It seemed so simple. Members of the Chinatown Working Group (CWG) were being asked to approve a fairly routine document -- a job description of sorts for an urban planning consultant who will begin working with the organization later...
The ongoing debate about the future of the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area revolves around the issue of affordable vs. market rate housing. But during Community Board 3's deliberations, other topics., such as the need for new schools and...
Monday night, community activists met in a sweltering auditorium at University Settlement to play a game. No money changed hands, but there were plenty of poker faces, and the stakes were high. The participants were members of Community Board...
Today we continue our series of interviews with community activists engaged in the ongoing debate about the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (SPURA). The development site near the Williamsburg Bridge has languished for 43 years, as neighbors feuded about...
CB3's land use committee has decided to delay the next scheduled discussion of the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (SPURA). The facilitators working with the panel, John Shapiro and Eve Baron, have been meeting individually with "stakeholders." Last night...
It felt a little bit like group therapy. Everyone had the opportunity to speak their mind. A professorial facilitator offered encouragement. They even passed around a bowl of grapes and some cookies. But last night's gathering in a stuffy...
There were signs this week that the painstaking community-driven process to come up with a development plan for the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area may finally be picking up speed. In a presentation before Community Board 3, city officials...
No one ever accused Harold "Heshy" Jacob of holding back. A dominant figure on Grand Street for more than 30 years, he has strong opinions and is not afraid to express them loud enough for everyone to hear. Calling...
Michael Tumminia, president of the Seward Park Co-op, says 43 years is long enough to wait for redevelopment of the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (SPURA). In a recent interview with The Lo-Down, he acknowledged, "the Grand Street co-ops...
Every month, 23 community activists gather in a meeting room on the Lower East Side in the pursuit of a worthy but elusive goal: an agreement on the redevelopment of the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (SPURA). Under the...
