There's a Community Liaison Office, if not a dedicated staffer; more workers = more idling, more garbage
This is the fifth of eight posts regarding the 1/28/20 Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Quality of Life meeting. The first regarded delays in B12/B13, the platform, and Site 5. The second concerned progress at B4, B15, and the railyard. The third concerned parking on the southeast block. The fourth concerned impacts from Barclays Center operations. The sixth concerned the next Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation meeting. The seventh concerned questions for the Department of Transportation. The eighth concerned DEP digging.
As shown in the letter excerpted at right, residents of Prospect Heights near the 595 Dean Street development (the B12 and B13 sites, which should start this spring) between Carlton and Vanderbilt avenues last month received notices of potential noise mitigation work paid for by the developer: double-glzed windows or window-mounted air conditioners.
At the meeting, developer Greenland USA was asked if they had a person in charge of the Community Liaison Office, which has been moved to the 550 Vanderbilt tower.
The previous Greenland staffer, Christina Chao, has left the company, said Greenland Director of Development Scott Solish. For now, he and a deputy are fielding questions for the CLO.
Solish said Greenland was recruiting for new staffers, which would include CLO duties.
According to a job posting, a Development Coordinator "will assist in pre-development and development functions, community and government relations, retail leasing, public presentations, environmental monitoring, and general coordination of tasks, as well as managing the execution of certain tasks as determined by the Vice President of Development."
Another position, Assistant Project Manager – Real Estate Development, will have similar tasks.
Resident Peter Krashes also asked about the timing of such mitigations, saying he thought it should be ongoing, given that ongoing work, like truck deliveries, generates noise. That question didn't get an answer.
More workers, more impacts
As we learned in the recent Construction Updates, there are more workers in the neighborhood, as construction ramps up at the B4 and B15 sites.
Well, that has consequences.
As one resident reported, construction workers arrive in Prospect Heights by 5 am to snag a parking space, and wait in their cars until the work day starts. Except it's cold, and they leave their engines running--at least four or five cars have been doing this for the past two weeks, adding to pollution.
Some toss their trash to the curb on exiting their cars.
"Thank you for bringing that to my attention," said Tobi Jaiyesimi of Empire State Development, the state authority overseeing/shepherding the project.
She promised to bring the issue to developer Greenland Forest City Partners, whose rep Solish--the acting Community Liaison Officer--had already left the meeting.
As shown in the letter excerpted at right, residents of Prospect Heights near the 595 Dean Street development (the B12 and B13 sites, which should start this spring) between Carlton and Vanderbilt avenues last month received notices of potential noise mitigation work paid for by the developer: double-glzed windows or window-mounted air conditioners.
At the meeting, developer Greenland USA was asked if they had a person in charge of the Community Liaison Office, which has been moved to the 550 Vanderbilt tower.The previous Greenland staffer, Christina Chao, has left the company, said Greenland Director of Development Scott Solish. For now, he and a deputy are fielding questions for the CLO.
Solish said Greenland was recruiting for new staffers, which would include CLO duties.
According to a job posting, a Development Coordinator "will assist in pre-development and development functions, community and government relations, retail leasing, public presentations, environmental monitoring, and general coordination of tasks, as well as managing the execution of certain tasks as determined by the Vice President of Development."
Another position, Assistant Project Manager – Real Estate Development, will have similar tasks.
Resident Peter Krashes also asked about the timing of such mitigations, saying he thought it should be ongoing, given that ongoing work, like truck deliveries, generates noise. That question didn't get an answer.
More workers, more impacts
As we learned in the recent Construction Updates, there are more workers in the neighborhood, as construction ramps up at the B4 and B15 sites.
Well, that has consequences.
As one resident reported, construction workers arrive in Prospect Heights by 5 am to snag a parking space, and wait in their cars until the work day starts. Except it's cold, and they leave their engines running--at least four or five cars have been doing this for the past two weeks, adding to pollution.
Some toss their trash to the curb on exiting their cars.
"Thank you for bringing that to my attention," said Tobi Jaiyesimi of Empire State Development, the state authority overseeing/shepherding the project.
She promised to bring the issue to developer Greenland Forest City Partners, whose rep Solish--the acting Community Liaison Officer--had already left the meeting.
I only wish the members of the community would set as high of expectations for themselves as they do for the workers. Dean St between Carlton and Vanderbilt is covered in dog feces (I love dogs, but am offended by irresponsible dog owners). And - despite having a dedicated bike lane - use the sidewalk on Dean St and Vanderbilt as a bike route. Maybe if we started caring for our neighborhood a bit more outsiders would have a bit more respect.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous 11:49AM -
ReplyDeleteAs a cyclist, I do use the bike lane on Dean Street. I don't use the sidewalk. But I will say that the bike lane is unsafe most of the time due to double-parking on both sides of the street and motorists speeding to get past bikes.
If you are part of the neighborhood, then you know exactly who is doing the double-parking every single day (at least every weekday): Primo Uniforms, USPS, and the driving school. None of these businesses seem to respect the neighborhood given that they use the middle of the street as their parking lot, making it dangerous for cyclists AND for motorists who are driving through.
Just as you would understand pedestrians walking around vehicles parked on the sidewalk, you should expect cyclists to ride around obstructions in the street, even if they have to hop up on the sidewalk for a few car/truck lengths, as long as they don't menace pedestrians.
Adult cyclists riding the entire block on the sidewalk - I don't understand that and won't defend it. They're on their own.