I attended the Erie Harbor Development DGEIS hearing last night at the Albright-Knox. At first, it appeared that there would be moderate amount of interest, but as the time drew closer, the auditorium went to SRO.
The guidelines for speaking were laid out; anyone wishing to address the hearing would have to fill out a request. Alloted time for speaking was set at 4 minutes and 8 minutes, depending on the population of the group you were representing, if any.
The "Corporate" speakers did a nice job of presenting what had already taken place in the process; environmental, built, and unbuilt.
Then came time for the "public" to speak.
We were already heading into the second hour when the FIFTH politician was introduced. I left the proceedings. The announced number of people who had requested to speak was "60". If each one was allotted their minimum time, that meant the meeting was to continue for at least another 4 HOURS! And the first 4 speakers had already extended this by their combined 35 minutes. ("I would like to thank everyone for their work. I will now name them all.......".)
Didn't these people have more than enough opportunity to speak "on the record" regarding this project already? We didn't come to here to watch them pat each other on the back. Well, at least I didn't. I wanted to hear some "man-on-the-street" input on this project. I wanted to hear what some others might have to say about the different size projects that were still being considered.
I especially wanted to hear what, as Sam Hoyt called the residents of Marine Drive Apartments, his "1000 neighbors" had to say about this invasion. I call it an invasion because for too long, this group of "residents" has, in total seclusion, called that the area south of Exchange Street and west of Main Street theirs; a private island fortress where only they can live. You and I are allowed to visit the Marina and the Naval Park, but when the sun goes down, we have to leave.
I can only imagine......
("Yes, you can park on the streets, but don't think about entering our "reserved" lot. And, for that matter, now that the Aud is gone, and all the construction is done, we are going to get the City to permanently put up "No Standing Any Time" signs all along Commercial Street and Perry Boulevard. That way, you'll have to park in one of those lots far away from us.")
And, then when the Honorable Mr. Hoyt talked about the residents wanting the speed limit lowered on "their" street, I thought to myself, "Hey, Sam! Have you ever even tried to go over 20 miles per hour on Marine Drive? With all the twists and turns and cars "legally" parked part way into the street, there's no way you can go 30. Why not put in some speed bumps while you're at it."
Where is it possible, in this day and age, for you to rent a two-bedroom apartment, on the waterfront, with private parking, for less than $400.00 per month. YUP! $392.50! OH, but you can't make more than $53,600 for a "family composition" of 4. And, if there's only one of you, and you want a one-bedroom apartment, that'll only be $305 per month. C'MON! REALLY?
Back in the day, I had reason to go into some of those apartments. They don't even compare to any of the other BMHA towers in this city. All the security doors work. The hallways are lit, the elevators don't smell, and there's no graffiti on the walls. I think most of these residents gotta "know" somebody; they're the family, friends, neighbors, supporters (wink-wink, nod-nod) of every person who has ever held a political office or patronage job in the City/County in the last 50 years. They'll all deny it, of course. You KNOW that they got those apartments like everyone else; they put their names on the list and waited their turn. (Excuse me while I throw up.)
So, when it comes to this project, the residents of Marine Drive Apartments want the least amount of additional disruption they can get their political friends to provide. NIMBY! Nothing built close to the water. Nothing taller than a chain-link fence. Nothing closer than what was there before. (Of course, you mean the old Lehigh Valley train station, right?) Wouldn't we all love to have a two-block buffer of nothing but open, flat, cleaned out land around our homes? Where we can see the intruders coming before they get close........
I can imagine hearing them say......
"You can't put that parking ramp there. Why, it'll ruin the view I have of Exchange and Terrace."
"If you put that there, I'll have to put up with cars coming and going all day long. Not like it is now, where those people come and park in the morning and then, thank God, they leave at night."
"Putting that building right there will mean that I'll have to share. I don't want to share. My son/daughter told me that I wouldn't have to, if I aggreed to leave the house and move down here."
"RV's. RV's! The next thing you know, there'll be Gypsy's moving in under the Skyway!"
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