BY LESLEY SUSSMAN | Gigi Li, who has served as second vice chairperson of Community Board 3 for the past two years, was elected Tuesday night June 26, as the East Village/Lower East Side board’s new chairperson. She replaces Dominick Pisciotta Berg, who chaired C.B. 3 for the past four years and did not seek re-election.
Li, a Chinatown resident, was the only nominee for the post and became the first community board chairperson of Chinese descent in all of New York City.
Li previously co-chaired C.B. 3’s Chinatown Working Group Immigration and Social Services Subcommittee. She works as the co-director of the Neighborhood Family Services Coalition, a nonprofit organization serving youth, children and families in the Chinatown area.
She said her first priority was to “continue maximizing the community board’s role in the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area agenda.”
The new board chairperson, who was elected with only one opposing vote, said she would also like to “look at the day-to-day board procedures and committees and maybe spur up their effectiveness.”
John Leo, co-chairperson of the board’s Chinatown Working Group, hailed Li’s election.
“It’s about time that we had an Asian woman as chairperson of this community board,” he said. “She lives and works in the neighborhood and knows it well. She is representative of it.”
It was a busy four-hour session for the full community board, which met at BRC Senior Services Center, 30 Delancey St. About 100 local residents attended the meeting.
Highlighting the evening was a lengthy and sometimes contentious debate on whether or not C.B. 3 should support a liquor license application for a new bar and restaurant that wants to operate at 221 East Broadway.
Many community residents and several board members spoke out strongly against approving the application, by co-owners Sivan Harlap and Andrew States, because the new establishment would be located near five religious institutions and four public schools. Opponents said it would violate the State Liquor Authority’s 200-foot rule prohibiting the sale of liquor near schools or houses of worship.
Harlap and States have operated B-Side, at 204 Avenue B at 12th St., for nine years. They said the proposed new bar at East Broadway and Clinton St. would be “totally different” than their Avenue B punk bar. It would include a chip shop purveying “the best kosher fish, chips and falafel you’ve ever had,” Harlap said.
Several residents from the Seward Park Co-operative, which is located directly across the street from the proposed new bar and restaurant, were joined by Marc Rivera, the pastor of the Primitive Christian Church on East Broadway, and some of his members in speaking out against the application.
Some of these residents argued that the new establishment would feature French-style windows that would be open in nice weather and that this would create too much nighttime noise in the largely quiet, residential neighborhood.
Speakers in support of the application, however, argued that the neighborhood below Delancey St. and east of Essex St. had very few places for people to gather and socialize late at night. They also argued that sections of East Broadway were dimly lit at night and that a late-night bar and restaurant would help keep the streets safe.
Harlap told C.B. 3 that B-Side had operated for several years with no noise complaints, and that every measure would be taken — including soundproofing the establishment -— to ensure that neighbors were not disturbed.
The board found itself deadlocked on its first vote on the measure, which called for denial of the liquor license application. Afterward, outgoing C.B. 3 Chairperson Berg said he wanted to see the owners respond to community concerns.
The resolution that finally passed said the board would support the application if the owners agreed to close their windows at 9 p.m. and to serve food all the way until the place’s 4 a.m. closing time. Both owners agreed to do so.
Another stipulation the board requested was that the S.L.A. investigate whether the proposed bar was in violation of a regulation prohibiting the serving of alcohol within 200 feet of a religious institution or school.
After the meeting, Harlap said she was “relieved” by the vote.
“The stomachache I’ve had the past couple of weeks is finally beginning to go away,” she said.
In other important business, Board 3 unanimously approved the proposed conversion of a former 1.5-acre trolley terminal between the Williamsburg Bridge and Essex St. into an underground park.
The so-called “Low Line” is being developed by Dan Barasch and James Ramsey, co-founders of the Delancey Underground Project. The Low Line is envisioned to provide much needed additional green space in the heart of the Lower East Side.
Although some board members had previously voiced concern that the new project might compete with other local parks that are struggling for funding and resources, there was no debate on the proposal at the Tuesday night meeting.
Board member Morris Faitelewicz expressed the feelings of many members when he told this paper, “I’m very much in support of it.”
“We have an area that is underdeveloped and this will create more jobs,” he said. “In combination with the SPURA project, this is a big plus for economic development.”
Regular business at the meeting was briefly suspended as a slate of political leaders, their representatives and board members thanked Berg for his four years of service as board chairperson.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was among elected officials to personally appear and thank Berg. He presented the outgoing chairperson with a certificate of appreciation.
“You’ve distinguished yourself as chairman of C.B. 3,” Silver said. “You’ve been an advocate for housing, social justice and all the important issues we face in our community.”
Silver was joined by state Senator Tom Duane, who told Berg, “You’ve done terrific work protecting small businesses and helping the expansion of the Lower East Side.”
Berg told board members that he was honored to have served as board chairperson.
“I’m very much moved by all this,” he said. “We’ve accomplished a great deal, from the improvement of the East River waterfront to improving bus service.
“SPURA took most of my energy, but it was well worth it,” he said. “There were some issues I couldn’t address — like having shorter meetings — and I wish Gigi the best in carrying on.”
The board also heard from a spokesperson for state Senator Daniel Squadron, who said the senator had been successful in getting the M.T.A. to review its L train service in response to skyrocketing ridership — especially on weekends.
The representative said 16 more L trains would be added on weekdays, 11 additional trains on Saturdays and seven more on Sundays.
“This is great news,” he said, “for riders tired of long wait times, crushing crowds and overflowing trains.”
The board also heard from a spokesperson for Margaret Chin, who said the city councilmember had convinced the Department of Education to allow C.B. 3 to resume meeting in schools without being charged a fee to do so.
