Hot Topic - Development!
Several hundred members of the community turned out on Sept. 17, at a public meeting to determine the scope of the environmental review for the proposed 20-story Jewish Home Lifecare project on 97th St. between Amsterdam and Columbus. The site of the proposed project is next to PS 163. The New York State Department of Health, the only state agency with discretionary power, will serve as the lead agency for the environmental review.
This was the first time that community members had the opportunity to register their specific concerns on the environmental impacts of the proposed development.
The proposed building will be up to 280 feet high and will take about 31 months to construct, starting in 2014. It will have space for 414 residents (100 fewer residents than in Jewish Home Lifecare’s current facilities on 106th St) and would replace an 88-space resident parking lot for Park West Village. It would have 8,700 square feet of community open space.
According to JHL representatives, their current facility is outdated. The new facility will include several floors in the greenhouse model, that is, rooms around a core that includes dining and recreational space.
The community and representatives of elected officials cited the following concerns:
The community, as represented at the meeting, was not in favor of the project.
This was the first time that community members had the opportunity to register their specific concerns on the environmental impacts of the proposed development.
The proposed building will be up to 280 feet high and will take about 31 months to construct, starting in 2014. It will have space for 414 residents (100 fewer residents than in Jewish Home Lifecare’s current facilities on 106th St) and would replace an 88-space resident parking lot for Park West Village. It would have 8,700 square feet of community open space.
According to JHL representatives, their current facility is outdated. The new facility will include several floors in the greenhouse model, that is, rooms around a core that includes dining and recreational space.
The community and representatives of elected officials cited the following concerns:
- Size of the project on a small lot: 20 stories is very high for that lot.
- 97th is already a busy crosstown street with two schools and health center currently on the street. The street is over-crowded and noisy now.
- Lead found in the parking lot that would have to be removed. Noise and dust created by the project would affect the neighbors.
- PS163 does not have air conditioners so windows must remain open. That means dust and pollutants would enter the classrooms, affecting students and learning, especially those with asthma.
- Park View West’s open space has been chipped away despite original intentions to have space for residents.
The community, as represented at the meeting, was not in favor of the project.
Hot topic - Rats
And let's not forget RATS!
Rats, just like us they need food, water, and shelter, all of which we, the human residents of the neighborhood, provide. We are all responsible for creating a comfy home for our unwanted guests, as the New York City “rat information portal” makes clear.
It’s a myth that “rat cities” live in the sewers and subway systems. Only small groups live there. Most rats live in burrows in the same neighborhoods we do. If we want to get rid of rats, we need to take a good look at our habits, our buildings, our tree wells, and our garbage, according to Caroline Bragdon, who is a tough but very engaging inspector for the Department of Health.
She’s full of good ideas and very little pity for rat-infestations or sloppy people or ill-maintained buildings. In a training for residents, building owners and managers, and business owners (sponsored by Community Board 7 and Councilmember Gail Brewer), she laid it on the line: rats thrive because people are careless.
So what’s a neighborhood to do?
Look for improper trash disposal, greasy spots on the sidewalks, rodent droppings and trails, burrows, and pooling water, then clean them up or point them out to those responsible.
The Upper West Side will be part of a pilot project to reduce meals-on-curbs for rats by installing organic recycling bins in buildings. Talk to your board about joining.
Rats get crazy and go away if we take away their food and water so keep your eyes open, your garbage properly sealed, and your complaints loud and frequent when others don’t comply.
Rats, just like us they need food, water, and shelter, all of which we, the human residents of the neighborhood, provide. We are all responsible for creating a comfy home for our unwanted guests, as the New York City “rat information portal” makes clear.
It’s a myth that “rat cities” live in the sewers and subway systems. Only small groups live there. Most rats live in burrows in the same neighborhoods we do. If we want to get rid of rats, we need to take a good look at our habits, our buildings, our tree wells, and our garbage, according to Caroline Bragdon, who is a tough but very engaging inspector for the Department of Health.
She’s full of good ideas and very little pity for rat-infestations or sloppy people or ill-maintained buildings. In a training for residents, building owners and managers, and business owners (sponsored by Community Board 7 and Councilmember Gail Brewer), she laid it on the line: rats thrive because people are careless.
- Garbage on the curb the night before pick-up allows rodents plenty of time to gnaw through to the goodies.
- Throwing “organic” garbage, such as orange peels or the left-overs from your take-out into the bushes creates a rat buffet.
- The oily spots left on the sidewalk after the garbage is picked up makes a fine snack. It must be washed with 10% bleach solution, not just hosed down.
- Ivy in tree wells is great for nesting and hides burrows.
- Tree wells themselves make great nesting places. Look for the burrows and fill them in, especially if trash is stacked near them for pick-up.
- A hole the size of a quarter around pipes, in foundations, under doors is an entrance to a rat. One the size of a dime will do for a mouse.
- Open windows and, most enticing, an open door to the compactor room of big buildings are like posting on rat-Facebook.
- Throwing your trash on top of garbage cans rather than lifting the lid and then closing it (a problem in brownstones).
- An unclean trash chute entices rats into the building and up, up, up. Yes, rats climb. Once they get into the space where garbage is stored, they can get just about anywhere.
- Do not allow pooling water. Gardeners need to watch this and, if puddles form in the street due to uneven pavement, residents or maintenance staff should sweep them away.
So what’s a neighborhood to do?
Look for improper trash disposal, greasy spots on the sidewalks, rodent droppings and trails, burrows, and pooling water, then clean them up or point them out to those responsible.
- Clean up after yourself. Don’t throw garbage out the window, off the roof, or into the bushes. Really! You shouldn’t be doing that anyway!
- Call 311 to register a complaint with both to the Department of Health and the Department of Sanitation.
- Call 311 to report buildings or businesses that are not cleaning up. The fine is $300.
- Call Community Board 7 (Phone: 212-362-4008) Email: [email protected]) and your councilperson to report the 311 ticket numbers.
- Adopt a garbage can.
- Make sure your building is disposing of trash properly. Encourage the board of your building to send the super and maintenance staff to a Rat Academy, if necessary. For more information about training, send an email to [email protected] or call 311
- Be very careful when hiring an exterminator. A monthly visit to pick up a few dead rats isn’t going to do anything about the multiple litters per year that Mama rats have. Also, the exterminator should inspect the top of pipes in the basement for rat trails and change bait boxes frequently. An untended bait box often hides a burrow.
The Upper West Side will be part of a pilot project to reduce meals-on-curbs for rats by installing organic recycling bins in buildings. Talk to your board about joining.
Rats get crazy and go away if we take away their food and water so keep your eyes open, your garbage properly sealed, and your complaints loud and frequent when others don’t comply.
