Manhattan

As the sun rises brightly and the school day begins, hundreds of students enter Public School 163. Some of them have spent the night before studying for the very important Common Core exam, reviewing strategies and taking practice tests. Nervous, they enter their classrooms and reassure themselves that everything is going to be fine. They are about to start the exam, when suddenly, they hear an ear-splitting, deafening noise. It is the sound of construction right next door.

This is what many in the neighborhood fear would occur if a planned construction project goes forward on West 97th Street. So far, no construction has been done, because a protracted court battle has brought the project to a complete halt.

The New Jewish Home, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing healthcare to the elderly throughout New York City, is planning to build a 20-story nursing home on 97th street between Columbus and Amsterdam, adjacent to P.S. 163. The home would contain 414 beds, including 264 long-term care beds and 150 short-term rehabilitation beds. It would be built on a parking lot that the developers bought from the owners of Park West Village, a residential complex consisting of four apartment buildings on Columbus Avenue between 97th and 100th Street.

The proposed nursing home has ignited a frenzy of controversy among people, both for and against its construction. While some people argue that the New Jewish Home wants to construct this home for the safety and well-being of the elderly, others argue against its development.

An organization called No Jewish Home Lifecare at Park West Village, parents of students who attend P.S. 163, community board members, local politicians, and residents who live near the planned construction site have all criticized the nursing home’s construction.

According to Straus News, Avery Brandon, who lives close to the site and whose daughter is currently in kindergarten attending P.S. 163, strongly criticized establishment of the nursing home.  “A huge construction project like this can have untold effects on the health of our children,” she stated. “With the noise levels, and the mental stress that this construction will cause, how will our children be able to learn?” She also pointed out increased congestion, dust and debris, and restricted space for emergency vehicles in case of an accident that could emerge as a result of the construction.

Residents like Avery are not the only ones who have vehemently opposed the nursing home’s construction. According to DNAinfo, City Comptroller Scott Stringer has pledged to halt the New Jewish Home’s proposal. “I’m not going to let them do anything to harm our children or residents,” he said. “In the current proposal, we’ve already calculated that there isn’t enough public space.” He emphasized that the construction would put schoolchildren at risk.

The No JHL at PWV coalition has also harshly condemned the proposed development of the nursing home. In a 2015 interview, the coalition’s leader, Martin Rosenblatt, said that emergency response vehicle access would be impeded, long-term construction noise, dust and debris would put schoolchildren in jeopardy, and increased traffic would exacerbate congestion.

When contacted to be interviewed again, members of No JHL at PWV did not respond.

Leading figures in New Jewish Home are aware of the criticism and have responded to it. According to DNAinfo, New Jewish Home spokesman Ethan Geto said the company’s attorneys and consultants went over the proposal in extreme detail to make sure it conformed to zoning regulations regarding open space. Geto added that the project is designed to create “the leading, state-of-the-art nursing home in the U.S., that is both environmentally-friendly and maximizes the dignity and independence of residents.”

In a statement made in 2014, New Jewish Home Senior Vice President Bruce Nathanson said, “As a mission-driven nonprofit healthcare organization, Jewish Home is committed to building in the safest and most responsible manner.”

The New Jewish Home was also contacted recently, but they declined to comment.

After five years of complex litigation, no construction has been done on the planned development site, ground has not yet been broken, and the parking lot still remains vacant. In December 2017, the New Jewish Home won a lawsuit filed against them by parents and residents of the community, with the Court of Appeals ruling that the environmental impact studies conducted by the New Jewish Home to ensure safety of schoolchildren were adequate. However, the court battle still isn’t over. Litigants have also filed suit against the proposed nursing home’s zoning, which is currently being reviewed at the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division.

The controversy over the construction of this nursing home is more heated than ever, and the New Jewish Home is still facing a great deal of criticism. Residents and parents who live close to the site are very angry, and do not want to witness schoolchildren’s lives being endangered. Because of the bitter opposition to the nursing home’s development, whether a compromise can ever be reached remains to be seen.

By: Oniken J. Pereira

The New York Public libraries are an essential cause. People read books there, and borrow books and movies. Right now libraries are in need of support from patrons of the library branches around the city. The library sends out emails to library card holders that have started their membership, rented with them, or accessed the internet with them using a library card. They are asking to donate to $75,000 for their new English language programs and workbooks, which is a helpful benefit to people who want to learn over the summer.

Libraries are important in communities and neighborhoods. Once you have a book that you want to read and need to study from, libraries will have it for you. Different libraries are sending emails to notify members that they need help coming from us by donating to raise enough money to keep their service going, as well as add some new activities like helping people use technology, providing computers in the library as well as teaching English to non-English speakers. Another email was sent out to members so they can send out a letter to the mayor about how a library can change everybody and how important it is to have them.

Mayor Bill De Blasio then received those letters and wrote an email back to the letter’s sender:

“Thank you for writing to me about New York City’s libraries and the important role they play in your life and in your community. No matter what borough you call home, one of our three outstanding library systems is available to provide a variety of critical support and vital services that can help New Yorkers succeed in school, in their careers, and far beyond. My administration understands just how essential libraries are to people of all ages, and that’s why this year, in partnership with the City Council, $60 million was added to the library’s capital budget for projects that will ensure our libraries can continue to improve their facilities, along with an additional $35 million to support branch-specific needs. This brings my administration’s investment in capital improvements within all three of our library systems to $530 million.”

Jennifer Panicali is the organizer for the donation emails from libraries calling to all members of the NYPL to give them support through the donation, in which you can select what amount to donate and they will give you a gift in return. The possibilities of the gifts would be: library book bags with a color change pencil or a free book of your choice to take with you.

By: Russell Stern

As a cool summer night wind blows and plants shine in the moonlight, dozens enter the West Side Community Garden, on 89th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam. They are going to see a concert, a smooth jazz quartet with piano, bass and drums. As they stride through the garden, they marvel at the beautiful berry patches and roses.

When the garden was first founded, however, people wouldn’t even think of going near it.

In 1975, the site was a large vacant lot strewn with nauseating garbage and dilapidated and stripped cars. It was even known as “strip city” among locals at the time. Crime and theft were on the rise in New York City, with the number of murders increasing by over 1,000 in a span of ten years and the number of robberies increasing by over 60,000.

“The vacant lot was part of the West Side Urban Renewal Plan, which aimed to renew and rebuild urban slums, and the lot was filled with rubble from buildings that used to be here,” Jackie Bukowski, former president and current legal counsel to the Garden Board, stated in an interview. “The Upper West Side was really a slum at the time, and there was a huge amount of crime. There were a lot of youthful gangs.”

“Watch West Side Story, and you’ll get the idea,” she added with a laugh.

Originally, Bukowski and the garden’s founders, Jerry Kretchmer and Joe Wasserman, did not need permission from the City of New York to clear out the vacant lot, which took up the entire block between 89th and 90th Street, and half the block between Columbus and Amsterdam. With the help of other volunteers, they completely cleaned up the lot and planted tomatoes and beds of flowers and vegetables. Several years later, though, when they wanted to modernize the garden, they were forced to enter into negotiations with the City Community Planning Board. The city planned to sell the lot to private developers to construct a high-rise apartment building and attached townhouses. The negotiations led to the garden winning permanent status in the city in 1985, by merely one vote. However, the size of the garden was greatly reduced.

“We had to make negotiations with Community Board 7 for six years, and the city wanted us to lease a small piece of the garden land and have us pay money for it,” said Bukowski. “But we established ourselves as a nonprofit organization and in 1989, the city granted us a deed and we became the owners of the land. We were able to accomplish this because we had many people supporting us, and kept lobbying members of the City Council.”

Once they became the owners of the land, community garden members established the concept for the public flower park and amphitheater. Construction began in the fall of 1989, and in the summer of 1990, the new garden was finally ready. It became a prominent oasis where frequent performances, plays and musical festivals are held.

Two of William Shakespeare’s tragedies, Macbeth and Julius Caesar, as well as music performances, have been held in the garden. James Winn, a pianist, and Rolf Schulte, a violinist, have played songs by Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, and Richard Strauss.

“The fundraiser we had for our first event was very special,” Bukowski mentioned. “It was the Macbeth play. It was fabulous. That’s probably the best play the garden’s ever held. The actors were amazing.”

The West Side Community Garden transformed what had been a rat-infested, garbage-filled junkyard into one of the Upper West Side’s most popular public gardens. This summer alone, the garden has sponsored numerous events, including a spring tulip festival, a July 4th potluck dinner, several movie nights, and a production of Shakespeare’s comedy, The Merry Wives of Windsor. And if Jackie Bukowski and her friends have their way, it will continue to thrive for decades to come.