[NYTr] Corrected Days of Week, more details on Wash Sq Park Bulldozing

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
Some additional info and corrected days of the week (the dates were
correct in the previous post). They want to eliminate the chess tables
and "realign" the arch and fountain as well. And the dog run is also
threatened. 

[This just in at nearly 11:00 pm on Weds, Dec 19 -- and the demo is
tomorrow, Thurs, Dec 20, 2007 at 4:00 PM. Talk about a REALLY LATE
ANNOUNCEMENT!

At any rate, if you can't make room for this really LAST-MINUTE demo,
please call the city council chair Christine Quinn as per Mitchel
Cohen's note below. They want to MOVE the arch and fountain, reduce
public space, probably remove the dog run and REMOVE the chess tables
and cut down 32 old trees! All for rotten rich NYU.

-NY Transfer]


sent by Mitchel Cohen <mitchelcohen at mindspring.com> 
Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:56:23 ET

NY City to Bulldoze World Famous Park in Greenwich Village. Take Action.

DON'T LET THEM DESTROY WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK
$16 million price tag = 32 trees to be chopped down

PLEASE PHONE NY CITY COUNCIL CHAIR CHRISTINE QUINN TODAY.
Tell her that you want her to stop funding immediately for 
chainsawing the trees in Washington Square Park and that you are a 
Green Party member (or whatever group you are from). If you are from 
outside of New York City, your call can be especially helpful. Tell 
her that you won't visit NYC if they're going to tear down the trees 
and privatize the public parks:

(212) 564-7757  and  (212) 788-7210

ALSO CONTACT CITY COUNCIL MEMBER ALAN GERSON
212-788-7722   and   212-788-7259

Thank you! And see below ....

**************************************************

HUG A TREE FOR CHRISTMAS

Press Conference, Rally and Vigil to Protest Bulldozing of Washington 
Square Park

Thursday, December 20th, 4 p.m., at the Park by the Arch

New York, NY - New York City officials have announced that the City 
will chop down at least 32 beautiful old trees when it bulldozes 
world famous Washington Square Park in the coming weeks at the behest 
of New York University and other private interests.

"The trees are home to squirrels, birds and other local wildlife, and 
are a significant part of the Park's ecosystem," said Cathryn Swan, 
an environmental and wildlife protection activist. "Yet City 
officials are bent on tearing them down."

Park lovers are singling out City Council Chair Christine Quinn and 
Council member Alan Gerson for flip-flopping on this issue. "They 
have the power to stop this massacre of some of the City's most 
beautiful trees," said Mitchel Cohen, a member of the Brooklyn Greens 
/ Green Party and coordinator of the No Spray Coalition. "So why 
won't Quinn do so? Because NYU is a giant billion-dollar corporation 
that's pulling the strings in order to gain further control over the
Park."

Cohen points out that the City is also planning to bulldoze the chess 
tables and move the famed fountain.

The tree massacre is just one component of New York City's Parks 
Department plan for a staggering "overhaul" of Washington Square Park 
at a cost of $16 million, which includes: reducing the public space; 
dismantling and relocating the landmarked fountain so that it is 
"aligned" with the Arch; removing the chess tables; and replacing and 
relocating the popular dog run. These changes will destroy the 
historical character and functionality of Washington Square Park.

In an example of what Cathryn Swan calls "greenwashing," the Parks 
Department states that it is making these drastic changes to add 
"more green space." "What happened to Mayor Bloomberg's infamous 
million trees for NYC initiative?," Swan questioned. "We should be 
saving our existing trees and wildlife that inhabit the Park to the 
delight of all New Yorkers, not destroying them."

New York City's Parks Department refused to conduct a much needed 
Environmental Impact Statement. The courts, thus far, have allowed 
them to get away with a much less stringent "Assessment" letter which 
focused solely on (the lack of) rare and endangered species, and 
ignored any impact on the numerous birds, squirrels and insects that 
comprise Washington Square Park's ecosystem.

Community and environmental groups call on New Yorkers to protest the 
massacre of these trees. "It's the best present you can give this 
holiday season," Cohen says. "Save the trees, save our Park. Dress 
warmly, and hug a tree for Christmas."

----------------------------------
We're asking you to call Christine Quinn's office and ask that she 
block the chopping down of trees in Washington Square Park. Her 
office numbers are

(212) 564-7757 and (212) 788-7210

District Office Address
224 West 30th St (Suite 1206)
New York, NY 10001

District Office Fax
(212)564-7347

Legislative Office Fax
(212) 788-7207