BRAMA, November 2, 2001, 1 pm ET

Score 1 for the Ukrainians - But is Taras Shevchenko Place safe?

In the ongoing battle with The Cooper Union over a large-scale development plan proposed by the university, New York Ukrainians and other East Village community residents scored their first victory last Wednesday. ULURP Q10429MM for the demapping of Taras Shevchenko Place was formally withdrawn, thereby preserving the little street as a vehicular passageway and possibly preventing some of the construction plans that were envisioned by The Cooper Union.

After considerable confusion about the actual location, some 200 people squeezed into the assigned space for the Scoping Meeting held on October 31. With the room filled to capacity, the hearing which was scheduled to begin at 10am was rolling by 9:20 since all parties were present. Protocol dictated the order of speakers starting with the "Applicant" Cooper Union, and followed respectively by elected officials, appointed officials, and, last, the general public.

Paul Travis, a planner for The Cooper Union large-scale development proposal, announced the withdrawal of the demapping request as the first order of business. No other changes to the original plans were offered. This, despite the summer-long Task Force meetings between The Cooper Union and local community organizations, including the Shevchenko Preservation Committee and the Coalition to Save the East Village, that were conducted at the request of Community Board 3.

Lisa Kaplan, chair of Community Board 3, has favored negotiation and compromise regarding the plans right from the start of the process early this year, and once again underscored her concerns to the Cooper Union team at the Scoping Meeting.

Jaroslaw Kurowyckyj, head of the Shevchenko Preservation Committee, was pleased to note the presence of a number of local officials, all of whom expressed "support for the position of the Coalition to Save the East Village in the strongest terms." Coming out on behalf of the East Village residents were U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-08), Senator Martin Connor, the Democratic Minority Leader of the New York State Senate, and State Assemblywoman Deborah J. Glick (Dist #66, glickd@assembly.state.ny.us). New York State Senator Thomas K. Duane spoke eloquently and in depth, breaking the project down into its various components and addressing each of the issues affecting the community.

Mention was made in the cancellation of the ULURP was that it would preclude any "below grade" development, i.e., suggesting that some underground construction was being considered. This was of particular concern to the parishioners of St. George Church which is adjacent to the property in question. Ukrainians feared that acquisition of Taras Shevchenko Place would not only have eliminated an important presence on the maps of New York City, but would also have provided The Cooper Union with an opportunity to begin an unbridled expansion of its properties into the Ukrainian enclave and other surrounding neighborhoods.

The Taras Shevchenko Place demapping was a preliminary step proposed by The Cooper Union towards the reconstruction of the Hewitt Building at the corner of 7^th Street and 3^rd Avenue. The existing two-story structure is to be demolished in order to make room for a 9-story "mostly academic" building (some retail space is included in the design for the new engineering school). This part of the plan poses additional concerns especially for Ukrainian Catholics because the shadow that will be cast by the taller structure will shade the stained-glass windows of St. George Church. The church was built in 1978 at a cost of $10 million to the parishioners, and it was designed with the assumption that western exposure to the sun would always be there to illuminate the expensive windows.

Concerns about the new proposed Hewitt Building, which directly affect the Ukrainian community, is no less of an issue for other local residents. Objections have been raised about the demolition of the "old" 6-story Engineering school building at 8^th Street and 3^rd Avenue which is to be replaced by a 13-story mega-sized commercial structure. Air-space and light will be lost, not to mention the increased pedestrian and vehicular traffic that will be brought into the area. Residents are worried that these would be compounded exponentially by the proposed Astor Hotel on a property leased to developer Ian Shrager (of Studio 54 fame). Most of all, residents question whether the Cooper Union, which receives tax allowances as an academic institution, really needs the type of development proposed in order to survive. Controversies have arisen regarding loopholes that have permitted what is considered by some to be excessive commercial development at a cost to taxpayers.

It is not known at this time whether the Department of City Planning has accepted The Cooper Union's withdrawal of the ULURP to demap Taras Shevchenko Place.

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