Community stands firm against demapping of Taras Shevchenko Place (05/27/01)

Community stands firm against demapping of Taras Shevchenko Place

by Andrew Nynka

NEW YORK - The demapping of Taras Shevchenko Place raises deeper questions than just removing a single street from existence. Residents of the East Village fear that The Cooper Union, in an effort to renovate and modernize its facilities, is commercializing the neighborhood with little care for the local residents or the Ukrainian community that is proud of having a New York City street named in honor of their beloved poet, artist, humanist and icon of Ukrainian idealism.

Established in 1859 by Peter Cooper, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, is a private full-scholarship college, "the only of its kind," dedicated to preparing students for the professions of architecture, art and engineering.

Cooper's dream was to "create and nurture a school for the boys and girls of this city, who had no better opportunity than I." In an effort to continue this legacy, the college continues to offer a free education to all of its students, "as free as water and air."

The college claims that its endowment of $329 million is slowly running out and it has been running deficits in the last few years. Although ownership of the Chrysler building has brought The Cooper Union "46 percent of revenues and 36 percent of its expenditures, the college continues to operate at a $5 million to $6 million annual deficit," The Villager reported on May 16.

Because of these deficits, the school now seeks to expand its existing buildings in order to provide renovated, modern facilities for its students, along with leasable commercial and retail space in order to generate further income.

"We have ambitious development plans for our real estate holdings, which will yield additional space and state-of-the-art facilities for our academic programs. We're planning commercial projects and joint ventures that will provide an expanded revenue stream to our bottom line," stated Dr. George Cambell Jr., president of The Cooper Union, in his inaugural address on November 16, 2000.

But many East Villagers, along with the Ukrainian community, are asking at what price this development for a school of 1,000 students will come.

Anna Sawaryn, co-chair of the Taras Shevchenko Preservation Committee, argued: "They already own the B-bar, the Chrysler Building, the parking lot on the corner of Lafayette Street, Astor Place and Fourth Avenue, as well as properties on Fourth Avenue between Ninth and 10th streets and on Third Avenue between Fifth and Sixth streets which are separate from their academic facilities. Now they're asking for the City of New York to give them Astor Place and Taras Shevchenko Place."

Carol Joyce, president of the East Sixth and Seventh streets block association, added that, "it makes the request even though New York City taxpayers are already providing The Cooper Union with a huge financial subsidy: the city leases the Hewitt site [the building adjacent to Taras Shevchenko Place] to the university for $100 a year."

The Cooper Union will also receive $9.6 million up front and $1 million annually for a 99-year lease to hotel impresario Ian Schrager for his 20-story hotel that will take the place of the current parking lot located at the intersection of Lafayette Street, Astor Place and Fourth Avenue. The design, the result of collaboration between Dutch architects Rem Koolhaas/OMA and the Swiss offices of Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, have been described by The New York Times as "a gigantic pair of slacks with asymmetrical legs cut from shimmering, confetti-patterned fabric."

The school seeks to expand its current seven-story Engineering Building between Astor Place and Ninth Street to a new 15-story mixed-use building. The school is seeking a zoning variance to add 125,000 square feet of floor area in order to build more than the currently allowable space designated by the Floor Area Ratio (FAR). The Cooper Union would own the land but lease out the building, using only the second and third floors for academic purposes. The rest of the building would be used by high-tech companies in order to generate revenue.

The current two-story Hewitt Building would be rebuilt to nine stories with retail on the ground floor. The height of the new building has aroused the concern of many St. George Church sympathizers that the height of the new building will eliminate any sunlight the church receives.

Because a larger FAR is more desirable, The Cooper Union has asked the City of New York to demap Taras Shevchenko Place in order to expand the Hewitt site five feet onto the street. In exchange for Taras Shevchenko Place, The Cooper Union claims to have planned a pedestrian space on the rest of the 45-foot-wide alley complete with trees, benches and a plaque commemorating Ukrainian's most famous poet and national hero.

Looking over the Land Use Review Application The Cooper Union filed on February 28, 2001, with the City of New York, under the section titled "map change" one finds that the applicant has specified the elimination of Taras Shevchenko Place. Under the heading "establish new," the box for park and the box for public place have been left unchecked.

When asked why this was left blank, Claire McCarthy, director of communications for The Cooper Union, commented, "we are not going to make that decision [establishing a park or public space] unilaterally. The Cooper Union cannot declare a park."

When asked for comment, Ms. Sawaryn explained: "The Cooper Union never had any intention of building a park in place of Taras Shevchenko Place. They are responding to a community that does not want to lose a street by offering us something that will not be."

Asked to elaborate on Ms. Sawaryn's comment, Jaroslaw Kurowyckyj, president of the Shevchenko Preservation Committee, said: "We can put in our own trees and benches. We have no guarantee that after the Hewitt Building is expanded they will build this park. The main issue here is ensuring that Taras Shevchenko Place stays on all city maps as an official street."

According to the Land Use Review Application filed by The Cooper Union, "The application proposes to amend the City Map as it relates to Taras Shevchenko Place between East Sixth and East Seventh Streets in the Borough of Manhattan. The proposed amendment would eliminate, discontinue and close the entire length of the 50-foot wide Taras Shevchenko Place."

"You tell me if they intend to build us a park," added Andrew Lastoweckyj, a member of the Taras Shevchenko Preservation Committee.

Upon rebuilding the Hewitt site, architects will need to install a service entrance in order to dispose of any trash and provide a means for delivery vehicles. Many residents question the site of this entrance and believe that, when all is said and done, it will end up on Taras Shevchenko Place. "What kind of a park will we have when there's a pile of trash complete with garbage trucks moving in and out of our 'public space'?" commented Ms. Sawaryn.

Aside from questioning The Cooper Union's motives, local residents have questioned the school's method of disclosure. The Cooper Union stated that it has followed the proper procedure for informing the public. "We've had 15 meetings in the last year. If there's anyone we've missed, we'll keep asking people in," stated Ms. McCarthy.

Many local residents disagree. Ms. Sawaryn, who first found a posted sign about the upcoming meeting just two days before the April 12 date, said she was shocked when she realized she had just two days to inform the community. The Shevchenko Preservation Committee has praised Ms. Sawaryn for her effort in "plastering the community with information about the meeting in so little time." Mr. Kurowyckyj explained, "Ms. Sawaryn is the first individual to notice these signs and jump to react. Thanks to her we were informed about the April 12 meeting."

The Shevchenko Preservation Committee has argued that many of these meetings have been by invitation only and controlled. "You tell me how public these meetings are," challenged Mr. Kurowyckyj.

The issue leaves many wondering where St. George Church stands. The Rev. Lawrence Lawryniuk of the Basilian Fathers, in a letter dated April 9, 2001, stated: "I am writing on behalf of St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church in support of the proposal by The Cooper Union to demap Taras Shevchenko Place with the understanding that the street will continue to be accessible to the public."

Then, on May 10, the pastor wrote: "Please be advised that I withdraw my support of demapping Taras Shevchenko Place as stated on April 9, 2001."

Despite repeated efforts, the Rev. Lawryniuk could not be reached for comment on the matter.

All in all, the demapping of Taras Shevchenko Place has left many unanswered questions and an understanding that the issue is not as simple as eliminating a landmark street important to Ukrainians the world over. Members of the Taras Shevchenko Preservation Committee urge interested parties to attend the public meeting on May 29 at 6:30 pm.

"We have received word that this meeting will be in The Cooper Union's 900-seat Great Hall, and we would love to fill it," concluded Mr. Kurowyckyj.

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