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

Are We Losing Union Square?

Here we go again. First Washington Square Park loses the fountain and gets "No Loitering" (???) signs to ward off the "bad guys" trying to play chess, now this:
Union Square Boondoggle (Indypendent)
Parks Dept. privatization plan for Union Square Park comes under fire
By Alex Kane, April 12, 2008 02:31PM EDT
The chain link fences are up around the north end of Union Square Park as the city prepares to launch a $20 million renovation that critics say privileges private business interests over the public good.

The overhaul began in 2002 as a $1.9 million initiative by then City Council Member Margarita Lopez to improve two playgrounds on both sides of the pavilion at the north end of Union Square. By 2004, the Parks Department and the Union Square Partnership had folded the playground money into a $14 million scheme that would install a privately run restaurant in the pavilion. The pricetag is now at $20 million with an anonymous donor contributing $5 million.
“There’s absolutely no rationale for the city to be doing this except to appease business groups,” said Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates, a nonprofit watchdog group dedicated to monitoring New York City’s public spaces. “This is an area with the highest concentration of restaurants in New York City, and the lowest amount of playground space. The fact that the Business Improvement District has been able to usurp the public’s interest and the community’s interest is very unfortunate.” [...]
http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2008/04/96223.html