At the M’Finda Kalunga Community Garden:

GreenThumbGreenThumb  Sunday April 24, 2016 @ 5:30pm – 7:00pm

Directions to the event

NYC DOT and Council Member Margaret S. Chin at Sara D. Roosevelt Park inside the PIT Broome St between Forsyth & Chrystie St, for a free#bikenyc helmet fitting and distribution event!

* You must be present to get a helmet.
* A parent or legal guardian must be present to sign a waiver for children under age 18.
* Adults over age 18 receiving a helmet must sign a waiver.

Funded in part by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with a grant from The Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee of New YorkCommittee. #VisionZero

Thanks to Department of Transportation (DOT) staff for a clear presentation today on the proposed bike lane changes and for making Cantonese and English sign interpretation available.  

We appreciate the openness of DOT to questions, feedback and suggestions from the local community and their reps who live around Sara Roosevelt Park.

Thanks to Susan Stetzer for her efforts on this and CB3 Transportation Committee for honoring our request for this meeting.

There was a request from local small businesses for commercial parking outside their stores. (awaiting DOT inspection)

The deaf community requested clear and visible ‘deaf crossing’ signs alerting drivers of this community. (DOT will tackle). We will look into “blind crossing” signs).

Requests for more parking on or near Forsyth Street for close-to-home access for vulnerable populations. (DOT alerted)

Request to prepare for new venue(s) opening on Chrystie Street and Stanton and traffic uptick, local parking and pedestrians in high volume area. (DOT alerted)

A good alliance of walkers, bikers, skippers, jumpers and drivers of cars!

Big thank you’s also to…

Jina, Fred and Tyler for their sign language interpreting services. (and the Cantonese speaker).

Ollie from Transportation Alternatives for helping with outreach and for always showing up to help.

Tenant reps Miriam, Juanita and their friend from Housing for the Deaf for representing their constituency and suggestions of how to make the entire area safer for the deaf community.

The BRC  SeniorNutrition Center for hosting the meeting their rep who gave information about their community of 400 seniors who live within two blocks of the park.

Cheryl and Alysha representing 10 Stanton Street tenants.

Two Chrystie Street small business owners who came (later) hoping to make a request specifically for a commercial loading zone in front of their storefronts to prevent ticketing of their customers.

Bob Humber representing the Safety Committee of the Park and the M’Finda Kalunga and Elizabeth Hubbard Gardens.

Wendy and other bike users for wise suggestions to insure that vulnerable pedestrians and bikers are well thought about!

We have Head Start and other children in the Park. We have several members of LightHouse now gardening here whose access and safety we will want to think about. We have a large homeless community here. We have 3 Citi-Bike Stations and Bike Polo aficionados here too! We are confident we can be an inclusive community.

This project is funded in part by the New York City Council’s Parks Equity Initiative, Council Margaret Chin.

May is around the corner and we have 2 events coming up!! (thanks to Wendy Brawer of GreenMap System)

LES History Month on May 1st or 2nd! People are chalking the sidewalks, sharing the history of community. http://leshistorymonth.org/les-stories/ has a partial list of the events. Ryan Gillian of Downtown Arts is organizing and will provide chalk and a map those days at First Street Green  (Houston and 2nd Ave).

Please feel free to join the effort and chalk our history around the Park. Chinese, Spanish, English, all languages are welcome!

Interested parties should contact Ryan, and she will follow up with them directly. Here’s her email, Ryan Gilliam <ryan@downtownart.org>

Thank you to all of our elected representatives for joining forces to stand with this community: Borough President Gale Brewer, Council Member Margaret Chin, State Senator Daniel Squadron, Council Member Rosie Mendez, and of course our local Community Board Chair Gigi Li .

We can and will stand together on the issues that matter!

Coverage in the Lo-Down: Elected Officials, Community Leaders Keep the Pressure on de Blasio Over Rivington 

“Local elected officials and community leaders stood across the street from the former Rivington House building this morning, calling on the mayor to stop the luxury conversion of the former nursing facility.”

The Good News:

“Rivington House is NOT lost to us – by any stretch. Taxpayers built this former school, the taxpayers paid to have it retrofitted for a nursing facility, and the public is in great need of it. 
The DOB has put a stop work order on the building. We have three investigations to get the full facts: the Comptroller’s investigation, NYC’s and the State AG investigations are in gear. All local electeds continue their focus on this. We need to know of  any actions that might give a basis for nullifying the sale. 
And/or the ‘owners’ – who bought this under circumstances that, in our opinion, no one who ever intends to do business in the U.S. or this city should ever have agreed to – could return the building. With, of course, a full refund of the $16million.”  – K

Photos by Peter Tadao Gee and K Webster

April 12th Tuesday @ 2pm DOT bike lane proposal at the BRC 30 Delancey Street inside the Sara Roosevelt Park between Forsyth and Chrystie.

There will be sign language interpretation and Cantonese language interpretation. Please come.

Give your thoughts on removal of parking spaces, pedestrian safety measures, bike safety measures.

Department of Transportation (DOT) and your neighbors need your thinking!!!

We are grateful that the State Attorney General will open an investigation on Rivington House. We all need a resolution to this mess.

There are important questions for the State of New York. What was the finding from the mandated oversight in this transaction?

Have the funding structures for nursing homes led us here –  is it no longer financially possible for nursing homes to be run by not-for-profit entities?

Has the Medicaid Redesign insured we will be ill prepared for the looming Alzheimer’s epidemic of the baby boomer generation?

Meanwhile, the taxpayer dollars (a $70 million NY State bond) that went for improvements to make this facility code-compliant are lying in ruin. Have the loans been repaid?

http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2016/04/state-attorney-general-opens-rivington-house-investigation.html

Hello all,

A press conference:

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, City Council member Margaret Chin and Community Board 3 Chairperson Gigi Li will be holding a news conference tomorrow in front of the former Rivington House nursing home. 11am tomorrow, Wednesday April 6, 2016 at 45 Rivington Street (near Forsyth Street and Sara Roosevelt Park)

http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2016/04/news-conference-scheduled-at-rivington-house-tomorrow.html

and an op – ed by K.

http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2016/04/opinion-dear-mayor-find-a-way-to-make-things-right-at-rivington-house.html

A few more articles on the Rivington House situation.

http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2016/04/lobbyist-james-capalino-speaks-out-on-rivington-house-scandal.html

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20160404/real_estate/160409975

http://www.wsj.com/articles/firm-denies-wrongdoing-in-new-york-city-deed-controversy-1459816460

Thanks everyone who has fought for this building and the neighbors who used to live there and the ones who would have.

WNYC The Brian Lehrer Show: Ed Litvak of the Lo-Down on Rivington House

10am Monday April 4, 2016

Tune in!

We thank the Lo-Down for the original and ongoing investigative reporting.

News articles on Rivington House:

http://nypost.com/2016/04/03/shady-firm-dupes-city-to-profit-72m-in-luxury-condo-deal/

http://evgrieve.com/2016/04/the-growing-scandal-over-45-rivington-st.html

http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2016/04/1/amid-affordable-housing-push–mayor-slams-luxury-condo-that-deal-shuttered-a-health-care-center-on-the-lower-east-side.html

http://www.progressqueens.com/news/2016/4/1/city-hall-issues-another-denial-as-rivington-house-deed-change-deal-worries-de-blasios-aides-reports

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/02/nyregion/city-began-inquiry-into-sale-of-nursing-home-to-developer-before-mayor-de-blasio-knew-of-deal.html?_r=0

http://www.wsj.com/articles/lobbyist-with-tie-to-land-deal-is-worry-to-de-blasio-aides-1459555977

http://nypost.com/2016/03/31/doi-subpoenas-city-workers-over-72m-nursing-home-flip/

http://nypost.com/2016/03/31/doi-subpoenas-city-workers-over-72m-nursing-home-flip/

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2016/04/8595573/lobbyist-capalino-seeks-clear-his-name-rivington-deal?top-featured-3

http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2016/03/more-details-emerge-regarding-those-mysterious-rivington-house-emails.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/city-subpoenas-records-condos-built-nursing-home-article-1.2584636

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20160330/REAL_ESTATE/160339988/two-pols-demand-info-on-deal-to-turn-lower-east-side-nursing-home-into-condos

http://jewishvoiceny.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14127:money-trail-emerges-in-citys-lifting-of-deed-restrictions-on-les-nursing-home&catid=112:new-york&Itemid=295

TOT Jewish consultants http://www.totpi.com/de-blasio-claims-his-administration-unwittingly-signed-off-on-shady-land-deal-for-lower-east-side-property/

http://www.mingtiandi.com/real-estate/outbound-investment/vankes-116m-manhattan-acquisition-now-centre-of-nyc-investigation/?utm_source=Mingtiandi+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=3f4ca25720-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_34ef0efbcc-3f4ca25720-56473589

http://www.wsj.com/articles/developer-faces-more-questions-on-land-deals-1459387754?mod=rss_newyork_news

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2016/03/8595322/nursing-home-deal-and-city-hall-response-raises-questions

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/31/nyregion/nursing-homes-sale-to-condo-developer-raises-questions-for-city.html?_r=0

http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2016/03/mayor-received-cb3s-rivington-house-plea-jan-27.html

http://nypost.com/2016/03/29/why-isnt-the-mayor-furious-at-this-rancid-deal/

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/catch-thief-solution-needed-de-blasio-whodunit-article-1.2580512

http://nypost.com/2016/03/29/im-not-happy-de-blasio-admits-fault-in-72m-nursing-home-flip/

Daily News: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/de-blasio-lobbyist-helped-turn-nursing-home-condos-article-1.2578230

Lo-Down: http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2016/03/spin-city-de-blasio-administrations-bungling-of-rivington-house-sale.html

WSJ; http://www.wsj.com/articles/manhattan-land-deal-is-examined-1458694201

NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/nyregion/new-york-city-turns-over-files-on-building-sale-subpoenaed-by-comptroller.html?_r=0

Politico: http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2016/03/8594873/de-blasio-administration-complies-stringer-subpoena

http://therealdeal.com/2016/03/23/stringer-examining-deal-that-led-to-vankes-116m-purchase-of-les-dev-site/

http://www.habitatmag.com/Publication-Content/Legal-Financial/2016/2016-March/Nursing-Probe

https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/TDJNDN_2016032214173/manhattan-land-deal-is-examined.html

http://www.boweryboogie.com/2016/03/de-blasio-lobbyist-implicated-controversial-rivington-house-condo-conversion/

http://www.boweryboogie.com/2016/03/comptroller-stringer-scrutinizes-116m-sale-rivington-house-condo-conversion/