Friday, January 20, 2017

Jan. 18 2017 meeting was terrific! Summary and updates here.

The General Tenants Meeting was well attended, and we congratulate all the members of the election committee, including Rich Jordan and Letty Orellano, and the new Board (at the end of this summary).


Valentine's Day is coming soon.  To make sure you have something sweet for all the sweeties in your life,  pick up some chocolates at our 

tenant association table in the lobby 
Saturday, February 11th 
from 11 AM to 5 PM, 
and leave your 2017 dues ($10/apartment) and legal fund contributions ($100 - payable as you can afford it).  

If construction noise is WAY too loud, call 311 and send your complaint number to Sue. 

Our Speaker: 
To a packed house, Thomas Mellins spoke about the history of the Upper West Side - from the days it was mainly rural (before Central Park was constructed), up to now.  He explained the never-ending tension between private developers and government regulation which is often spurred by community activism and a progressive social vision.  (Look at some of Tom's books for a historical perspective by decade.)  Interestingly, the first regulation was not for affordability but for sanitation: Better ventilation and plumbing for the poor meant less tuberculosis and malaria to infect the rich who lived nearby.  

The 10,000 or so people who had lived in what became Central Park in the 1850's became residents of the Upper West Side. The park itself was not completed until 1873.

Corruption in the construction of what became Park West Village across the street from us may have been the first crack in the armor of renovation czar Robert Moses,  But Park West Village was consistent with the general policy of putting public housing and private affordable housing near each other in NYC, so that those displaced by construction might find a place to live.  

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Hear historian & curator Tom Mellins about our neighborhood - Jan. 18 2017

GENERAL TENANTS ELECTION AND MEETING

The Upper West Side in Transition

Hear historian and curator THOMAS MELLINS
on our changing neighborhood

WED., JAN. 18, 2017 at 8 PM 
in the Community Room.

Tenant elections first.

ALL TENANTS WELCOME. 

WHO is Thomas Mellins?