BRAMA, October 1, 2002, 1 am ET

New York, September 30, 2002 — With only so-called "friendly" modifications making the language even stronger, the Joint Community Board 2 and 3 Task Force unanimously approved its resolution to urge the City Council reject the Cooper Union Large Scale Development Plan in its current form. Note items 4 and 5 which directly address the Hewitt property adjacent to St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church and Academy. The Resolution will be presented to the City Council at the public hearing on October 1. For information about this controversial issue, see the "RELATED" links below.

Proposed Resolution of the
Joint Community Board 2 and 3 Task Force on Cooper Union
September 30, 2002

Joint Community Board 2 and 3 Task Force on Cooper Union continues to be opposed to Cooper Union's General Large Scale Development plan as it appears before the City Council for a vote on ULURP items C20498ZMM, C 020499SM, C 020500PPM, and C02501PPM. We appreciate the input provided by the Borough President and the City Planning Commission in getting concessions from Cooper regarding such issues as the design of the buildings, the amount of community facility space, and a reduction in the bulk at the Engineering site.

We are convinced that the changes are insufficient to mitigate the negative effectsthe plan will have on our neighborhood and its dangerous precedents for the future.

The proposal as reflected in the vote by City Planning including the Restrictive Declaration is inadequate because:

1. There is still no inclusion of the Parking Lot Site, which is the better site for commercial development, and its omission leaves us with no controls on its future development.
2. The upzoning of the Engineering site to C6-3 is excessive. It establishes a precedent for an FAR of 10 in a largely residential area of a considerably lower scale.
3. The modified plan provides no assurance to us that the buildings involved will not later be developed for uses different from those currently proposed (such as residential). The community will have no say in later changes that are permitted within the controls proposed in the special permit.
4. Retail use is still included in the Hewitt Site. There are no controls established to mitigate against the secondary commercial displacement that these retail establishments will cause in the immediate neighborhood.
5. The design controls proposed for the Hewitt Building are not sufficient to serve the architectural and cultural importance of St. George's Church and the immediate residential community

We urge the City Council and its Land Use Committee to reject the Cooper Union Proposal.

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