Press Release

Press Release

One Police Plaza Security Plan-Final Environmental Impact Statement: Security vs. Community Safety — Too Little Too Late

For Immediate Release
August 3, 2007

New York City–Two days before today’s New York State Supreme Court hearing on the long overdue Park Row environmental impact statement (EIS), Police Headquarters finally released the One Police Plaza Security Plan, Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) – nearly 2½ years after Judge Walter Tolub ordered them to issue one and nearly 6 years after the NYPD unilaterally took public streets, parks, and sidewalks in their attempt to extend the footprint of their Headquarters. New York’s Chinatown community, which has successfully held the NYPD at bay in their further attempts to expand their footprint, has not had time to fully analyze this document. But in our cursory read of the document we make the following early observations:

  • The NYPD admits “substantial adverse impact” due to the street closures – something they did not admit to in their original Environmental Assessment Statement
  • The section on mitigation is one of the shortest sections in the document and offers no substantive mitigation other than the already re-established bus routes that Mayor Bloomberg ordered back in 2005.
  • A large portion of the public comments on the Draft EIS revolve around numerous suggestions to relocate Police Headquarters. Comments inadequately addressed by this EIS.

This community, which has been presented with the Gordian Knot of “security vs. safety” by the NYPD (“their security” vs. “our safety”) believes that the best way to cut this knot is to relocate Police Headquarters. We will continue to seek short-term relief through the courts and will seek long-term relief by putting forth a detailed plan for the relocation of those NYPD functions that require such extreme and harmful security measures. We will be making announcements in the coming weeks with our legal advisors at Dewey Ballantine LLP and Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Contact:

CIVIC CENTER RESIDENTS COALITION (Danny Chen, Jeanie Chin, Jan Lee)
Roy Taub, Dewey Ballantine LLP
Margaret Fung, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund