An open letter to City Council Member Carlina Rivera
I read in City & State that you said I was behind the “Chinzilla” poster* and another with an image of you and the mayor. I am not behind either poster nor is East River Park Action. I apologized and withdrew the social media post I made about NMASS’s three-year old “Chinzilla” poster, see explanation below.*
We do use sharp words and images on social media. It’s our means of yelling loudly—with cogent reasoning—to rouse you from your complacency on the ESCR. You are the elected official who can hold the city accountable – ESCR is your responsibility for years to come.
The city is not working in good faith to fulfill promises made to you when you supported East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR). The mitigations are woeful. The Office of Emergency Management’s (OEM) study of Interim Flood Protection Measures was superficial—so cursory they did not consult with NYCHA about what is being done by FEMA.** The city’s timelines for the project are unrealistic, which will lead to many years of lost park space and heavy construction with its attendant health effects on the community.
That’s why we’re always pushing you to advocate hard for better solutions. We need interim protection until a permanent barrier is completed—and ideally to give the city time to step back and figure out how to gain protection without completely demolishing the natural flood barrier of East River Park.
If the city goes ahead with the ESCR as it is, now, during a pandemic, it’s even more important to get promises fulfilled. Community health and wellbeing are at stake.
Please listen dispassionately to our arguments and those of the many many others who have been calling and writing for two years (almost all of them very politely) to protest this ESCR plan. Negotiate harder.
Sincerely,
Pat Arnow
* About the Chinzilla poster—I saw it in a window, took a photo of it and thoughtlessly posted it. When a couple of people pointed out how it was offensive, I listened and learned, took down the post and apologized. It was members of CODA who reposted it in a bid to divide our community.
As things unfolded, as you probably know, NMASS and the Chinatown Workers Center, who did create the poster in 2017, held a press conference and defended the image. I attended as did several other ACTIONeers. I believe NMASS has agency to display the image. We support their work.
Here’s a video of the press conference. Hear East River Park Action’s Jasmin Sanchez at 20:15. Here’s a good story about it.
Having seen almost all City Council Members cede their vote to you, I do support the image and message in the “Destroyers” poster, even though I did not create or print it.
** Please see questions about the OEM’s superficial Interim Flood Protection report:
https://eastriverparkaction.org/2020/07/17/not-one-sandbag/
Link to City & State article:
https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/policy/energy-environment/opposition-east-side-coastal-resiliency-project-reignited.html
I apologize if anyone was offended by the posters in question. I did not create or post them, but I noticed and was glad that someone did. Sometimes it does take a confrontational tone to awaken people to an injustice. The suffragette movement protested peacefully while thousands of women were jailed and one finally died. This is what it took to get the right to vote for women, because simply breaking windows wasn’t sufficient. The trees cannot speak for themselves and we have been trying to make our voices heard as a community for some time now.
Apparently, according to the interview with Emily Johnson on the show hosted by Paul diRienzo, WBAI, Jan. 13, 2021, the approval of the City and Parks Dept’s “Preferred Plan” was partially based on a fabrication (also known as a lie) that there was a Value Engineering Report supporting their decisions. This report is apparently non-existent.
Furthermore, the independent evaluation provided by “outside expert” Gehrels’ expressed an inability to do an holistic evaluation due to not being able to access the V.E. Report. Furthermore, his report failed to mention anything about the proven efficacy of using parklands as a natural sponge during flood events. Moreover, his renderings of the before and after park view did not take into account the old growth trees, seeing as both reports rendered all trees as the saplings which would replace the mature and majestic trees that we presently enjoy if we are subjected to the (ignominiously named) “Preferred Plan”.
I do agree that action needs to be taken, I know that NYCHA residents were/are killed and severely inconvenienced by the effects of Sandy, and they deserve protection. I had a crazy idea, though: instead of building a huge wall to protect the lower floors, why don’t we move them all UP in the buildings? Surely there must some vacancies, and over the course of the time it will take to re-do the park, we could vacate the lower two floors and replace them with community space. Then the residents would have a pleasant view, instead pf the wall of noise, pollution and traffic which will be their fate under the current plan? I’m aware that we desperately need more, not less, low-income housing, but it would be less expensive to build a new NYCHA tower than it would be to raise this entire park by 8 ft!
In closing, Councilwoman Rivera, I must express the betrayal that many of your constituents felt when you voted for the newer , destructive plan. We thought you were one of us. We worked and voted for you. Is it that you now have access to fancier parks than we do, being a successful politician? Or are you being compensated in other, more nefarious ways? Who is benefitting from this travesty?
Hoping that you will change your vote,
Ms. Maya de Silva Chafe