Community

New Yorkers who say they’re seeing a lot more homeless on the streets better brace for next year — when even the de Blasio administration is projecting an increase.

The numbers are contained in small type in the mayor’s Management Report, which predicts that 3,350 individuals will be sleeping “on the streets, in parks, under highways, on subways, and in the public transportation stations in New York City.”

The city wants to hear from residents about how best to spend $1.3 million to upgrade a run-down playground at Carl Schurz Park.

A meeting dedicated to the topic on Dec. 15 will gather ideas from the community about how to improve the play space at East End Avenue and East 84th Street, according to City Councilman Ben Kallos, who earmarked the funds.

New York City has seen an increase in the number of "superscrapers" being built throughout the city. These tall buildings are not only out-of-scale, but often unwanted in residential neighborhoods. One notable example that has mobilized community members is the proposed development of a 900-foot tower threatening the Sutton Area, a historic and residential area on the Upper East Side. 

On this episode of Represent NYC, Ben Kallos, whose City Council District 5 will be directly impacted by the Sutton Area development, talks about this issue with Mike Ernst, the Director of Planning at the Municipal Arts Society, Rachel Levy, a Preservation and Planning Associate at FRIENDS of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, and Dieter Seelig the President of the Sutton Area Community.

It sounds like the developer and the community have two different ideas about how to honor the quiet Upper East Side enclave. In August, backed by a growing alliance of area co-op and condo boards, Councilman Ben Kallos (who adamantly opposes the project) told the Times that his move to rally against the development is "about preserving our residential neighborhoods and the light and air for the people who live there." Lisa Mercurio of the East River Fifties Alliance, a community group rallying against the development, said in a statement, "The entire community remains opposed to this inappropriate development project."

Co-owner of 412 East 85th Street Susan Jordan endorsed landmarking, saying the preservation of the 19th-century wood-framed house was important to the immediate and larger communities, and that the building served as a “reminder of Yorkville’s agrarian past.”  Council member Ben Kallos called the building “absolutely amazing,” and noted that it was one of only six wood-framed houses still standing on the Upper East Side, including Gracie Mansion.  Area resident Franny Eberhart called the building a “window to the history of Yorkville.”

"East 86th has similar traffic as Penn Station has at 7th or 8th Avenue and that area has a BID, but we don’t," Kallos said. "No amount of city services will be enough to deal with the amount of foot traffic we're seeing."

A BID, which is a nonprofit authorized by the public and run by residents and property owners, has the ability to bid for and hire nonprofit organizations or private businesses to take care of commercial areas.

“This community has faced a long-standing problem with conditions on and around 86th Street. This corridor’s needs are too great for band-aids or one-off fixes. A BID will provide the supplementary support this neighborhood needs and is long overdue,” said Council member Kallos.