PERMANENT CLOSURE OF THE BOGARDUS PLAZA
This was about as contentious as I expected, although things got downright fractious at one point. The background: Eighteen months ago, in the face of three years of construction on Chambers—during which the first block of Hudson (between Chambers and Reade) would be closed—Friends of Bogardus Garden lobbied to turn it into a plaza. At the time, members of CB1 strenuously warned that the group would be back to try and make it permanent. Sure enough, they were. They made their case, pointing out that all but one neighboring businesses support the idea, as do many surrounding buildings; that the community events have involved local businesses (although many of those seemed to be more about marketing/fund-raising…?); that if the plaza becomes permanent they’ll be eligible for money from places such as the Department of Transportation, which would allow for more (and nicer?) furniture, improved street surface (no green?), free wi-fi, and so on. Side note: I’ve wondered aloud about the state of the clocktower, and they’re still raising funds.

The lone business objector is Sergio at Acappella, who says his business is down 40% because his clientele can’t do pick-ups and drop-offs directly in front of the restaurant. Much time was spent discussing what could be done to help Sergio, although one committee member did point out the limit on vehicular traffic as the singular cause of Acappella’s decline was possible but come on! (My words.) In any event, Craig of Cosmopolitan Café made what seemed like a plea on the plaza’s behalf (it digressed, the way we all do), and Alan of Kings Pharmacy said it has led to an increase in sales of candy and beverages. Candy?! Don’t tell Bloomberg or he’ll put the kibosh on the entire plaza idea.

The question of to what degree traffic is impacted was where the meeting got heated. One member pointed out that traffic coming eastbound on Chambers (from West Street, in particular) has to go all the way to Church if it wants to go north, and if the ultimate destination was, say, Greenwich and Duane, that means a lot of driving through Tribeca. (Personally, I’d get off the highway at Vestry.) Another member, who seems to live on Chambers, is frustrated with having to drive to Church. The chair pointed out that there were three objections in the face of otherwise solid community support, and it doesn’t really matter how the tension erupted, other than the chair ended up saying, “I’m running the meeting so you keep your mouth shut!”

Evidently there has been an online petition to support the plaza. When I find the link, I’ll include it here. Et voilà!

BEAUTIFICATION PROGRAM FOR TRIBECA
I had to leave right after the Bogardus Plaza vote, so I missed the discussions about the liquor-license applications for RBC NYC and the new Kaffe 1668 (at 401 Greenwich). Before the meeting, however, I chatted with Michele Schuster of ACE, the organization that trains and hires homeless people to clean sidewalks and so on. She was there to present ACE’s “neighborhood beautification program,” the main part of which is that ACE now will sell the authorized tree planters you see around here for $1,800, if you agree to three years of ACE care for $900 annually—in other words, they water the trees, repaint the planters is necessary, keep trash out, and so on. Details can be found at acenewyork.org. I’m a big fan of the trees, so if you can get your building to add one (or more), please do!