PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Catherine Lazaro, Longtime Resident of the Neighborhood, on 135th Street Rezoning Proposal
0:16:50
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129 sec
Catherine Lazaro, a longtime resident since 1985, testifies against a proposed development project, highlighting its potential negative impact on Upper Riverside Park. She emphasizes the community's efforts to transform the area from an abandoned hillside into a verdant oasis and expresses concerns about the project's effect on the park's openness and residents' views.
- Describes the historical transformation of Upper Riverside Park from 1985 to present
- Argues that the proposed development would shade the park and obstruct views
- Challenges the accuracy of the project's rendering, stating the actual impact would be more significant than portrayed
Catherine Lazaro
0:16:50
Hi.
0:16:51
I've lived in this neighborhood since 1985.
0:16:55
And when I first moved here, there was no much not much of a park at all in what we call Upper Riverside Park now from 130 5th to, like, 145th.
0:17:07
It was a lot of like, the whole hillside between 135138 that we see going from Riverside to Twelfth Avenue was simply just dirt.
0:17:17
And I was there at the very beginning in 1997 volunteering with Jenny Benitez.
0:17:23
And many groups of volunteers to take an abandoned hillside full of, you know, needles and and cracker phrenalia and all kinds of garbage and You name it, and it took decades to clean up that area and make it what it is now, a a verdant and beautiful part of the neighborhood.
0:17:47
It's a huge asset and a very rare oasis in in this in this area to have green space.
0:17:53
We're very lucky to have it, and it would totally negatively impact that whole hill side.
0:18:00
It would be become shaded, and it would not have the feeling of being an open park.
0:18:06
It would feel like there's a big development, right, in front of it.
0:18:11
And, yes, like Gabriel Ortiz was saying that rendering is misleading because the 8 stories would actually start, like, when if you actually walk honor side park, vis a vis the location that is proposed.
0:18:26
The the building I mean, the rooftop as it is now, we can see So we would see 8 stories above what we can already see.
0:18:38
It would basically be a huge wall behind that area.
0:18:42
And I have a review.
0:18:45
I'm very fortunate.
0:18:47
And it would you know, abusive obstruction as well in my apartment as well as other residents, but not just for the residents who have used, obviously, all the many, many people in West Harlem who walk by here and enjoy
