Koch doesn’t get it
To The Editor:
Re “Nadler is Occupied with being politically correct” (talking point, by Ed Koch, Jan. 5):
While I respect the former mayor a great deal, his letter is, unfortunately, filled with factual inaccuracies and a fundamental misunderstanding regarding my letter’s intention. My letter has nothing to do with whether or not I think the city did the “right” thing when it cleared Zuccotti Park, or in the lead-up to it. It deals, rather, with how the N.Y.P.D. cleared the park — with whether, while executing its law enforcement responsibilities, the city fulfilled its duty to protect the civil liberties of demonstrators, bystanders and journalists.
Most importantly, unlike the former mayor, who states that allegations that the N.Y.P.D. violated the civil rights of demonstrators and journalists are “false,” my letter does not prejudge the issue. I am requesting simply that apparently well-documented allegations of such violations be investigated by those charged by law with doing so.
Jerold Nadler
Nadler is the congressmember for New York’s Eighth District
FAB’s fabulous partners
To The Editor:
Re “Going green adds up to saving green on E. 4th St. block” (news article, Dec. 29):
Thanks for the great article!
Fourth Arts Block and the Borough President’s Office are really grateful to have so many amazing partners on this project, including some not mentioned in the article. Among these are the Lower East Side Ecology Center for their EcoBiz outreach and support to small businesses; GrowNYC for textile recycling and community education; Cooper Square Committee for outreach to low-income residents; SolarOne for their leadership on the NYSERDA EmPower program; and Con Edison for free energy assessments for the cultural facilities.
We’re excited for a busy spring of action. L.E.S. residents and businesses interested in ongoing updates and information on the project, can check out the Go Green L.E.S. Model Block blog at https://ggles.tumblr.com/.
Tamara Greenfield
Greenfield is executive director, Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc)
Clayton is a major asset to L.E.S.
To The Editor:
Re “Videotaping ’88 park riot turned me into an activist” (Clayton, Jan. 5):
Clayton Patterson’s account of his personal experience after his filming of the Tompkins Square Park police riot was very interesting reading. I was chairperson of Community Board 3 at the time of the police riot.
Clayton is definitely a major asset to the Lower East Side community. His video forced the police and the mayor to stop denying what had happened on Aug. 6-7, 1988, and forced the mayor and the police to finally meet with the C.B. 3 community. Clayton continued to film most of the police activity in and around the park without concern for his personal safety.
His archives are and will be extremely valuable to any historian studying the Lower East Side.
Anne K. Johnson
Apocalypse now
To The Editor:
Re “Villagers pack town hall, hoping to stop N.Y.U. plan” (news article, Jan. 5):
New York University’s 2031 plan is the death knell for Greenwich Village and its neighbors. The plan’s impact on light, air quality, traffic, density and health will be catastrophic, and the university’s predatory and grandiose request for rezoning changes would alter the face of Greenwich Village forever.
I’m reminded of what Robert Oppenheimer, quoting the Bhagavad Gita, said after the atomic detonation in New Mexico: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
N.Y.U.’s plan, if approved, is death to our neighborhood, the destroyer of worlds. The plan must be stopped.
Rhoma Mostel
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