The looming shadow of luxury

Victor Papa knew in the late-1990s that the Lower East Side was poised for change, and as a longtime community activist, that the neighborhood needed a platform to draw attention to the needs of residents who live in the many public housing developments nestled along the East River.

Then 9/11 happened. And his plans, like those of so many others, were put on hold. What did not change was a need to insure that those who have lived on the Lower East Side for decades did not get squeezed out of the discussion over its future.

“There’s been incredible changes, new neighborhoods, the whole gentrification thing,” said Papa, now the chair of Two Bridges Neighborhood Association. “The Lower East Side is probably more sought after than Lower Manhattan, and that’s part of the problem.”

Those changes are best illustrated in a plan that Extell Development - one of the city’s largest property owners and developers - has to erect a 68-story luxury residential tower at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge. The development will include 790 units of market rate housing and feature amenities like a Turkish bath, bowling alley and golf simulator.

Even more to the point, the high-rise is being built on top of what was a local supermarket. Residents in the neighborhood now have to travel to find affordable groceries.

During a September meeting that was first reported in this newspaper, two dozen concerned community members met at one of the public houses to talk about the neighborhood’s changing face. Six months later, that group, now known as the South Street Initiative, is still striving to find its place among the many organizations, government agencies and political forces that operate on the Lower East Side.

“It’s not easy,” said Papa. “This is a matter of persuasion, making people believe in your dream that it is possible.”

It’s slow going with all the interests that are involved, but the last six months have seen progress. SSI has moved forward with endeavors more in keeping with their purpose than their operation, such as commissioning pilot studies on green infrastructure and community programs from schools like the Pratt Institute and Columbia University.

SSI takes as its territory the southern end of East River Park down to Fletcher Street, just south of the South Street Seaport, which is itself about to undergo change. The Howard Hughes Corp. is turning Pier 17 into an upscale shopping and dining destination, and has plans to redevelop the seaport with a luxury residential tower at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge.

The group decided to move forward as a community development corporation, one of the many legal designations needed to operate in any official capacity. Gina Pollara, a consultant hired by Two Bridges to bring SSI into existence, said a CDC designation is attractive in part because such entities can operate within the city’s affordable housing infrastructure.

“How that actually gets dealt with here remains to be seen, but obviously that’s an issue down here,” said Pollara.

Pollara said SSI is now focused on the makeup of its board, which is hard because so many groups are involved, and the honing of its mission statement. An equally important component to staking SSI’s place in the community is securing legitimacy from local elected officials and community boards 1 and 3.

“Obviously we need the buy-in of our elected officials,” said Pollara, who also noted the many government entities that do business on the Lower East Side, including the parks department, the city and state Departments of Environmental Conservation, and the city’s Economic Development Corp. “There are so many city and state agencies that have jurisdictional skin in this game.”

Pollara said the initiative received a positive reaction from Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Sen. Daniel Squadron and Lower East Side Council Member Margaret Chin.

“They’re all very supportive of this idea and they’re encouraging,” said Pollara. “But obviously it’s still so unformed at this point. We don’t have a specific role at this point for anyone to play.”

Community Board 1 chair Catherine McVay Hughes told Our Town Downtown that the board is interested in working with Two Bridges and the initiative on proposals to develop the seaport.

“We look forward to continuing discussions with them on this subject and the restoration of the park areas underneath the Brooklyn Bridge as that major infrastructure project is completed,” said McVay Hughes. “Whatever gets built needs to be beneficial to those that live and work in both Manhattan Community Board 1 and our neighbors north in Community Board 3.”

Pollara said CB1 was less enthusiastic, and that some members voiced support while others felt SSI would “add another layer of bureaucracy” and questioned the need for it. CB1 officials did not return a request for comment.

Obstacles like that were expected, though, and are part of an approach that is predicated upon the involvement of everyone with a stake on the Lower East Side.

“We want this to be an organization that has some teeth, and in order to do that we need to involve all the stakeholders, including the property owners, developers and residents, because they have a stake in this, too,” said Pollara.

Papa said bringing CB3 into the fold will take some persuasion from Lower East Side residents as well as pressure from elected officials. “This is a task that includes such a complex puzzle: developers, owners, NYCHA residents, seniors, resident associations, and city and state agencies.”

He said SSI’s ultimate goal is to provide uninterrupted access to the waterfront for residents on the Lower East Side and to stand as an advocate for those residents in the face of powerful and monied interests.

“The Lower East Side has a huge concentration of low income families,” said Papa. “If we don’t stand up for those families, they’re going to be buried in the shadow of those luxury towers, like Extell’s.”