Good Old Lower East Side

MTA WANTS TO DESTROY OUR HOMES Deborah Scott-Gonzalez

Mar 23, 2001

We, the Tenants of 10 Stanton Street have found ourselves in an all out war to save our homes. We are a Section 8 based housing project that houses over 147 tenants, 40% Hispanics, 40% Chinese, 5% Blacks and 5% Whites.
In November, our building was on Community Board 3 agenda where we learned that MTA has proposed to reopen the Christie Street Fan Plant which is under 10 Stanton Street. The plan is to install 8 additional Ventilation Fans. We were outraged and appalled that MTA had a proposal of which the tenants had no knowledge of. CB #3 tabled the MTA presentation and told them that they would have to inform the tenants of their intentions. MTA set up a presentation at 10 Stanton Street which did not go well. They tried to convince us that dangerous chemicals would not be harmful to seniors, handicap or asthmatic children, that rats that are the size of cats would not be a problem (to whom) and that in the event of structural damage, tenants had no rights and the possibility of homelessness would somehow become a reality if structural damage did become a factor.
On February 2, MTA held a public hearing where over 125 tenants packed a small conference room that they set up apparently expecting tenants and elected officials NOT TO OPPOSE . Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez and Councilwoman Kathryn Freed attended the hearing and spoke on behalf of the tenants supporting an alternative sight. Sheldon Silver and Martin Connors sent representative to express their opposition and also support alternative sight. We were supported by the Environmental Justice Center, Cooper Square Committee, Good Old Lower East Side, CAAV, Kwong Hui and Margaret Chin assisted us with translations and door knocking amongst our Asian Tenants.
On Friday March 2nd we had over 200 people demonstrating outside of the MTA headquarters at 347 Madison Avenue to demand that the MTA change their plan to build a new subway fan plant system 10 feet east of our building.
The tenants recognize that the MTA needs to expand its fan plants in order to protect the safety of subway riders in the event of a subway fire, however, what about the potential of structural damage and displacement to tenants who currently live in the building. We are not asking MTA to stop this project. We are asking them to split the project, leave the one fan under our building which has not been used in over 20 years, install the 8 additional fans in the alternative sight in Roosevelt Park which is one block east of our building. They would not have to dig near our building and disrupt the lives and health of over 300 tenants, 30% of which are children with asthma. Our seniors and handicap are anxious and worried about their homes as all of us are.
We have contacted Gov. Pataki, Commissioner Henry Stern, and Controller Carl McCall asking them to intervene on behalf of the tenants. If you would like to lend your support please contact Good Old Lower East Side, Cooper Square Committee at (212) 228-8210 or CAAV (212) 473-6485 x100 . Call Mr. Steve Strauss of MTA at (212) 878-7000 and your local officials and let them know that you are outraged and you are not in agreement with the location of this fan plant, and that you support 300 low income families.
Call Congresswoman Velazquez at (212) 673-3997, Speaker Sheldon Silver at (212) 312-1400, Hon. Martin Connor (212) 417-5512, Councilwoman Kathryn Freed at (212) 788-7722,& Mark Green (212) 669-7200.