Protecting and improving the community for the people who live and work here

Bill Moyers website. This post first appeared at Jacobin Magazine

By Christian Parenti

“The effects of climate change are already upon us. Here’s what the 2020s and 2030s will look like if we fail to change things.”

If properly planned for, one can imagine how such problems could be managed. But if the current denial continues until markets are caught unaware, there could be regional real estate panics and, flowing from those, major financial losses.

…NYC’s Department of Finance recently estimated the total assessed value of the city’s property for fiscal year 2017 at more than $1 trillion. That is real money, enough to help trigger problems in financial markets more broadly.

Collapsed property values means a collapsed tax base, which means local government will be hard pressed to make costly infrastructure repairs. And it is the infrastructure as a whole that property values depend on.

Defensive Preparations

The NYC tristate area offers a glimpse into the possibilities and pathologies of planning for sea-level rise. After 2012, when Hurricane Sandy did $50 billion in economic damage, including destroying or damaging 650,000 homes, it was clear something needed to be done. Eventually Congress allocated about $60 billion in federal aid for recovery and resilience work in the impacted area. But the pace of disbursement has been painfully slow.

The city is now building a barrier around lower Manhattan, called the “Big U.” Designed to be covered with grass and serve as public open space, the wall will run from 42nd on the East Side, along the shore, and up to 57th Street on the West Side. Construction will take years and cost billions….

…At this rate and in this fashion, it is hard to imagine how the city’s entire 520-mile coastline could be secured. Worse yet, half preparations are, in some ways, as bad as no preparation. …New York City’s largely symbolic efforts thus far, “Barriers, dikes and levees make people feel safe, even when they are not.”

…Meanwhile, in a clear subsidy to unsustainable gentrification, the city is also planning to build a $2.5 billion tramline along the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront, where old industrial warehouses are giving way to luxury high-rises.”

And, we would add, spending NYC money to fund Diller Island?

It was COLD! But we persisted from 10am to 1pm. Mulching, weeding, raking, clearing out garbage and leaves, daffodil bulb planting near the benches and in the empty tree pits.

Thanks to Emily and Gabriella who led the NYers for Parks crew with Michelle, Kevin and Caitlin:

And the terrific and hard working Con Edison volunteers organized by Christina.

And M’Finda Kalunga’s Jonathan. And K too!

The Sri Sathya Sai Baba handed out food to the neighborhood as they do every Saturday.

NYers for Parks brought coffee and snacks.

We got a LOT done.

Thank you to Captain Sanchez’ PEP officers: Vazquez, Motrechuk, and Villani!

The mulch guys Joe and Samir could not be stopped!

The Soup providers were out today in front of the M’Finda Kalunga Garden.

Some of the soup volunteers did a bit of work in the Garden with Jonathan. K planted aliums, Angela raked, Bob supervised!

And Ted created large posters for the campaign to remind the Mayor to keep his promise to hold a meeting with the buyers of Rivington House and Councilmember Chin:

From “Just Mercy – A Story of Justice and Redemption”

“Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system.”

From Manhattan Borough President’s Office:

Green Map, University Settlement and SDR Community Coalition thank Jean Gardner and the Tishman Environment and Design Center (TEDC), The New School, LESReady, 596 Acres, terrific students, all the table leaders and participants!

We are still processing the information and ideas gathered from the public, students,  faculty and other engaged citizens who showed up to help us reclaim this building for the neighborhood.

We’ve had 4 local visionings with more to come to update and gather all perspectives on any outcome for this building – but we are grateful to have those who study weigh in with fresh perspectives. It takes a village.

Photos by Dee Dee Maucher.

Getting Signatures from Neighbors on Rivington House and Stanton Street Building.

We’d like them both back please! Asking the Mayor to fulfill his promise to CouncilWoman Chin to Call a Meeting with the buyers of Rivington House!

Basketball, Hanging Out, Fixing Tree Pits, Planting, Pruning, Weeding, Mulching, Playing in Dirt, Tai Chi, Turtles Indoors for Winter, Fish Pond Readied for Winter.

Ai Weiwei Artwork in the Background:

The Hort and Emma Lazarus High School have moved their Green Thumbs to Hester Street and Forsyth Street Side of the Sara Roosevelt Park.

They’ve already made a difference!