With the new law, private buses like this one would need permits. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

by Adel Manoukian

Governor Cuomo signed the Silver-Squadron bill into law this past Friday, signifying the first-ever permit system for intercity buses.

The law gives the city the power to designate bus stops, as well as require bus companies to provide information about the buses they are using, the number of passengers they expect to carry, and where they will be stored when not in use. Those who do not provide this information can face fines of up to $2,000 in addition to the loss of their permit.

This comes after State Senator Daniel Squadron and Speaker Sheldon Silver proposed the system this past June due to congestion, idling and overall safety concerns many residents in areas like Chinatown had.

Intercity buses are affordable but have been involved in a number of serious and sometimes fatal accidents. The agreement on the bill is part of an effort to bring stricter oversight to the industry and Silver, Squadron, along with Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and Council Member Margaret Chin applaud Cuomo for signing the bill.

“By creating the first-ever permit system for intercity buses, we’re taking a big step toward protecting communities and passengers alike,” said Senator Squadron in a statement. “Our new system will bring oversight to the growing and important low-cost bus industry, helping to end the wild west atmosphere in Chinatown and around the city while allowing us to identify problems before they become tragedies.”

Commissioner Sadik-Khan agrees.

“Intercity buses are a lifeline for people and business. But intercity bus transportation shouldn’t turn our neighborhood streets into de facto bus depots. This law will help eliminate this legal blind spot and bring order to the free-for-all on our neighborhood streets and sidewalks.”

While the West Side has the High Line, the East Side could get the LowLine

Over 80 years ago, Dan Barasch’s grandparents on both sides ended up in the Lower East Side after emigrating from Italy and Russia. While his family eventually set up stakes in other neighborhoods and he settled in the East Village—which was at one point considered the Lower East Side—the area still holds special significance for Barasch.

“My grandmother saw this neighborhood change to what it is today,” he said. “It’s an exciting neighborhood and it belongs to a lot of different people.”

It most likely would have seemed improbable to Barasch’s ancestors that he and James Ramsey would set out on what promises to be a long journey to create New York City’s first underground park, which the duo hopes to construct in an abandoned trolley terminal underneath Delancey Street. The idea has been in development since last year, and they have presented their proposal throughout the neighborhood, from the Tenement Museum on Orchard Street to the public school Essex Street Academy, and to city officials.

Photo courtesy of raad studio.

For Barasch and Ramsey, the proposal, officially called Delancey Underground but nicknamed The LowLine after the famous High Line park on the West Side, is chiefly about serving the Lower East Side and surrounding community. Ramsey, a NASA engineer turned architect, is the founder and owner of Raad Studio on Chrystie Street, while Barasch previously promoted social innovations with companies and organizations like Google and the 9/11 Survivors’ Fund.

Both men pointed to a lack of green space in the neighborhood. “The more we looked into it, the more we saw how the Lower East Side has been historically underserved,” said Ramsey. “It just happened that this space was here. It works in a number of ways and struck us as very strong from a community point of view.”

Ramsey went on to point out that community reaction to the proposal has been overwhelmingly positive and it has drawn praise from both the Lower East Side BID and City Council Member Margaret Chin.

Growing support for the project is evidenced by their recent Kickstarter campaign. Although the Internet drive, which kicked off in late February, was to raise $100,000 by April 6, 2,517 backers have already pledged $134,040 (as of press time). As Barasch and Ramsey point out on their Kickstarter site, this initial round of funding will allow the pair to build a full-scale installation—a “mini LowLine”—at the Essex Street Market in September. The demo will not only help them to perfect the solar technology that will be used to naturally illuminate the park, but convince potential funders, the city and the MTA, which owns the property, that the idea is feasible.

For the first phase of the project, Ramsey and Barasch hope to raise $500,000, which would be used not only the demonstration but also for a feasibility study. Barasch noted that they are often asked how much the project will cost, but without an initial study, it is difficult to arrive at a realistic number.

“We haven’t done constructability reviews, we haven’t paid land use experts,” Barasch explained, adding that a study would require coordination with roughly a dozen city agencies.

While the MTA has yet to sign off on the project, representatives from the authority have met with Barasch and Ramsey and escorted them on their first tour of the site last March. Ramsey points out that the space is slightly visible from the Brooklyn-bound side of the J/Z platform at the Essex Street Subway station.

“I am the kind of person, like a lot of New Yorkers, who loves to find secret spaces, abandoned lots and plots up for renewal…When we were underground, it was sort of like exploring a hidden gem,” Barasch recalled. “The sheer scale of it—we aren’t used to seeing that much unused real estate, and there were all of these architectural details, like cobblestones and crisscrossing rail lines. These exciting elements bring you back to a different era.”

According to Barasch and Ramsey, the space is around 60,000 square feet, nearly the size of Gramercy Park. It was constructed as a trolley terminal in 1903, the same year the Williamsburg Bridge was opened. At the time, streetcars were used to shuttle people back and forth from Williamsburg to the Lower East Side. Use of the trolleys and thus the terminal was discontinued in 1948. Ramsey and Barasch remain enamored of the unique historic aspects of the space, like the 20-foot vaulted ceilings and steel columns, but plan to incorporate cutting-edge technology that rivals science fiction.

“The space is so compelling from a historical and aesthetic standpoint, I very much would love to preserve, juxtapose and compliment it using technology,” Ramsey noted. As the pair explains on their Kickstarter page, the technology they hope to employ includes “a system of optics to gather sunlight, concentrate it and reflect it below ground, where it is dispersed by a solar distributor dish embedded in the ceiling. The light irrigated underground will carry the necessary wavelengths to support photosynthesis—meaning we can grow plants, trees and grasses underground.”

In addition to planning the demo and study, Barasch said they hope to continue meeting with members of the community to learn what they would like for the site. “We want to talk to as many residents as we can,” he said. “We would like to build something beautiful that is inclusive of everyone.”

To learn more about the Delancey Underground project, visit delanceyunderground.org.

Julie Menin, chair of CB1, and State Sen. Daniel Squadron, Rep. Jerrold Nadler and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer all called on Occupy Wall Street to address the quality of life concerns raised residents and business around the park. Among the resolutions passed by CB1 and supported by Squadron, Nadler and Stringer were calls for OWS to limit use of “drums, trumpets, tambourines, bugles, air horns, shouting and chanting, and all other sources of noise to two hours per day in midday,” as well as eliminating the use of retail shops and residential building doorways as bathroom facilities.

Tribeca
NEW TRAFFIC SIGNAL FOR TRIBECA INTERSECTION

Due in part to the efforts of Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Council Member Margaret Chin, Assembly Member Deborah Glick, State Sen. Daniel Squadron and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, the NYC Department of Transportation installed a traffic signal at the Tribeca intersection of Greenwich and Duane streets. The intersection is adjacent to two schools and was the site of an accident involving a young 3-year-old boy at the end of last month.

WHOLE FOODS TRIBECA INTRODUCES WELLNESS CLUB

Located inside Whole Foods Market’s Tribeca store at 270 Greenwich St., the Wellness Club is a new initiative to help New York City shoppers make educated, positive lifestyle choices that promote their long-term health and well-being. Membership in the program costs $49 a month and includes lifestyle evaluation, nutrition education, skill-building classes, coaching and practical tips, as well as a 10 percent discount on healthier food choices in the store. The Tribeca Wellness Club team includes lecturers, chefs, doctors and registered dieticians.

Citywide
CUOMO APPOINTS JOSEPH LHOTA MTA CHAIR

Facing a $9.9 billion budget gap, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s newly appointed MTA chair, Joseph Lhota, has his work cut out for him. Lhota will also face the challenge of maintaining the public transit system while at the same time preventing further fare hikes and service cuts. Transportation Alternatives, an organization working toward better bicycling, walking and public transit, and the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance said in press releases that they have high hopes for Lhota and believe he will be able to secure better funding, create better service and end cuts to the MTA.

KEEPING MANHATTAN RESIDENTS SAFE FROM SEXUAL ASSAULT

Following a recent string of sexual assaults in Brooklyn and Queens, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio partnered with more than two dozen elected officials and community organizations to release a guide to keeping yourself safe from assault. The guide, “How You Can Help Prevent Sexual Assault & Harassment” contains important safety precautions as well as information on free resources that escort public transit users home at night.

The guide lists resources and groups available to Manhattan residents and offers practical points of advice on how to stay safe such as “plan your walking route along well-lit streets” and “have your house key in hand before you reach the door.” More than 5,000 copies have already been distributed.

The team members of Whole Foods Market Tribeca’s new Wellness Club celebrate the opening day Monday, Oct. 17 (see below). From left to right, Mark Wilkins, Whole Foods Market, Northeast regional healthy eating associate coordinator; Bill Renna, Whole Foods Market Tribeca store team leader; Nicole Wescoe, Whole Foods Market Northeast regional vice president; Giovanna Miller, Whole Foods Market Tribeca Wellness Club team leader; Dr. Matthew Leaderman, Global Medical Executives of Health and Wellness; and Christina Minardi, Whole Foods Market Northeast regional president.
Photo Courtesy of Whole Foods Market