Join Rev. Billy to Save Union Square Park

For more on the Union Square take-over, see previous post, April 13, 2008, Are We Losing Union Square?
Dear Lovers of Union Square Park and Freedom in Our City,
By now some of you may have heard of impending changes on the north side of Union Square Park. This effort by the Local Business Improvement District (union square partnership) was sold to the people as a desperately needed "refurbishment" of the Playgrounds and Green Market but it’s little more than a land grab. Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates says, “The city is taking away thousands of square feet of potential play space in an area with the lowest amount of play space in the city and one of the highest concentration of restaurants." Society chef Danny Myer is the chairman of the Union Square Partnership and the future proprietor and profiteer of the fancy cafe planned for the pavilion. It’s construction will include tearing down 14 trees. Construction began on the restarant/pavilion two weeks ago but was halted by a judge that injunction has been upheld but work continues on the playground. Union Square is a nationally recognized site of free speech, and many of the most important moments in our city's history took place there, the pavilion itself was designed for public assemblies. The community needs to make a strong stand against the privatization of this and other parks and public spaces.

By Savitri D

http://www.revbilly.com