The following is a letter sent on September 30, 2011, stating our opposition to the proposed taking of Robert Moses Playground.
September 30, 2011
Ms. Liz Krueger
211 East 43rd Street Suite 401
New York, New York 10017
Mr. Brian Kavanagh
237 First Avenue, Room 407
New York, NY 10003
Mr. Daniel Garodnick
211 East 43rd Street, Suite 1205
New York, NY 10017
Re: Robert Moses Playground
Dear Ms. Krueger, Mr. Kavanagh and Mr. Garodnick:
We herewith respond to your letter dated September 20, 2011. Please understand that we totally and absolutely oppose the taking of Robert Moses Playground, the signing of any Memorandum of Understanding regarding the matter and the particularly odious state legislation passed in June. Our community’s attendance at your various public forums has been vociferous and steadfast in opposition to the taking of the Playground.
The taking of the Playground will result in undue burden on our immediate community. The taking will remove our immediate community’s only active use playground leaving no alternative for residents and their children who need active use open space. The proposed high rise office building to be placed on the Playground is equally objectionable, particularly in light of the multiple high rise towers to be constructed on the former Con Edison properties to the immediate south and east of Tudor City. The combined effect of lost active use open space and multiple problems caused by an additional massive high rise building, including but not limited to shading on Tudor City parks and playgrounds and very real security issues, is unacceptable in the extreme.
There are over 7,000 residents in our immediate community with many more to come in the development of the former Con Edison properties. These people, your voters, the people who elected you, the people who will vote for or against you in future elections, need more playgrounds, more open space, more active use areas, not less. This taking is not in our community’s, your voters’, best interest.
Please do not take our opposition to the taking of the playground as opposition to the proposed esplanade. The esplanade is a wonderful idea by itself and on its own merits. If the city really wanted this esplanade, it would have been built already, and it could build it if the City wanted to. But it should not be built on the backs of Tudor City and our immediate community by taking our only active use playground and erecting another high rise building in our neighborhood.
Your request that we consider and propose possible projects for funding if the taking were to go through over our objections is equally objectionable and we reject the request absolutely. We reject your request to have a meeting to discuss anything about this matter. We oppose the taking and we oppose having discussions with you concerning disposition of funding from an action we oppose.
Very truly yours,
George R. Brown V
President
Tudor City Association, Inc.
cc: Mr. Sheldon Silver
Mr. Dean Skelos
Mr. Michael Bloomberg
Community Board Six