BY DEBORAH J. GLICK | This is an exciting time for the Village. I am incredibly proud to be part of the successful lawsuit against the wildly inappropriate N.Y.U. 2031 plan. I have stood with the community from the very beginning of its struggle in fighting this overdevelopment, and in doing so, preserving the qualities that make the Village special.
I organized multiple rallies against New York University’s plan and then joined as a plaintiff in a lawsuit to stop its implementation. I am extremely pleased that in this case justice was on our side. The court has found in our favor, and in my estimation N.Y.U. must go back to square one and present a different plan that does not include usurping public parkland for its own development.
STATE ASSEMBLY
My experience with N.Y.U., coupled with surviving a Bloomberg administration that never met an upzoning it didn’t like, has led me to call on the city to rezone the South Village. Although it is a historic district, there are no height limits on future development. I think such limits are necessary to help preserve the character of the neighborhood, since the Landmarks Preservation Commission does not have specific guidelines in this regard. I am extremely hopeful that the administration of Mayor de Blasio will be more amendable to the concerns of community members rather than of developers.
In listening to the community regarding its needs, one does not have to look very hard to see that our local public schools are bursting at the seams. We are in desperate need of school seats, which is why I’m so excited about the prospect of the property at 75 Morton St. finally being turned into a school.
It is hard to imagine that the community’s fight to claim 75 Morton St. started almost seven years, and three governors ago. Massive school overcrowding in the Village, the loss of our only middle school, plus an underutilized site owned by the state at 75 Morton, presented an opportunity to make a compelling case to the city and state for this to become a reality.
However, as we all know, it takes more than a great idea to get results for a community. That is why I am so excited that we are finally on the verge of having this property turned over to the School Construction Authority to begin work on development and construction.
Transferring a building from the state to the city is fraught with bureaucratic red tape and unexpected roadblocks. I am pleased that I have been able to use my experience and influence to help make this project come to fruition.
I also would be remiss if I didn’t express gratitude toward community member Irene Kaufman, who has been tireless in her efforts to bring this issue to everyone’s attention (including making a trip to Albany!) as well as our district leader, Keen Berger, who has been unrelenting in placing pressure on both the city and state to make this happen.
As for Albany matters, our state laws regarding reproductive freedom were changed before Roe v Wade but fall short of the protections that federal law affords. That is why I have sponsored the Reproductive Health Act, to update our own reproductive freedom laws. I am pleased that it became a part of the governor’s Women’s Equality Act. W.E.A. is a package of 10 bills, to enhance protections for women in areas from pay equity to domestic violence.
While the package included less-aggressive versions of previously passed Assembly bills, these bills had never passed the state Senate. W.E.A. is an attempt to pass a comprehensive package of bills, including the Reproductive Health Act. I won’t give up on this basic right of women to make their own personal healthcare decisions.
Glick is assemblymember,
66th Assembly District
