Lower East Side Archives : City Limits

CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS

Opinion: With Community Land Trusts Back in the Spotlight, Lessons from 1970s NYC

Harriet Cohen | April 27, 2023

“Now, longtime neighborhood residents across the city, people who put up with dangerous housing conditions for decades because they had no choice, but who fought to improve their neighborhoods, finally have the best chance in decades to get public support.” Adi Talwar Three buildings in the East Village are a part of the Cooper Square Community Land Trust. CityViews are readers’ opinions, not those of City Limits. Add your voice today! The Lower East Side, 1970s.It was a short five blocks from my apartment on East 4th Street, between Avenues C and D, to my job at a local community organization in the abandoned P.S. 64 on East 9th Street, later re-named El Bohio.

CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS

Opinion: To Protect Chinatown and the LES, Pass the Two Bridges Community Plan

Chris Walters | April 12, 2022

“It’s easy to cast all opposition to developments as NIMBY, but this ignores crucial racial and economic differences between neighborhoods and disparities in who has the power to decide the future of their communities.”

Government

Crowded City Council Race in Lower Manhattan District Devastated by COVID

Emma Seiwell / Gotham Gazette | June 7, 2021

Nine Democratic candidates are running in the City Council District 1 primary for a seat based in Lower Manhattan, replacing term-limited Councilmember Margaret Chin.

Lower East Side

Lawsuits Seeking to Stop Two Bridges Development Overturned in Appellate Court

Sadef Ali Kully | February 17, 2021

A panel of appellate judges on Tuesday reversed an earlier injunction halting the contentious Two Bridges project — a major setback for Lower East Side community groups, which have been waging a legal battle against the city and developers.

Development

City Looks to Appeal Decision Halting Two Bridges Towers — Again

Sadef Ali Kully | January 28, 2021

The city’s Law Department argued their second appeal in court Wednesday against two lawsuits which resulted in an earlier injunction stopping the project, which would build four new skyscrapers on the Lower East Side.

city planning

Opinion: Regulating Development is the City Council’s Job. Let Them Do It.

Marc Richardson | July 1, 2019

‘Last winter another agency, the New York City Department of City Planning deliberately circumvented the Council’s oversight when it told the City Planning Commission that it had to approve four mega towers proposed to be built right on top of existing buildings.’

Art at the Limits

Using Electronic Music to Shrink the LES’s Digital Divide

Giulia Hjort | January 1, 2019

The Lower East Side boasts a rich artistic past and present cut off from traditional cultural support. A program for area youth hopes to change that.

Campaign 2017 Fact Check

Factcheck: Harsh Language and Overstated Charges in a Council Race Flyer

Abigail Savitch-Lew | November 2, 2017

A flyer containing incendiary charges is circulating in a Lower Manhattan district where there’s a tight Council race. Many of the charges appear overstated or include falsehoods, while the accuracy of others are subject to interpretation.

CAAAV

To Stop LES Waterfront Towers, Board to Support Community Groups’ Rezoning Effort

Abigail Savitch-Lew | October 19, 2017

Three community groups convinced Manhattan Community Board 3’s Land Use Committee to join them in applying for a rezoning to block the controversial towers planned in the Two Bridges area.

Chinatown Working Group

District 1: The Race Not to Displace

Abigail Savitch-Lew | October 17, 2017

Councilmember Chin and Borough President Brewer announced a new measure to protect the Two Bridges neighborhood—the same day the Lower East Siders for Christopher Marte announced a march to oust Chin.