Activity # 5
The Community Board # 1 of Manhattan has a population of 34,420, up from 25,366 in 1990 and 15,918 in 1980.Of them (as of 2000), 23,041 (66.9%) are white non-Hispanic, 2,348 (6.8%) are African American, 4,868 (14.1%) Asian or Pacific Islander, 30 (0.1%) American Indian or Native Alskan, 457 (1.3%) of some other race, 902 (2.6%) of two or more race, 2,774 (8.1%) of Hispanic origins.9.5% of the population benefit from public assistance as of 2004, up from 5.8 in 2000.The land area is 1,100.3 acres, or 1.71 square miles (4.45 km²).
The board meeting I went to was the Battery Park City Community Meeting, which is part of the Community Board # 1, which deals with Lower Manhattan. It’s made up of five neighborhoods: Battery Park City, Civic Center, Financial District, Greenwich South, Seaport, and Tribeca. There is a lot of residential growth happening, and 15,611 new housing units have already been built and in the process of still being built. There are over 31,000 or more residents within these neighborhoods. And the population of residents is continuing to grow.
This meeting was located at Battery Park City Authority, 1 World Financial Center, 24th Floor. The room was pretty large and there was actually a good amount of people that showed up. There was a podium and behind the podium was a huge projector. Since this meeting was about the neighborhood of Battery Park City, it made sense to hold the meeting right in the Financial District. I was one of the first people to show up, and when I turned around I realized how many people actually showed up to these meetings. In my neighborhood, not many residents show up, so this shows how concerned these people are about what’s going on in front of them. The meeting lasted about 2 hours, and many residents had a lot to say about the different issues that were spoken about.
The issues that were brought up at this meeting had to do with traffic safety issues, renewal of liquor liscenses, and permit processes. There was a discussion about safety traffic issues on Murrary Street and North End Avenue. The Vice President for Community Relations, Leticia Remauro, came out to speak about the monthly report of Battery Park City Authority. Then there was another major discussion about regarding permit processes for large events spanning multiple Community Boards. There was a report on Route 9A and West Thames Park by New York State Department of Transportation, discussing the development and operation of the highway system they created called Promenade South. This includes a new plaza area, better crosswalks, a bikeway, and a new and rebuilt entrance to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Then Tom Amoroso and Mary Kearney both discussed the proposal of the additional loading zone for 325 North End Avenue and how it’s going to affect the community. This then led into how West Street was going to deal with the pedestrian management and maybe even bringing the idea of expanding West Street so that it is not so crowded. And the final discussion dealt with the renewal of liquor licenses to certain restaurants and bars. “When powerholders restrict the input of citizens' ideas solely to this level, participation remains just a window-dressing ritual. People are primarily perceived as statistical abstractions, and participation is measured by how many come to meetings, take brochures home, or answer a questionnaire. What citizens achieve in all this activity is that they have "participated in participation." And what powerholders achieve is the evidence that they have gone through the required motions of involving "those people"” (Arnstein). If they did not bring up these issues dealing with the community than the residents would of felt as if they had no say in their neighborhood. This then could of caused problems within this particular section.
The major discussion at this meeting was the traffic safety issues on Murray Street and North End Avenue. The speaker felt there had to be more signs put up regarding the elementary school and the children playing sign. A lot of the residents also felt the same way, but also added in the fact that more traffic officers should be placed around these streets. Many people have been in accidents due to the poor safety standards. One woman was arguing that even when school is not in session that an crossing guard or traffic officer should remain in the area at all times because it is constantly busy. But the speaker felt that, that was not really necessary and that the signs should be enough signals for the drivers. Than the resident became furious because her daughter was actually hit by a car over on Murray Street all because the driver went through a red light and if there was a crossing guard there this situation could have been prevented. A lot of the residents agreed, but the speaker did not. She felt that even with the presence of more crossing guards it was not going to stop people from speeding. Another resident brought up the idea that there should always be a cop present within these two blocks or put a bump in the road to prevent people from speeding. Since there were other things to discuss at the meeting, the speaker was cut off and the residents were told that they would discuss this issue at the next meeting. “Informing citizens of their rights, responsibilities, and options can be the most important first step toward legitimate citizen participation. However, too frequently the emphasis is placed on a one-way flow of information - from officials to citizens - with no channel provided for feedback and no power for negotiation. Under these conditions, particularly when information is provided at a late stage in planning, people have little opportunity to influence the program designed "for their benefit." The most frequent tools used for such one-way communication are the news media, pamphlets, posters, and responses to inquiries” (Arnstein). At this point, a lot of the residents actually left and were upset that this problem was not solved. A lot of people were saying how it’s not fair that there families have to suffer because the community does not want to hire more traffic agents.
At first I was a little bit uncomfortable at this board meeting because I felt like the other residents knew that I did not belong to this neighborhood. “Meetings can also be turned into vehicles for one-way communication by the simple device of providing superficial information, discouraging questions, or giving irrelevant answers” (Arnstein). No one said anything to me and I was shy to make any comments since I really had no say on what goes on in their neighborhood. A lot of the issues that were brought up were not really solved such as the traffic safety issue. This also happens in my community also, because on my block we used to also have traffic safety issues, and it was a while before signs were posted showing that there is children in the area playing. Luckily no children were ever hurt or killed but the cars were always speeding and since there is a huge hill on my block you could never see the cars. Even though the issues were not necessarily solved a lot of the residents seemed happy enough with being able to speak there mind and let out there feelings. At certain times I felt a lot of tension between the different residents because everyone had a different opinion. But I found this meeting to be very informative because it shows that there still are a lot of people out there that care about their neighborhood and the people who live in it. But it is sad to know that there are a lot of people who do not know what goes on right in their own neighborhood and everyone can make a difference if they just try.
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