Letters to the Editor
MASTRO AND LUCERNE RESIDENTS
Re “Lucerne Redux,” (West Side Spirit, Oct. 29 - Nov. 4), while it is outrageous that Mr. Mastro’s property was vandalized, it is time to thoroughly debunk the two primary claims he has been making on behalf of his clients.
First is the claim that the men are not getting “the services they need,” and will get more or better services if they are moved. Although it took Project Renewal a couple of weeks to ramp up services at the hotel, the men have been receiving robust services for almost two months. This includes three no-contact meals per day, wellness checks, COVID testing, job training, 12-step meetings, recreational programs, and medical, substance abuse and mental health services. They also receive other services provided gratis by Open Hearts Initiative, including writing workshops, “free shops” of donated goods and a faith-based program that provides pastoral counseling in a confidential environment. (I am a co-leader of this program.) Finally, an anonymous donor gave over $250,000 to Goddard Riverside Community Center to provide 7-day-a-week programming for the men, as well as 50 jobs. All but the internal services will be lost if the men are moved.
Second is the claim that the men are creating “unsafe” and/or “unclean” conditions. It is true that for the first couple of weeks, some of the men from the Lucerne were engaging in activities contributing to the deterioration of “quality of life” conditions. However, those residents who were offenders were transferred by Project Renewal very quickly. The 20th Precinct has consistently stated that not one resident of the hotel has been formally accused of a crime against persons, and that there has been no uptick in crime attributable to the hotel residents.
Finally, it is stated that “It was Mastro’s threat to sue if the shelter at the Lucerne was not shut that led Mayor Bill de Blasio to announce that the men would be moved.” This is the scandal here. When Mr. Mastro first made his threat, the mayor said that he would not be cowed by lawsuits; that the men would not be moved until it was safe to do so, based solely on the health data. Yet he entered into a “back-door” deal with Mr. Mastro to move the men – health consequences be damned. Why is the mayor being allowed to play with the lives of these men in order to give air cover to NIMBYism?
(Rev.) Ian Alterman
Upper West Side
SOUTH STREET SEAPORT PROJECT
The article “Affordable Housing Project Coming to South Street Seaport” (Our Town Downtown, Nov. 5 - 11) is less than a news story and more a regurgitation of the Howard Hughes Corporation’s (HHC) press release.
If the intent was truly to inform the public about the HHC proposal, responsible reporting would have at least touched on the many times HHC has reneged on community promises or flatly lied over the years; reported on the failed development history at 250 Water Street stemming from these types of out-of-scale and out-of-character proposals being shot down nine times at the Landmarks Commission.
The piece goes so far as to exclusively use the developer’s re-telling of community stakeholder workshops. If just one call was made to anyone not on HHC’s dole, the reporter would have learned that most of the workshop attendees were adamant about the long-standing 120-foot height limit zoning governing the lot. There was never, as the piece deceptively alludes, a consensus among attendees that 470-feet was acceptable.
But most importantly, the story should have covered an alternate plan, supported by Manhattan Community Board 1, and presented by the Seaport Coalition (https://seaportcoalition.com/) that follows the zoning limits and would provide funding for the struggling South Street Seaport Museum, and alternate development sites - creating far more than the 100 units of affordable housing promises being dangled by the Howard Hughes project.
It’s disappointing to see Our Town running HHC’s 250 Water Street propaganda as a news story instead of the REBNY-slanted disinformation piece that it is.
Megan Malvern
Seaport/FiDi