As many know, the former Rivington House, now Manhattan Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, has been targeted for sale – yet again.
In June, unknown to anyone locally, including local electeds and the community board, the building was readied to be sold by NYC’s Department of City-wide Services Administration.
We ask this Mayor to keep this a desperately needed nursing home, or for use as affordable housing, or to create supportive housing. We do NOT need more luxury housing in this neighborhood!
This building was promised to our community to be of benefit to the public and this neighborhood, in perpetuity.
We need to ask, demand, plead (whatever you are comfortable with!) City Hall to maintain the use of this building with its original intent intact.
Call 311
And/or write a letter to:
Tommy Lin
Director of Constituent Services
Mayor’s Office Community Affairs Unit
City Hall, Ny, NY 10007
Sample letter:
Dear Mayor:
Please keep 45 Rivington Street a community facility—do not sell our neighborhood out to highest bidder. We need affordable housing, shelter beds, community services. In the midst of your affordable housing agenda it makes NO sense to lose this site for the many New Yorkers who need housing.
We restored our community when no one else would come into it due to the high crime here – not even City agencies and departments would come here.
Now that we have built a good, solid base for our neighbors, friends, visitors and families we are being pushed out, marginalized and priced out.
This building is an institution here – it has always served the public. First as a school, then as an AIDs Hospice (when those patients were not welcome anywhere else).
It has served, and should continue to serve, those most in need. The nearby co-op gave up a garden in the plot next door to let the nursing home have a co-generation plant installed in its location, volunteer gardeners worked for 3 and 1/2 decades building a garden in the park across the street – they made those sacrifices for the common good –not to serve those who have no need of the largesse of the poor, working and middle class.
As you are the Mayor of the “Tale of Two Cities” we ask you to live up to those words.
Yours,
(your name)
For more information http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2015/12/rivington-street-nursing-center-closes-next-week-relocation-anticipated.html
The Lo-Down has done excellent reporting and investigating of the situation.
Thanks everyone.