It is quite common to have successful development projects that find creative uses for existing buildings. Good architecture and planning is a dialogue with the existing neighborhood. Preserving these homes continues that dialogue, and destroying them diminishes the unique character of Brooklyn.
Tish James and other CMs asked for more time
Submitted by Kate Suisman (not verified) on 11 April 2007 - 11:42am.
To set the record straight, my boss, Council Member Letitia James, and other Council Members asked for more time on the Duffield Street hearing. There isn't any waffling going on. The Speaker's office has responded to the Members' requests to postpone the hearing until the numerous community groups, preservationists, historians, and the homeowners have a chance to read the lengthy report on the matter. The full 500 pages can be seen at:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/edc/home.html
and search for Duffield.
The Council is not trying to squelch discussion, but to give the public ample time to be prepared to respond to the AKRF report.
Thanks, Kate Suisman, Chief of Staff
Wrote a letter
Wrote a letter telling them (in nicer terms, of course) to stop dicking around and for once show the black community they are valued. Why would we want to forget that New Yorkers helped slaves escape from slavery? Isn't that something we should be proud of? Where is ACORN on this? Where is Yvette Clarke?