By Helaina Hovitz

On Tuesday night, hundreds gathered for the 17th Annual Webby Awards at Cipriani (55 Wall Street) in a ceremony that honored excellence on the Internet.

Patton Oswalt speaks onstage at the 17th Annual Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on May 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for The Webby Awards)

One of the first to arrive on the red carpet was DJ Steve Porter — who we hope went to the bathroom first.

“If I get the chance to meet Ben Stiller or any of the ‘superstar celebs’ here tonight, I’ll pee my pants,” he said.

Porter credited the Webbys with boosting his career, which skyrocketed after he won the same award last year, the People’s Vote in Online Film & Video. This year’s video, his mash-up hit, “So Disrespectful,” features sound bites from Steven A. Smith’s ESPN talk show.

“It was a hit because it has a nice beat. A nice beat and a nice topic,” he reasoned about the LeBron James themed bit.

Later that night, ESPN won their own award, Best Documentary Series, for “30 for 30,” but Harper Reed, one of the three gentlemen who spearheaded Obama for America’s 2012 campaign, said that ESPN.com is one of the worst things about the Internet.

“ESPN sucks,” he said. Along with Michael Slaby and Teddy Goff, he accepted the Breakout of the Year award. The group was credited with revolutionizing the way future campaigns will be implemented across the globe.

Their speech: “Made possible by Mitt Romney.” (All award winners are confined to a 5-word acceptance speech.)

Patton Oswald began by observing, “Look at all these people taping this. By all means, record this shaky iPhone version, because this will never be on the Internet.”

Ben Stiller, Ken Marino and Erica Oyama speak onstage at the 17th Annual Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on May 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for The Webby Awards)

He went on to say, “This whole thing was Kickstarted, but we didn’t quite make our stretch goal, so instead of Louise C.K., you have me as your host.”

Arianna Huffington, a member of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, said that Oswald’s Twitter feed should be “printed onto a scroll, so that future generations can learn about us, because he talks about everything from Oscar Wilde to his farts.”

Chris Kluwe, Recipient of Webby Athlete of the Year, sent in an acceptance clip.

“I already lost one job this year, and I don’t want to lose another,” he explained of his need to stay put with his new team, the Oakland Raiders. Kluwe was honored for his use of the Internet as a tool to end homophobia in professional sports and campaign for other LGBT rights. His speech: “Treat others with empathy. Bye!”

Honored for similar efforts was the absent Frank Ocean, who also accepted the Person of the Year award via video. Commended for using social media as a “cultural tool” and attempting to bring an end to discrimination in hip-hop, he promised to come out next year to see someone else “fumble through their acceptance speech.”

Dinner was herbed chicken, potatoes, and asparagus, and vegetable lasagna for the vegetarians.

The ceremony continued with a tribute to Aaron Schwartz, the Demand Progress founder who committed suicide earlier this year. His father, Robert, said, “I wish he was here to see this response.”

Steve Wilhite, who patented the graphic .GIF, didn’t speak at all in his Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech, but pointed to the in-house screens, which read, “It’s pronounced jiff, not gif” thus ending years of speculation.

Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti, founders of Trigger Street Productions, picked up the Special Achievement award for their Netflix series “House of Cards” and their use of technology “for creative experimentation.”

Their five choice words were, “The Oscars should do this.”

Aria Finger, COO for DoSomething.org, accepted the award for Best Charitable Organization/Non-Profit with, “Apathy can kiss DoSomething.org’s tuchas!”

“Dirty Yiddish, I like it,” Oswald mused.

Comedian Collin Quinn presented the final award of the night to Jerry Seinfeld for Outstanding Comedic Performance in the web series “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.”

“Jerry doesn’t need this award. It’s an insult to him. I need it, and I’m not getting it, and that’s life,” he said.

Seinfeld’s acceptance speech wasn’t, as Quinn predicted, “I can buy this place,” but instead, “Why five words? It doesn’t…”

Upper East Side Assembly Member Dan Quart announced his endorsement for Speaker Christine Quinn in the race for Mayor on Monday. 

“Speaker Quinn is uniquely qualified to be an effective Mayor,” said Quart. “[She] not only has a strong, forward-looking agenda for New York, but she has the record to back it up. As Speaker, Christine knows how to bring all sides together to make the tough choices necessary to move this city forward.”

“There is no greater advocate for his community than Dan Quart,” said Speaker Quinn. “[He] has been a strong partner advocating for better education opportunities for all New York City children and he, like me, is committed to enhancing New York’s citywide transportation infrastructure. I look forward to partnering with him to find innovative solutions to the issues facing the Upper East Side and in bringing good jobs, investments in education, transportation improvements across the neighborhood.”

Dan Quart represents New York’s 73rd Assembly District, which encompasses the Upper East Side, Midtown East, Turtle Bay and Sutton Place. Quart, a lifelong New Yorker, serves on the following committees: Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection, Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, Committee on Housing, Committee on Insurance, Committee on Judiciary, Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development and the Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.

Crossing the street can be pretty dangerous in the busy areas of the Upper West Side. Luckily Community Board 7 is trying to make the streets and crosswalks a safer place for pedestrians with a new Traffic Study that focuses on 94th-100th Streets. A group of concerned neighborhood residents met with the community board to talk about the most perilous intersections on the Upper West Side.

Not surprisingly, residents had a lot to say about the intersections at 96th and Broadway outside the subway entrance, and West End Avenue and 96th Street.
“We chose this area because it’s an interesting set of blocks — only 6 blocks wide but encompasses a variety of neighborhood feels,” said Community Board 7 Chair Mark Diller.

“There are issues with public transit, volume and congestion. The purpose of the study is how to make everyone’s experience on the street feel safe.”
At the meeting, community members mapped the problem areas. The next step, said Diller, would be to put together a series of questions to ask a professional. Council Members Melissa Mark-Viverito, Gale Brewer and Inez Dickens pulled together $17,000 for the purpose of paying a consultant to find some solutions to the traffic safety problems on the Upper West Side. Then, said Diller, with the help of the Department of Transportation, some of these solutions could be put into action.
The “most dangerous intersection” in the area, Broadway and 96th Street, has recently become even more confusing because turn signals were recently put in. As a result, people think the light is going to turn green, but in reality, it is a turn signal. “There’s a lot of layers of confusion to this intersection,” said Diller.
We visited the intersection at 96th and Broadway and spoke to residents about their experiences.
“You have to really watch out here. There’s so many ways cars can turn and they sometimes don’t obey the lights,” said Josefina Calcano, a mother of two who lives on Amsterdam Avenue. “You always have to be on alert especially when you’re crossing a huge intersection like this. A lot of people just look at the light not the ‘don’t walk’ sign. That’s what confuses everyone. They should have bigger or brighter signs because everything blends in.”
“Trying to cross here with the different lights is scary. I usually have to walk with a cane,” said Yvonne Fawcett, who has lived on the Upper West Side since 1957, and has had to cross the intersection with a cast on her leg for a fracture. “These cars are going, these cars are stopped. When do I go? We’re not used to these turn signals here yet. But I just think — that’s how I’m gonna go. A New York taxi is going to get me.”
“Is it dangerous? It depends on the time of day. There have been a number of accidents here. The turn signals are a little bit confusing because they’re allowing traffic to go in a certain direction and you don’t realize. It allows Southbound traffic to make right turns unsuspectingly, and that’s not good,” said Marc Cooper, a father and resident of the Upper West Side.
“I never have a problem crossing here,” said Alicia Alvarez, who lives on the Upper West Side. “If you respect the law, there should be no problem.”

The residents of Kip’s Bay have been trying for years to get a little space and sunshine in their community. The Kips Bay Neighborhood Association (KPNA) was formed in 2010 to put plans into motion for a pedestrian plaza on 30th Street and 2nd Avenue, where a side street delivery service area is right now.
But plans for the community plaza may be put on hold indefinitely because the neighboring shopping center, owned by J.D. Carlisle Real Estate, his withdrawn support for the project. The Department of Transportation (DOT) has stated that they will not move forward with the project without Carlisle’s support. Dennis Stark, a member of the community and of the KBNA said that the DOT probably “doesn’t want to ruffle any feathers.” DOT refused to comment on the subject.

Conceptual Rendering
A visualization of what the plaza could look like, created by Kips Bay Neighborhood Association

The real estate group sent a letter to DOT last month stating, “it is our position that the public plaza will cause an unwarranted strain on the businesses in our development. Furthermore, we lack any confidence in the sponsoring entity’s ability to effectively raise the required funds or the ability to professionally manage a large public plaza.”
“We are pretty confused because Carlisle Group has supported the proposal in the past. We were under the impression that they’d be supportive,” said Erica Rand Silverman, a member of the Kips Bay Neighborhood Association. “I hope something is done to beautify this space, but we don’t know yet what it will be.”
Silverman said that although the DOT does not need the approval of Carlisle to move forward with the project, the real estate group had been helping to fund the project. Without their financial support, said Silverman, the community is looking to elected officials for help.
“The neighbors don’t benefit by having this access road on 2nd Avenue and it just takes up space,” said Dennis Stark. “Also we don’t really have anything to attract people to our neighborhood.”
The pushback from Carlisle supposedly started several months ago, when a brand-new Fairway Market opened in the shopping area, according to Stark. The large supermarket led the charge against the public plaza, protesting the lack of a delivery area in the pedestrian plaza plan.
But the trouble had not begun with the opening of Fairway. For a long time, said Stark, neighbors pushed back against having this public space built, because it would take away parking. Residents of Kip’s Bay Towers, an apartment complex situated near where the plaza would be, have been especially adamant against the public plaza being built. According to Silverman, those residents did not want another public area, because they had their own private garden.
Last summer, the community decided to test out the effectiveness of a public plaza by opening a temporary one for residents. There were many logistic problems, including a significant lack of funds to buy tables and chairs, as well as street furniture theft problems. But overall, said Silverman, the community really got involved in the new outdoor space.
“The great part was the community involvement,” said Silverman. “We had the library and senior centers use the space, various community days where restaurants and businesses came out, a bike riding program came and used the space to give lessons. There were so many people who recently moved here who didn’t know there was a library program but happened upon the outdoor space.”
As of right now, there is no update on the community space.

Late on a recent Saturday night, the “Times Square Zombie” was walking on 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan when he saw a black and white cat running rampant in the middle of the street.
Jeremy Zelkowitz, a 22-year-old Brooklyn native, who works as a promoter and dresses in character as a zombie for Times Scare, a year-round haunted house located on Eighth Avenue, saw the fugitive cat trying to enter Dallas BBQ and later Starbucks.
According to Zelkowitz, the cat then darted on and off of the road interrupting traffic. That’s when he and a friend decided to help and took the curious cat to nearby BluePearl Veterinary Partners specialty and emergency hospital in Manhattan on 55th Street.
Once at BluePearl, doctors used a microchip scanner and were able to determine the cat, named Disaster, belonged to Jimmy Helliesen, a Long Island resident and New York City Police Officer.
“When our staff initially called Mr. Helliesen, he couldn’t believe it and thought we were playing a practical joke on him,” said Steve Baker, hospital administrator of BluePearl in Manhattan. “He said Disaster had gone missing two years ago.”
According to Helliesen, he has been fostering cats at his home in Long Island that wind up at the precinct where he works until he can find them a home with suitable owners. Disaster was one of the first he took in, but about two years ago, he managed to claw through a screened window and got loose.
“This really goes to show the importance of micro-chipping your pets,” said Baker. “If you and your pet are separated, sooner or later, the odds of you and your pet being reunited are more likely thanks to this affordable technology.”
Micro-chipping is an inexpensive procedure where a tiny, rice-sized microchip is implanted under the pet’s skin and can be used by veterinarians or animal service workers to find the pet’s owner.
No one may ever know the full story of where Disaster spent the past two years or how he got from Long Island to Manhattan, but he has been reunited with Helliesen and is back at home in Long Island.

Should You Microchip?

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) recommends that companion animals get microchips implanted. The following is courtesy of the ASPCA website. Visit aspca.org for more information.

Background
Implanted microchips, when combined with visible ID tags on a pet’s collar, have proved to be the most reliable system for the recovery of lost or stray companion animals. The International Standards Organization (ISO) has issued specifications for a standardized microchip for animal identification. While most of the world has accepted these standards, North America has not. The primary problem is a competitive, technological one involving the compatibility of the microchips and the readers that are used by shelters and veterinary clinics.

ASPCA Position
The ASPCA supports microchip identification of companion animals. The ASPCA also supports the development of a coordinated effort to transition the United States to an ISO-compliant system. There will be some obstacles to overcome during the transition period if we are to ensure that no animals already implanted with non-ISO microchips are “orphaned.” A coordinated effort that includes manufacturers and distributors of microchips, animal shelters, the veterinary community and the pet trades can overcome these difficulties. In those areas where a coordinated system has been actively supported by animal shelters and the veterinary community, pets, pet guardians and the shelters themselves have benefited.

During major storms like hurricane Sandy, New York City is an easy target for flooding, because the area of impermeable surfaces, like concrete and asphalt, outweigh permeable surfaces, like grass, throughout the city. As a result, after a large storm, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation, raw sewage runs off into the Hudson River. To prevent that, a bill, authored by Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, is currently in the New York Senate for a green space tax abatement for building owners. In the agreement, the owners will receive $4.50 per square foot of concrete that is converted into green space.

​The new bill, currently in the New York Senate, was started on the Upper West Side, and was approved by Upper West Side community members like City Council candidate Mel Wymore and the West End Preservation Society. On the Upper West Side, old brownstones are known for their “doughnut” backyards. According to Rosenthal, this bill would be an incentive for building owners to stop paving over backyards. In fact the bill was unanimously supported by Community Board 7.
​
“If I walk around the back of my building, everything is concrete. It would smell nicer and ​be more aesthetically pleasing, at the very least if it were green,” said Linda Rosenthal.

​But this issue would not just be helpful for the Upper West Side, according to the bill’s supporters.

​“One of the interesting things about New York is that these rowhouse backyards are all over the place in different areas in the city,” said Evan Mason of Sustainable Yards NYC, an initiative trying to claim back urban green spaces. “If people were to remove these concrete spaces, there could be real change.”

​According to Mason, there are 53,000 acres of open space in New York City. There are multiple ways that more greenery could affect the city. One, she said would be the immediate impact on sewage runoff during major storms. Mason said that this would save the city money by burdening the water treatment center less. During a large storm with mostly rain like Tropical Storm Irene, rain can seep into the permeable ground causing less runoff. However, storms like Hurricane Sandy with more flooding from storm surge than rain, would probably not affect the storm run-off.

​But in addition to helping the city out during a rainstorm, Sustainable Yards argues that more green space can also improve quality of life. Evan Mason explained that it is a no-brainer: when more trees and vegetation are planted, the air becomes cleaner, and an urban setting becomes more livable.

​“People like the idea of turning the hands of time and reducing the ‘concrete creep’ and this isn’t as difficult to manage as other sustainability measures,” said Mason.
​This tax abatement is also very similar to the fairly new tax abatement which offers incentive for green roofs.

​“It seems like there’s not a lot of emphasis on trying to greenify backyards. We are trying to encourage people to plant trees, and use small flagstones as their concrete space,” said Jay Adolf, a Community Board 7 member.

​Linda Rosenthal said that the bill has to go through a committee first, before it can go to the floor, and it will hopefully be passed later this year.

A plan by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to generate much-needed revenue through land leasing has been met with uproar from public housing tenants and elected officials.

NYCHA’s land leasing plan involves eight different sites and 325,000 square feet of land, including public open space and at least one community center. The ground lease, which lasts for 99 years, would allow developers to build on the land while it remains under NYCHA ownership. NYCHA says this plan would generate 30 to 50 million dollars annually, or two percent of the organization’s unmet capital.

The land leasing program involves primarily development of housing, including 4,000 private housing units with 80 percent at market rate and 20 percent permanently affordable units. NYCHA residents will receive priority for the new housing. Some of the development will also involve commercial space.

According to public housing residents and elected officials who showed up to a City Council hearing last week, NYCHA is moving forward too quickly with the ground leasing plan and refusing to address tenants’ numerous concerns.
City Council member Rosie Mendez is one elected official outspoken in opposing the plan as it currently stands.

“NYCHA should wait longer so residents can review [the plan], adequately respond and have the opportunity to stop it if they so decide,” she said. “There is a difference between getting feedback and doing something with that feedback.”

She added that residents of public housing have concerns about every single aspect of the plan and should have been consulted from the very beginning of its formulation.

NYCHA Chairman John Rhea said the organization is facing aging housing stock and the rent they collect only provides half of their operating costs.

“We’ve seen a dramatic change in assistance received from government officials,” he explained. “There has been a precipitous decline in federal government funding.”

He explained while other cities would resort to reducing public housing stock, “preserving public housing is the only proven option in New York City.”

“There are not enough options for low income families, this mission is more relevant than ever before,” explained Rhea. “Given the pressures faced by the government on all levels, we must find ways to chart our own path and do more with less.”

“Preservation comes with tradeoffs and hard decisions,” he added.

Nonetheless, City Council officials and tenants have made their views clear.

Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh said: “While we’re fighting at the state level, we need to make sure NYCHA cannot unilaterally sell off NYCHA housing.”

“Decisions of this significance need a full hearing,” said Kavanagh. “A real process means at the end of the day there’s a ‘yes’ or a ‘no.’”

Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito noted 2,000 children attend a community center which would be eliminated by the plan, and questioned where they would go instead. She said a full review would be done for luxury condos, and the same courtesy must be given for public housing.

Jane Wisdom, President of the Frederick Douglass Houses, said she is overwhelmed by NYCHA’s actions.

“They’re pushing us and the tenants are very upset,” said Wisdom. “We worry about the quality of life, we want time.”

Lela Santiago, a senior tenant at the Meltzer Houses said NYCHA has been tricking tenants by using sign-in forms at their meetings as a display of consent, while many tenants show up just to be informed or voice their disapproval of the plan.

“There is no tenant involvement,” she said. “They manipulate us.”

Despite concerns by tenants, Rhea assured community members every cent generated by the plan will be used for capital improvement. NYCHA says it will create permanent jobs for its residents, not demolish a single building and avoid increasing rent or hurting anyone’s current work situation. Rhea added tenants’ relationships with their landlords will not be affected by the plan and the plan will not go forward without full engagement with all residents, council members and stakeholders.

“This is our single largest opportunity to make money to reinvest in public housing and the time to act is now,” said Rhea. “The challenges aren’t going anywhere and become more urgent with every year that passes.”

By Nora Bosworth

As several of Brooklyn’s public libraries face demolition, the Historic Districts Council is swiftly taking steps to protect Manhattan’s own branches.
In March, the New York Times reported that the Brooklyn Heights library will be razed in the near future, only to be rebuilt a few years later on the ground floor of a high-rise apartment building. The plan is part of the New York Public Library’s controversial new financing model.

Seward Park Library 1911 Photo courtesy of NYPL

The money-strapped organization has started selling the coveted land beneath its libraries to developers, with the understanding that the affected library will be reincarnated as the base of a modern residential complex.
The library system adopted this business scheme to help raise the $230 million dollars it needs to repair its various branches. Libraries that are not designated landmarks have no protection against such development.

While many laud the library’s innovative approach to raising money, other New Yorkers – especially those neighboring the affected branches – fear that the old, stone faces of the city’s libraries will eventually all recede into the panorama of cement high-rises. They feel the charm and diversity of urban landscapes will decline when libraries no longer look like libraries. Local residents also worry that during the interim between the destruction of the original library and the construction of the new complex, their children will be without a convenient library for several years.
With this latest trend in mind, last Tuesday the Historic Districts Council held a hearing at the Landmarks Preservation Commission, advocating for the Seward Park branch’s official inauguration as a landmark. Such a designation would offer legal protection against the threat of development and immortalize the Renaissance Revival style building, erected in 1909.
The five-story limestone and brick library, designed by the firm of Babb, Cook and Welch, granted enormous opportunities to the immigrant population of the Lower East Side over the last century, the Council wrote in the hearing’s announcement. The Seward branch is unique in that instead of being tucked like a townhouse amid a crowded block, it stands alone marking the eastern end of Seward Park.
In the Council’s statement they lauded the branch not only for its architectural significance but for the broader value of the public library system.
“The New York Public Library is an institution that embodies the altruistic principle that education is the great societal elevator. It was founded in the belief that everyone should have access to the resources necessary for self-improvement.”
While the Council’s Director of Preservation and Research, Nadezhda Williams, stated clearly that the Seward Park building is not under immediate threat of development, she added, “There’s been a lot going on in Brooklyn with their branch libraries.” She also emphasized that most people probably assumed the Seward branch was already a landmark since it is “in many
people’s hearts,” and thus a formal designation would only cement what the community assumes.
Williams called the hearing “very positive” with about a dozen speakers, including, “preservationists, folks from the neighborhood” and “library lovers.”
The next step will be to put the library’s landmark status to vote if the LPC agrees to calendar a hearing.

How do “dark chocolate liquid truffles” sound? They may sound a little less appetizing when they come with the risk of contracting hepatitis A.

The chocolate truffles are just one of 11 items on the dessert menu at Alta bistro in the West Village, 64 W. 10th St,, a tapas restaurant now infamous for a recent health scare among patrons. A pastry chef reportedly discovered this week she had become infected with hepatitis A while vacationing in Mexico and may have infected diners who enjoyed dessert at the bistro between March 23 and April 2. Approximately 15 percent of patrons–or 450 people–consumed dessert in that time range, say restaurant owners.

According to the New York Department of Health, hepatitis A is spread by fecal-to-oral contact. There is no treatment for the disease, which attacks the liver, but most who contract it recover without complication.

Patrons who ate dessert at Alta during the timeframe are encouraged to get vaccinated against the disease or call 311 if they believe they are experiencing symptoms, which include jaundice, fatigue, nausea and diarrhea. The DOH has been offering free vaccines at the Chelsea Health Center through Monday and attempting to reach out to all diners who may have been exposed. The earlier the vaccine is received, the more effective it is in preventing illness.

While the restaurant is back open and serving up its decadent desserts, and the infected employee is no longer on the premises, some patrons may be understandably a bit wary. Others may find such scares par for the course when eating out in New York City.

Emma Moody, senior deputy editor of markets and finance at the Wall Street Journal, tweeted Saturday that she was vaccinated after eating at Alta during the timeframe in question:

Just back from getting Hep A shot at third-world NYC clinic. Victim of the Alta restaurant outbreak. #seriously?

— Emma Moody (@EmmaMoodyWSJ) April 6, 2013

Another patron told the New York Post while he doesn’t hold the restaurant accountable, he’ll probably never be able to eat there again.

The restaurant’s website was down as of Monday morning which, despite their insistence everything is back to normal, may not bode well for the establishment in the short term.

Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said in a statement: “This incident serves as an important reminder to always wash your hands thoroughly to prevent the spread of disease.”

By Helaina Hovitz

As suspected and outlined in last week’s article, March 20’s City Council “food market” victory announcement turned out to be a lot of smoke and mirrors.

In approving a Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP) application with the Howard Hughes Corporation, the city has given the corporation the rights to redevelop  Pier 17. But Hughes also has options to redevelop areas surrounding the South Street Seaport, with the possibility of constructing hotels, condos and upscale retail stores, potentially turning the entire area in one big generic mall complex.

Initially, members of Community Board 1 received a Letter of Intent with a blacked-out “Mixed Use Project” section detailing the plans for the Fish Market area, in response to a Freedom of Information Law request filed with the city’s Economic Development Corporation. Nine days after the Land Use application was approved by city council vote, board members found an unredacted version, revealing the corporation’s true intentions. It turned out that the City Council did have that unredacted L.O.I. (Letter of Intent) in their possession, according to a firsthand account from East Village resident Robert LaValva, president of the New Amsterdam Market. LaValva saw the L.O.I. himself back in August of last year, but was told he couldn’t have or keep a copy. (A spokesperson for City Council Member Margaret Chin said that the letter was never hidden from the public, and that LaValva was shown the letter in an overture of transparency.)

LaValva tried to warn everyone about the developer’s plans at March 14’s City Council Hearing.

“By voting to approve this ULURP, you will be approving a rezoning not only of the Pier 17 mall, but of the entire waterfront. What is troubling about this is that E.D.C. and Howard Hughes have a Letter of Intent to redevelop the Fulton Fish Market site as a luxury residential high rise, hotel and retail complex,” he said.

The latest news to unfold is that the South Street Seaport Museum, also under Howard Hughes Corporation control, is facing an 18-month deadline to get back on solid financial footing, a deadline that’s up on April 5th. Rescued from going under by the Museum of the City of New York back in 2011, the Seaport museum estimates it would cost $22 million in repairs and renovations to upgrade after Hurricane Sandy (a figure that includes the cost of recovery as well as the costs to move the building’s electrical systems to a higher floor to prevent damage from future flooding).

In a newsletter that Margaret Chin’s office handed out at the monthly Community Board 1 meeting on March 26, Hughes offered to provide the Seaport Museum with $250,000 over the next three months, followed by $100,000 a month for five months. Hughes has made no commitment to give up lease options to former Museum properties now under first option as per the 12.12.11 Letter of Intent depriving the Museum of a steady source of lease revenues.

If the museum goes under, the Howard Hughes Corporation will gain all of its property. Additionally, the letter reveals that they are not providing any new docking berths for the Seaport’s historic vessels, and are allowing the AMBROSE to stay where it is until they decide otherwise.

The Howard Hughes Corporation has repeatedly declined to comment, just as they have refused to put forth a “Master Plan,” prior to the mandatory deadline of August 30 of this year. They technically don’t have to. But what’s happening before everyone’s eyes is the master plan, and it’s unfolding with the help of the city, the Economic Development Corporation, and others.