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 22 January, 2005 |
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Letters To the Editor: The tsunami disaster in Sri Lanka is an event that has never happened before in 5000 years of recorded history. The damage to the infrastructure will take decades to repair in spite of generous donations from other countries. While most of the relief efforts seem to be concentrated in the South, the people of the northern part of the island are in great need of humanitarian help. Fortunately, a local group, the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization is working very hard to mitigate the suffering. Though there have been pejorative accounts about the Tamil Tiger separatists, the TRO has been internationally praised as being efficient and non-political. More information about the TRO can be found on their website (trousa.org).
Their address is 516 Old Town Road, Cumberland MD 21502. As they are a
volunteer group, almost all of the donated funds go directly to helping
people. The percentage of their operating costs is much smaller than that
of some overseas organizations. Donations can be made by check (or by
credit card on their website) and the donations are tax-deductible. To the Editor: The new "commercial zone" parking area in front of 531 Main,
while not for residents, scared some vehicles away and gave residents,
if very lucky, an occasional space to unload, in great haste, afraid of
a ticket, with motor running. On the busiest package-delivery day of the
year - Christmas Eve - this U.S. government "For Official Use Only"
auto was firmly ensconced in the commercial zone. It did not move for
four days. Snow fell on it and melted. It came back for New Year's weekend.
Does DHS mean Department of Homeland Security? I'm as patriotic as one
can be, so if someone was protecting Roosevelt Island, I'm all for it.
But is that the whole story? To the Editor: To the Editor: To the Editor: The memorial was in the original 1970's plan for the Island. In addition to renaming it, a park and memorial were to be built at Southpoint. Due to the financial crisis of 1975, the memorial was never completed. Barely enough funds were left to finish the first phase of the Island, which opened that year. Over the years, mumblings have been heard about reviving the FDR memorial as the last project of architect Louis Kahn. He died in 1974; his associates had finished the plan. The plan has been revived with this exhibit at Cooper Union. Kahn aficionados and FDR admirers came forward, and want to build it. Many problems now arise: The Island has a population of over 10,000 - a community with its own very strong sense of being. This is no longer the experimental laboratory of the "new community" movement of the 1970's. Residents fight for parks, trees, and open space. The community was surveyed by the Trust for Public Land last summer and three schemes were offered for Southpoint with different landscaping possibilities. In an overwhelming response by park users, residents, hospital residents, tourists, seniors, and fishermen, the most popular scheme was the one offering less structure and more open land. This was the first time the community was able to give input into a plan and the suggestions were used to improve the design. The Kahn memorial was featured as one of the concepts. It proved to be the least popular, and comments indicated that it was not the type of park people want today. One main objection was a large formal lawn, stone walls, and topiary (pruned) trees. Others were that views from the southernmost tip of the Island would be blocked by a three-sided structure with a statue in it. There were expressions of concern that, since the Island has never properly maintained the landscaping already in place, a formal area would be too costly to keep up. It also seems like a tempting target for graffiti and vandalism. Construction, including re-building the seawalls and foundations for stone walls would be far more expensive than the natural plan favored by the community. I have had conversations with a resident who favors the Kahn Plan. This person feels that the residents would only lose 2.5 acres and we could have the rest of the park to do with as we pleased. But hopefully, we will never develop Southpoint piecemeal for any special interest group that comes along. The architectural experts know little of our Island, its community, and its open-space issues. They are well-meaning people who would love to see the Kahn/FDR memorial here. As always, the architects, planners, and experts will do their project and walk away from it leaving it to the locals to live with. One of their issues is that it would bring tourists. It would probably attract some visitors, but not enough to justify a drastic change in the Island parks. I looked at our most successful park, Lighthouse Park, with its natural contours, no granite or stone surfaces, gentle willow trees and casual seating, many people fishing off its shore and grilling their picnic meals. To contrast this successful design with the Kahn design shows how out of touch this memorial is. My suggestion is that, in honor of Mr. Kahn and President Roosevelt,
the contour of the southern point be maintained, as the land was graded
that way. A grove of trees, a pier, or an overlook could be a perfect
place to place a plaque honoring these two great men. The pier/overlook
would be disabled-accessible, as will be the entire park, a greater tribute
to FDR than any wall of stone could be. To the Editor: According to the terms of the lease agreement* between Riverwalk and RIOC, the new condominium will be obligated to pay $20 per unit per month at the start - with an upward adjustment of 3% per annum. For the 230-unit condo, this would amount to about $50,000 per year. Assuming that the same rate has been agreed to between RIOC and the developers
for other buildings (and it may not have been), a total annual payment
from the eventual 2,000 unit Southtown development would come to around
$500,000.
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