By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
LOWER MANHATTAN — The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. has $158 million in post-9/11 recovery funds left to revitalize downtown and wants the community's advice on how to spend it.
At a public forum Thursday afternoon, the LMDC heard from dozens of downtown residents and advocates, who suggested everything from new parks to grants for cultural institutions.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make sure our community will continue to grow and prosper," Councilwoman Margaret Chin told the crowd. "Everyone, get your ideas in."
The $158 million is left over from the $2.7 billion the LMDC received from the federal government after 9/11, much of which has already been spent.
At least $100 million from this newly identified fund will likely go toward the performing arts center at the World Trade Center site, but the remaining $58 million remains up for grabs.
State Sen. Daniel Squadron said that after the performing arts center, the bulk of the money should go toward completing the East River Waterfront, ringing lower Manhattan in parkland.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver joined Squadron in calling for a pedestrian bridge over West Street at West Thames Street, to make the crossing safer for children attending P.S./I.S. 276.
Other ideas raised Thursday include cleaner heating oil in downtown buildings, a revitalized Edgar Plaza in Greenwich South and a permanent fresh-food market at the South Street Seaport.
Several attendees advocated for affordable housing, including Chris Kui, executive director of Asian Americans for Equality.
"With the gentrification [following 9/11], there has been a tremendous amount of harassment and predatory tactics to vacate long-term residents from the neighborhood," Kui said.
Kui asked the LMDC for a $50 million grant to preserve affordable units downtown and educate tenants about their rights.
The LMDC board has already identified its own priorities for the money and will weigh the community's feedback at a meeting next month, an LMDC spokesman said.
Julie Menin, an LMDC board member and chairwoman of Community Board 1, wants the LMDC to put out a request for proposals for the money, rather than just holding a public forum.
"What we cannot do is permit these monies to be allocated in a back-room meeting with no public input or process in place," Menin said Thursday. "Federal taxpayer money should be allocated by clear standards through a request for proposals, rather than for pet projects."
The LMDC is accepting written comments online for the next few weeks.
