She Has Heard Your Complaints, Upper West Side
by Avi - November 9, 2009 at 11:50 pm -
We talked to Helen Rosenthal, who just stepped down as the chairwoman of the Upper West Side’s Community Board 7, about new development, bike lanes and the disappearance of small businesses.
Most Upper West Siders probably don’t know much about their local community board. But the all-volunteer cast of 50 (half picked by the local City Council person, half picked by the Borough President) helps determine what buildings are built, what businesses can serve alcohol or set up outdoor cafes, and who gets to hold street fairs.
When something controversial happens — like when local nursing home Jewish Home and Hospital decided to swap land with a developer — people tend to converge on Community Board 7 and demand action. For the first 30 minutes or so of what can be 5-hour monthly meetings, chairwoman Helen Rosenthal and her peers got to hear the complaints and concerns of Upper West Siders. And all for no pay.
Rosenthal, 49, has been on the board for more than 10 years, and was the chairwoman for the last two. She relinquished the top spot on the board to Mel Wymore last week. Rosenthal was planning to run for City Council this year, and had even raised more than $50,000, but then Gale Brewer decided to run for her third term and Rosenthal bowed out. Be forewarned: she still has most of the donations, and in four years she’ll probably be asking for your vote. We recently asked her some questions via email.
Westside Independent: Do you think most Upper West Siders know what the community board does? How would you describe the board’s role in one sentence.
Helen Rosenthal: Too few residents know about their local community boards and it is part of our mission to let people know about and use their community board as a resource. The Community Board District Office responds to daily quality of life concerns: pot holes, street lights, construction issues, and 311-type of concerns. The Community Board (50 volunteers) address public policy concerns: land use, sidewalk cafes, district needs, and preservation.
WI: What are the most important issues the community board is dealing with right now?
HR: Preparing to advise the city about a proposed development at 59th and Riverside Boulevard. The developer wants to build five tall residential and commercial-use buildings. We are reviewing the corresponding impact on public infrastructure: the demand for an additional school, open space, public transportation, affordable housing, and sanitation. We are also looking at ways to decrease the proposed height and density.
WI: What have been the board’s biggest accomplishments during your term as chair? What was your biggest disappointment?
HR: 1. More Detailed Analysis: for example, we now know that since 2000 over 2,500 new 2+ bedroom apartments have already been added to the southern part of district, helping to document the demand for a new K-5 public school for Riverside South Center negotiations.
2. More Transparency and Outreach: The website is more accessible and we have increased public participation in multiple Riverside South Center public meetings.
3. Creative Thinking. Helped to identify location and create new homes at the Jewish Home Lifecare Kaufman office building [on 106th Street] for Stern tenants. We went from disbelief to identifying a solution and by the Summer of 2009 the tenants had moved into their new homes.
(What, no disappointments? “I tend to look at the bright side of things,” she wrote.)
WI: Do you think there will be protected bike lanes on Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues in the near future?
HR: DOT and CB7 will study the pros and cons of protected bike lanes. The findings from this study will put us in a better position to move forward.
WI: Is new condo/rental development out of control, or is it helping modernize the neighborhood?
HR: Condo/rental development is great for our neighborhood when it includes affordable housing and the infrastructure necessary to support additional residents — for example, schools, public transportation, open space, and sanitation.
WI: Is there any way to stop the disappearance of small businesses on the Upper West Side?
HR: The Department of City Planning (DCP) should zone Amsterdam Avenue in ways that encourage small businesses, for example by not allowing commercial space to exceed a certain square footage. Furthermore, DCP and the Department of Buildings (DOB) should require all new buildings to set aside 30% of its commercial space for independent owners.
Most west siders probably don’t realize how many thankless, countless hours Helen Rosenthal and the rest of the Community Board log on our behalf. CBs are the voice of local reason, often taking a much longer and broader view than the larger powers that be. Thanks, CB 7!
Kudos to Helen for a job well done. Thanks, thanks, thanks.
Kudos to Helen! She brought a new, robust dynamic to the slow, crickity wheel of community advocacy.
As a community advocate I often have dealings with, and attend meetings at, CB7 and its committees. And whereas no community body is perfect, many of the CB7 volunteers are outstanding, dedicated and deliberate West siders. I can personally attest to that.
The biggest challenge to CB7 and other community boards are not the issues that face our neighborhoods today…and they are plentiful. The biggest problem facing community boards in recent years has been 311. Since its inception, 311 has taken the wind…and bite…out of community boards. This, by the way, is no accident. But I won’t elaborate about that here and now.
Moreover, Community boards were almost wiped out this past summer when City Hall was going to slash funding as a fiscal measure.
Fortunately, that was never realized.
So community boards survived, and they continue to play an advisory role representing the interests of our communities.
How effective they are…or will be..in the next four years, is yet to be determined.
Time will tell.
Joseph Bolanos
President
Landmark 76
Upper West Side