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Letters, Week of Nov. 2, 2012

To the Editor:
Re “Rabbi Meyer Hager, spiritual compass of Downtown, dies at 76” (news article, Oct. 17):

Your reporter Helaina Hovitz captured the essence of the late Rabbi Hager, the leader of the Wall Street Synagogue. Truly, he was a man of kindness, compassion and sensitivity to young and old people alike. My two sons were always made so welcome and comfortable when we attended the temple’s Sabbath services, and he was always eager to have all members of the community attend the synagogue’s holiday services and parties. One more possibly unknown character trait of the rabbi: He had a genuine sense of humor, loved a good joke and his laughter was genuine and joyous. His abundant kindness and consideration toward others will be sorely missed by Jew and Christian alike.
Walter Silverman

To the Editor:
Re “Chinatown coalition slams widely praised SPURA plan” (news article, Oct. 17):

With regard to coalition’s opposition to the SPURA plan, a 50 percent proportion of affordable housing is nearly a miracle, and the opposition makes no sense. This ratio means that every market-rate apartment supports one affordable apartment, an incredibly progressive ratio which is the highest proportion achieved anywhere. It is a miracle that the real estate market is expected to support this ratio, and even more so that it is expected that a developer and a financier will be able to work with this ratio.

Take the deal! If people insist on 100 percent affordable, then where are the market-rate apartments that will subsidize the affordable apartments?  Nothing would ever be built.  It seems that the opponents would rather have zero affordable apartments and have vacant lots for the 20 more years than take the offer on the table. Why?
Larry Gould

To the Editor:
Re “Youths continue to battle anxiety caused by 9/11” (news article, Oct. 18):

I want to congratulate Aline Reynolds on a thought-provoking article. She did research and discovered what we have been saying, which is that there are more than a few teens in the area who have post-traumatic stress symptoms. I have personally discovered this to be true as the executive director of Manhattan Youth, the largest community organization in Lower Manhattan. While different families react differently to events in their lives, it is clear that the events of 9/11/01 influence many of our teens’ present-day experiences.
Bob Townley  

To the Editor:
Re “‘Jenga’ building doesn’t fly with local residents” (news article, Oct. 17):

Tribeca residents need to prevent future zoning disasters like this. As a resident of a landmarked area, we are unable to change anything with our own buildings without going through the city Landmarks Preservation Commission, yet a developer who knows “inside baseball” is able to build a post-modern monster. Needless to say, our school overcrowding situation will only get worse. I’d bet dollars to donuts that nobody at the Department of Education knows about it.
Jonathan

To the Editor:
Re. “‘Jenga’ building doesn’t fly with local residents” (news article, Oct. 17):

This article is frankly silly. First, why do you assume that people don’t support this tower? Obviously if you ask the NIMBY “community activists”, they will be against any and all development.

Most people I know support this development, as it will be a future landmark and is designed by one of the most respected architectural teams on earth.
Second, all the arguments for why this tower should be built somewhere else are totally nonsensical. The building is not in any landmark district, therefore landmark rules are irrelevant. Paris does have plenty of high-rise towers, especially in recent years, so Paris would be a very poor argument against the tower.

Finally, the accusations against Lend Lease are absurd, given that the company is active in almost every country on earth. I’m pretty sure they know what they’re doing. And it was Jon Galt, a totally unrelated firm, that was responsible for the Deutsche Bank debacle.
Crawford