Hello friends and neighbors,

Thank you for helping us reach our goal of 5,000 petition signatures against the Two Bridges towers! Our next step is to deliver these signatures to the City, and urge Speaker Johnson to stop the racist displacement policy promoted by Mayor de Blasio and Councilwoman Chin. We ask him to stand with the people against these towers, which would destroy LES and Chinatown’s working class community of color. Join us on MLK Day to oppose this racist act, and demand the City pass the Chinatown Working Group Plan to protect our neighborhood for generations to come!

What you can do to mobilize for petition delivery:
* invite your friends and family to the delivery
* post the flyers in your building [download here]
* spread the flyer online with hashtags #notowersnocompromise #passthecwg
* Join our outreach team!

We look forward to seeing you there! Happy New Year!
Coalition to Protect Chinatown & LES

Big congrats to Inwood Legal Action and Northern Manhattan Is Not For Sale for striking down the Inwood Rezoning! The Inwood community’s struggle against Mayor de Blasio’s pro-developer rezoning has been an inspiration for anti-displacement fights across the City. This court victory is the testament to the fact that when people are united to hold the City accountable for its displacement agenda, they can win! This is a victory for all of us who are fighting to protect our communities against the Mayor of the 1% and his big real estate buddies. The Mayor is now pathetically trying to appeal and rolling back people’s victory, but the tide has turned: communities are rising up and making concrete wins. De Blasio–get the hell out of the way!

Read more at the Gothamist: In Huge Defeat For De Blasio, Judge Knocks Down Inwood Rezoning

☄️ Sam Stein – Capital City
☄️Nancy Kong – Boroughs United / No New Jails
☄️Jei Fong – Protect Sunset Park
☄️Cheryl Pahaham – Northern Manhattan is Not for Sale

They will discuss the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, Borough Based-Jails, Industry City and Inwood Rezonings, and the Chinatown Working Group!

live translation will be available// traducción en vivo disponible//提供实时翻译

We join with our community in continued mourning of the deaths of the four men—Anthony L Manson, Nazario A. Vazquez Villegas, Chuen Kwok, and a yet unidentified man—who were killed in Chinatown by Randy Santos, who was homeless and himself in need. We are heartbroken by this act of violence. Action should have been taken long before that tragic day, and we demand that our elected officials truly end the crisis of homelessness that so many New Yorkers are experiencing. 

Our City enables real estate executives to profit off the backs of communities. It encourages developers to build luxury high-rises in low-income neighborhoods, which–in the City’s eyes–beneficially raises property values in the surrounding area. But these developments have deleterious effects on the people living in these communities. The increased property taxes and influx of wealth incentivizes landlords to convert their rent-regulated apartments into luxury condos, and their small businesses into banks or corporate offices and big box stores. Tenants are evicted, small businesses are shut down, and workers lose their jobs. At this point, it’s hard for those displaced to find somewhere else to go. Many in Chinatown have been forced out of their apartments and have moved to outlying neighborhoods such as Sunset Park. But now the same trend is happening in those neighborhoods as well, threatening to displace them further. Luxury over-development is a citywide problem, and evicted tenants are out of options. Homelessness is a direct result of the City’s displacement agenda.

Mayor de Blasio vowed to end the “tale of two cities” but, in reality, he furthers Bloomberg’s development and displacement agenda. His affordable housing plan is a failure. His entire plan relies on tax credits for developers in exchange for “affordable” units that are often far too expensive for the community to afford. De Blasio destroys more affordable housing than he claims to create, and it is not surprising that the homeless population has grown under his administration. Building temporary shelters—de Blasio’s band-aid response to the crisis—does not address the root cause of homelessness. 

Councilmember Margaret Chin has marched in lock-step with de Blasio to displace residents in her district, which includes Chinatown and the Lower East Side. Instead of publicly opposing the proposed Two Bridges mega towers–which would add thousands of luxury apartments along the waterfront–she has orchestrated an elaborate power grab by filing a lawsuit that would force the project to undergo the scam process known as ULURP, or Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. This process gives Councilmember Chin unparalleled authority to usher in the towers. This is not the leadership Chinatown and LES or our City needs if we want to end homelessness.

De Blasio and Chin worked together to block the passage of the community-led Chinatown Working Group Rezoning Plan, which would put height limits on new developments, mandate that housing on public land be 100% affordable to the community, and protect the entirety of Chinatown and the Lower East Side from displacement for generations to come. Our elected officials rejected our community’s solution to homelessness and displacement, dismissing it as “too ambitious.” Yet, as tragedy strikes, they shed a few crocodile tears and then use the recent deaths to advance their false solutions that would only worsen the problem. 

Displacement and over-development have human casualties. To prevent tragedies like this, we need to come together as members of the community to hold Mayor de Blasio and Councilmember Chin accountable for displacement and demand the City pass the full Chinatown Working Group Rezoning Plan right now. Any affordable housing plan that relies on the good-will of developers will only continue to destroy our community.

The Two Bridges luxury megatowers are temporarily halted! The court has extended the injunction against the approval of the towers until a decision is made by Judge Arthur Engoron, who disagrees with the Mayor’s approval of these out-of-scale towers.  Join our community conversation as we discuss the next steps. Our sustained NO TOWERS message was heard loud and clear. As a united community, we can stop these towers once and for all and continue to fight against the Mayor’s city-wide displacement agenda that allows developers to put profit over people. All are welcome!  When: July 9 – 6 pm Where: Lands End II Community Room – 275 Cherry Street

Two Bridges Lawsuit FAQ: Q: What has the community achieved so far in the fight against the Two Bridges mega-towers? A: Through outreach, rallies, planning, research, surveys, and hearings, we united people on a ‘No Towers, No Compromise’ stance to prevent the neighborhood from being sold off for crumbs. We compiled community opposition into a robust lawsuit filed against the City of New York, DCP, and the Mayor for approving these out-of-scale towers. These developments violate the zoning law of the neighborhood, which clearly prohibits any construction that will irreparably change the community. But these lawsuits did not come out of nowhere: they came from the people. The lawsuit exposes the City’s intention to enrich developers at the expense of our livelihood, and people are coming together to hold the City accountable for its displacement agenda. That’s how we’ve gotten this far.  Q: “Why do we emphasize “No Compromise” in our campaign?” A: A lawsuit filed by a different group allows the judge to rule in favor of a Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP). ULURP gives the decision-making power over the towers to those elected officials who have colluded with the developers, not to the community. ULURP is a common tool that allows the City government to bargain for crumbs as concessions for approving the towers. The ULURP process involves a vote by City Council and the Mayor.  However, no matter the land use process, the towers remain illegal, therefore they should be stopped altogether, not erected through a corrupt process veiledas democracy.  Q: But the towers have not been stopped yet. What is our next step? A: We must continue to pressure the City while awaiting the judge’s impending decision, which could come anytime between now and early August. We need to be aware of all the possible outcomes, and develop community-based contingency plans. These may include actions outside the courthouse, putting pressure on our councilmember, and so forth. But no matter the outcome, we will stand as a united community. People have gotten us this far, and are the key to stopping the towers. This means doing outreach to your neighbors, coming to actions and bringing people with you, and participating in the planning of these actions. Beyond that, take an active step by signing the petition (which will be available at the July 9 event) calling on the City to stop the towers and pass the Chinatown Working Group Plan in its entirety. See more info about CWG below.  Q: What is the long-term solution to stopping over-development and displacement in Chinatown & LES?  A: We need to pass the Chinatown Working Group Rezoning Plan (CWG). It is a community-led plan that limits height on new developments, limits the number of chain stores and hotels that can be built in the neighborhood, and reclaims public and private land for truly affordable housing that matches the needs of residents. Exclusive zoning leaves the rest of the community vulnerable to displacement, but passing the Chinatown Working Group in its entirety will grant protection and opportunity to our entire neighborhood.  We need to build the momentum and support for passing the CWG Plan prior to the 2021 election, so that candidates who want to represent us have to answer to us.

Community Conversation July 9 slideshow from VanessaThill1

June 5, 2019 6:30pm

Today shows the strength of community in the face of wealthy developers and a corrupt Mayor. Years of community outreach, education, and organizing, and months of research and coalition building went into preparation for this momentous day. The Lower East Side Organized Neighbors succeeded in securing an injunction against the Two Bridges megatowers, and presenting a robust and compelling argument in court. 

Many times land use cases where communities sue developers or the City are immediately dismissed, without arguments even being heard. While many of those dismissals are unjust, this highlights how the Lower East Side and Chinatown have truly united to build an unstoppable pressure to do the right thing, and obey the law that forbids these megatowers. 

Judge Engoron, who presided over today’s heading, surmised that the Mayor and the City Planning Commission cannot act independently or outside of the law. He acknowledged that there is a history of how developments like these can alter neighborhoods. He issued an injunction against the developers until August 2. While he will wait until that date to make a decision, he suggested that it is likely the developers and City Planning did not follow the proper process, and their plans might have to be altered accordingly. He said that findings are necessary, the ULURP review process may be necessary, and Authorization based on the LSRD (Large Scale Residential District) might be necessary, meaning the towers cannot block light/air or alter the neighborhood character.

Dozens of residents and neighbors rallied this morning against the towers and the Mayor that approved them. Today shows that their voices were heard. 

What is the scope of the proposed development?

• 1,008-foot rental tower at 247 Cherry Street by JDS Development Group. This building with cantilever over a senior center at 80 Rutgers.
• 798 and 728-foot tower at 260 South Street by L+M Development Partners and CIM Group. This building will be built on top of the  parking lot behind Lands End II.
• 724-foot building at 259 Clinton Street by Starrett Corporation.

According to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) the four towers would bring in 11,000 square feet for retail and over 2,700 new residential units to the area.

What is the existing zoning for the proposed development sites?

Two Bridges was previously an Urban Renewal Area, where the city sought to remove blight and create mixed-income housing and employment opportunities. In 1972, the area was designated as a Large-Scale Residential Development (LSRD) area.

Why are these proposed towers illegal?

These towers violate the terms of the LSRD. The Zoning Resolution of the area (LSRD), specifically Section 7, Chapter 8, states that any development in this zone cannot: interfere with light, air, and privacy, change the character of the neighborhood, cause detrimental building bulk, or create traffic congestion. It is proven that these tall towers will limit existing residents’ light, block air, create an infiltration of privacy as the towers will be built against existing buildings. They will change the character of the neighborhood by bringing in thousands of high-income residents and dramatically increasing the number of people who live in Two Bridges. The 700+ story towers size will be detrimental. The new residents, whether they drive or take taxis, will add congestion to the roads. Each specific term in the zoning resolution is being violated, therefore these developments are against the law.  

How was this out-of-scale and illegal development approved?

On December 5, 2018 in a 10-3 vote, the City Planning Commission approved the special permit for development, despite protests from residents and elected officials. This special permit allows the developers to continue with their project as it creates a “minor modification” to the existing zoning. CPC Chair Marisa Lago said that the minor modification meets the conditions of the current zoning regulations, and added that the developers have made efforts to invest in the surrounding Two Bridges community. The three no votes came from Michelle de la Uz, Anna Levin and Raj Rampershad. They said the legality of the zoning resolution was questionable and the benefits did not outweigh the impact the large-scale developments would have on the Two Bridges community. “While I appreciate the steps the applicants took to joint environmental impact statement and recent commitment to NYCHA, I do not believe the actions the commission is being asked to take today with the LSRD are appropriate nor are they conforming to the original CPC resolution from 1972,” said Commission member Michelle de la Uz.

Was the Two Bridges community given an opportunity voice their concerns before The City Planning Committee vote?

On October 17, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing regarding the proposal’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). About 100 people testified. The vast majority raised serious objections to the project and the approval process. Only five were in favor: two members of a union advocating for 50 permanent building service jobs promised for the site; an advocate for the disabled, who supports all projects that add elevators to subway stops; the current Two Bridges commercial tenant, who is promised a long-term lease in the new complex; and the executive director of Settlement Housing Fund, who is selling air rights to the 80-story tower. In the years prior to this while the developers were creating their DEIS, there were 4 community outreach meetings where residents were able to express their concerns on environment, traffic, gentrification, and other topics. The comments were supposed to be factored into the DEIS, however residents did not feel their concerns were heard, which is why so many testified at the October hearing.

How is LESON’s lawsuit different from City Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s lawsuit?

Johnson’s lawsuit argues that the towers should go through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), a voting process that involves City Council on development applications. However, Council Member Margaret Chin has already asserted that she will “not stop the towers from going up” and therefore we cannot rely on ULURP to stop the towers. The LESON lawsuit, on the other hand, simply argues that the towers shouldn’t be built because they are illegal. This is a true reflection of the community’s demand. Corey Johnson’s lawsuit has created construction delays and is an indication that Mayor de Blasio’s failure to protect working-class communities are evident to many, including the City Council, both of which are positive steps.  A significant element of the controversy over the Two Bridges proposals is that the de Blasio administration has determined they represent only a “minor modification,” and therefore do no require a full Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, or ULURP.

Will tenants be displaced during construction?

Some senior residents of 80 Rutgers may be relocated during construction.

Will the proposed developments provide affordable housing for are residents?

694 out of 2,775 units are designated as “affordable” however these so-called affordable units will have income requirements. The current residents of Two Bridges have a household median income of $30K, below the minimum $37K amount for renting the new “affordable” units!  This supposed compromise is just a way to buy out the community. It will not actually benefit Two Bridges residents! It will DISPLACE residents.

What is wrong with Mayor de Blasio’s existing affordable housing plan?

De Blasio’s plans use a standard for affordability, also known as Area Median Income (AMI), that is based on the income level of all five boroughs and three wealthy upstate counties. Therefore you can make up to $160,000 a year and qualify for affordable housing. This means that the housing being marketed as affordable is actually very unaffordable for the average New Yorker. It is a sham. Real affordability would be based on the local income level of our neighborhood.

Why not just target the developers, instead of go up against the Mayor?

Developers act through their political representative at City Hall. Mayor de Blasio is their representative. He executes the pro-developer agenda by greenlighting luxury towers and giving developers the incentives to build. Moreover, he is the worst landlord in New York City by keeping NYCHA tenants in horrible living conditions while handing public land to developers. That’s why by holding the Mayor accountable, we are attacking the developers as a class. The Mayor is an elected official; he is supposed to be accountable to the people. But instead he is disenfranchising the community and encouraging the developers to take land from the community. We need a City that works for us, so by holding the Mayor accountable, we are taking back our city.

So we can stop these towers. But what about all the other towers going up across Chinatown and the LES and the displacement they’re causing?   

Fighting individual developments or specific landlords is important, but we need to fight for a long term solution for the entire community. The Chinatown Working Group Rezoning Plan is a community-led plan that requires strict height limits on new development, and that housing built on public land is 100% affordable to low income people. These restrictions prevent over-development across the entire Chinatown and LES neighborhood by limiting the profits of developers. People from different parts of the neighborhood have united to push to pass the full CWG Plan to protect the entire Chinatown LES community.

What are other ways I can get involved in fighting displacement?

Join a neighborhood organization with a network of people who are fighting displacement.

Youth Against Displacement: youthagainst.displacement@gmail.com.

LES Workers Center: (212) 358-0295.

Citywide Alliance Against Displacement: nycnotforsale@gmail.com

Chinatown Working Group Rezoning Plan The CWG group meets the first Monday of each month at the 275 Cherry Street Community Room. These meetings are open to the public. www.chinatownworkinggroup.com; chinatownworkinggroupnyc@gmail.com

Our community has been successful in fighting displacement, for example, learn more about the 85 Bowery victory.

#notowersnocomproomise #twobridges

December 16, 2018

Dear New Yorkers,

Thank you to all who attended The Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side’s Two Bridges Two Hall! We thank you for taking the time to learn more about the LESON strategy and how we are working with the Asian American Legal Defense Fund (AALDEF) in stopping these illegal towers from being built. 

To all our neighbors who are terrified and angered by the negative impacts of these 4 illegal mega towers – YOU HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THEM! Our community is coming together and we invite you to be part of the effort to stop this crazy over-development from destroying the neighborhood.
To all of our friends throughout NYC, we stand in solidarity and support your battles. Thank you to those who attended our event to share your stories and to show your support.

We know that our fight against these proposed illegal megatowers is no different than the multiple fights being battled across NYC as Mayor de Blasio’s administration continues to act against working people in approving Citywide rezonings that enrich real estate developers over communities, selling and privatizing NYCHA and other public resources and giving tax subsidies to billionaire companies like Amazon rather than the people he swore to serve.

So what do we do now, what can we do together?

We need join forces and stand in solidarity against the gentrifier-in-chief Mayor and let him know, WE WILL NOT BE MOVED! The lawsuit against the towers will only be successful if  the community stands strong and united so that the powers that be have to back off. 

NOW is the moment to build up the community power. Join us and march to save the Lower East Side from de Blasio’s displacement agenda.

When: January 21st (MLK Day), 12 noon
Where: Pike and Cherry Streets, Lower East Side
How: Spread the flyer for the march in your schools, workplaces, community organizations, and local small businesses

Join us for a meeting to plan the march on Thursday, December 27 – 6pm @ 345 Grand Street, NY NY

In solidarity,
The Coalition to Protect Chinatown and LES
peoplefirstnyc@gmail.com
(212) 358-0295

image courtesy of the Municipal Art Society of New York

The plan for new skyscrapers in Two Bridges passed the City Planning Commission in a 10-3 vote on 12/5/18. This is the latest example of how Mayor de Blasio and his agencies blatantly violate their own law* and ignore community opposition in the interest of big developers. From Amazon to pro-developer rezonings to jail proposals, we have seen again and again the Mayor’s intention to destroy the city that we love. But momentum has been building and now is the time to fight back – it’s not too late! Please join us for a Two Bridges TOWN HALL to learn how to fight against these towers! NO TOWERS, NO COMPROMISE Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side TOWN HALL When: Dec 12, Wednesday at 6pm Where: P.S. 2, 122 Henry St (at Pike St)   *Despite being approved by the City Planning Commission, these towers are ILLEGAL. CPC Chair Marisa Lago said before her vote in favor of the application that legally the minor modification meets the conditions of the current zoning regulations. But the proposed site for development is a Large Scale Residential Development (LSRD), governed by Zoning Resolution Article 7, Chapter 8. There is no need for a full ULURP since these towers violate the existing zoning. The Zoning Resolution governing the LSRD requires that any proposed development get a special permit from the City before construction begin. The development would be approved only if it will: 1. Not interfere with the character of the neighborhood 2. Not restrict light and air or privacy 3. Not Introduce detrimental building bulk 4. Not create traffic congestion 5. Serve a public need 6. Lead to better site planning The proposed development does not meet any of these requirements! For additional information Lower East Side Organized Neighbors (LESON) & Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side, c/o NMASS 212-358-0295 Youth Against Displacement    Art Against Displacement