To bankroll the new nursing home, a project that has long been in the works and was originally planned for the south side of West 106th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues, Jewish Home was going to sell part of its property to a developer. But with the economy faltering and developers reluctant to buy, the only offer came from Joe Chetrit, who has taken community heat for his Columbus Square project, consisting of five luxury rentals and retail space at Park West Village.

Building 1 is a rendering of the 22-story nursing home Jewish Home plans to build on West 100th Street.

In the deal, Chetrit will own Jewish Home’s current property, at 120 W. 106th St. Jewish Home will then build its proposed 22-story nursing home on top of land that was to be used for 180 parking spaces, on West 100th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues. Those spots will be moved to an indoor parking area without an increase in rates for owners. Newly built park space, gardens, outdoor seating and an indoor auditorium for the nursing home residents will also be open to Park West Village residents.

“Relocating to West 100th Street will have a net positive impact on Jewish Home’s Upper West Side clients, family members, employees and neighbors,” said Bruce Nathanson, senior vice president of marketing and communications for Jewish Home Lifecare.

By building a new facility elsewhere, Jewish Home can continue to operate at full capacity without staff layoffs and construction disruptions for its residents.

However, community groups fear that Chetrit will build a massive luxury tower on Jewish Home’s West 106th Street property because of the 2007 Upper West Side rezoning plan.

That year, Jewish Home collaborated with community groups in a deal with the City Council that carved the nonprofit’s parcel out of the 51-block Upper West Side rezoning plan, which drastically reduced neighborhood building heights. The concession was meant to allow the nursing home to rebuild a larger, state-of-the-art facility that could update the service provided to clients.

“We had a whole deal and process. We spent a long time putting it together,” said Blanca Vazquez, co-coordinator of the Manhattan Valley Preservation Coalition, which worked on the 2007 zoning compromise. “And now, everything is out the window and up in the air.”

Vazquez said the group was upset by the deal because the exemption was based on Jewish Home’s goodwill with the community and the promise of a community facility.

“This is not a simple swap or trade,” Vazquez said. “They made a commitment to community use.”

Although Jewish Home’s nursing home will now be located elsewhere, Chetrit will still be allowed to build tall, market-rate residential towers without zoning restrictions, per the 2007 agreement.

Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell, who opposed Jewish Home’s exclusion from the rezoning plan, said he was troubled by the new proposal.

“The City Council carved out an exception for that site on West 106th Street because it was to be used for health care facility,” O’Donnell said. “Now, that exception seems to be used for a for-profit housing developer. It’s changing the rules in the middle of the game.”

O’Donnell is calling on the Council to have Jewish Home’s West 106th Street property conform to surrounding zoning.

“If someone wants to build a for-profit development, they should build within the context [of the neighborhood],” O’Donnell said.

Letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity.

To the Editor:
Thank you to Bette Dewing for the article “Save the Everyday Places,” dated July 8. As a 36-year resident of 85 East End Ave., I was grateful that Bette wrote about Brearley’s attempt to remove 27 rent-regulated families from their homes in order to gain more classroom space. If Brearley truly valued the ideals it aims to inculcate in its young women, it would not be setting an example for them by forcing New Yorkers out of the homes they’ve lived in for 30, 40 and in some cases 50 years!
Rita Magier
85 East End Tenants’ Committee

Letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity.

As the sounds of Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” pour from a nearby speaker set, Kirk Davidson, 51, nods along to the beat, his foot tapping in time. Clad in a red, white and blue track suit, his eyes hidden behind dark Ray-Ban sunglasses, Davidson is seated in a plush armchair, the tables on either side of him covered in layers of books.

Davidson is an Upper West Side fixture. For 23 years, he’s sold books, old magazines and vinyl on the same corner—an enterprise that’s sometimes extended more than a city block and occasionally employed additional people. Depending on whom you ask, he’s either a holdover from the neighborhood’s intellectual and affordable distant past, or a blight on an otherwise quiet stretch of sidewalk.

Kirk Davidson's s books on Broadway. Gale Brewer's s bill would, among other things, mandate that no vendor could leave his property unattended for more than 30 minutes. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

By his own admission, Davidson has received more than 125 citations from the Police Department’s 20th Precinct over the years. The offenses range from taking up too many feet of sidewalk and sleeping in public to, more recently—and seriously—allegations of stealing another vendor’s books, and wielding a knife during an argument, a charge that Davidson vehemently denies. The recent charges have spurred a renewed effort to move the vendor.

“I can truly say that for at least the past 10 years, I don’t think we’ve had one meeting where people have not complained about Kirk,” said Sam Katz, president of the 20th Precinct Community Council. “Kirk is a permanent encampment. In order for him to be okay in this neighborhood, he needs to limit his operation to one table. He can’t be a slob. He can’t live on the sidewalk.”

Of course, technically, Davidson can. There are currently no laws mandating the hours during which vendors are allowed to peddle their wares. No law requires that he pack up his books and leave the corner each night. If Katz has her way, however, that will change. She has been working closely with Council Member Gale Brewer to codify vending laws.

In September 2008, Brewer introduced legislation mandating that no vendor leave his goods unattended for more than 30 minutes, and that goods not be left in any public space when the vendor isn’t “actively engaged in vending.” Brewer said it’s not a coincidence that the legislation seems targeted specifically at Davidson.

“We’ve been working on this situation for about four years now,” Brewer said. “It’s not new for us. What we need to do with any legislation is figure out a way where you can’t just leave unattended books on the street overnight. It’s wrong to leave things overnight, and there are plenty of good examples not far from Kirk of how vendors do things right. In fact, the only book vendor I’ve ever gotten a complaint about is Kirk.”

Not everyone, even among neighborhood residents, sees Davidson as a problem, though.

“Frankly, I’d be very unhappy if he weren’t there,” said Tulsi Reynolds, who lives on West 74th Street, and said she regularly buys books from Davidson. “I’m on my way to the park, and I just bought a Donald Westlake book from him for $2. He’s a nice resource with everything so expensive.”

For his part, Davidson is both aggressive and defensive when it comes to his situation. He argues racism, alludes to slavery and says his problems with police only began when he started dating a white woman in 1997. He says in a perfect world, he wouldn’t have to deal with police, but that he wants to make it in the Guinness Book of World Records for suing the 20th Precinct.

Fully reclined in his chair, his legs stretched out in front of him, he holds court on economics, which, at its core, is what his 23 years on West 73rd Street are about.

“I’m just trying to make a living,” he said. “If I could do it with one table, I’d do it. I live in a shelter, but I’m not on welfare. These people don’t know what it’s like to scuffle. The reason I work seven days a week, the reason I’m here late at night, is because I have to be here that much to make a week’s salary and make rent. It’s about making a living.”