LOWER EAST SIDE — The replacement of a decades-old fan plant ventilating the M line under Forsyth Street will require construction alongside a beloved community garden that could take up to four years, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The MTA says the work will have minimal impact on much of the M'Finda Kalunga Community Garden within Sara D. Roosevelt Park, save removing a few trees and digging up the neighboring sidewalk — signaling a sharp departure from a heavily intrusive plan that had community members fearful for the garden's preservation two weeks prior.
An earlier draft of the plan, dated Sept. 22, called for the removal of 2,000 square feet of the garden — a scope of work garden co-chair Jane Barrer said would have destroyed the turtle pond and children's garden in addition to ripping up trees and fences.
The draft was obtained by head gardener Bob Humber when he stumbled across a New York Transit Authority meeting near the garden on Sept. 26, said Barrer.
"Not one of the gardeners knew they had plans there — no one in the garden, no one in the Sara D. Roosevelt Park Coalition, no one in the BRC [senior center]. Nobody knew about it," said Barrer. "We were completely blindsided."
"We are asking to be informed," she added.
In the following weeks, distressed community members struggled to get answers from the MTA. Kathleen Webster, vice-chair of Community Board 3's Parks Committee, said her requests for more information as president of the Sara D. Roosevelt Parks Coalition went unanswered.
But the authority seems to have changed course. MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz told DNAinfo New York that based on the plan's latest design, there will be "absolutely minimal or virtually no impact" on the area occupied by Sara D. Roosevelt Park, the fencing along Forsyth Street, the turtle pond, the park's entrance, and the park's "ecology and environment" due to the park's importance to the public.
Up to six trees on the sidewalk along Forsyth Street will probably be impacted, but the authority is dedicated to working with the Parks Department to mitigate the impact, said Ortiz. Likewise, any sidewalk torn up during construction will be restored following the project's completion.
The project, expected to take between three-and-a-half and four years, is set to install a new fan plant to service the M line, which would bring in fresh air and expel smoke in case of a fire.
The new fan plant, to be implemented beneath Forsyth Street between Delancey and Rivington streets, is a critical safety upgrade for the M line's outdated ventilation system, said Ortiz. The existing fan plant, built in 1962, is run down and does not meet current safety guidelines.
Barrer says she understands the need for the project and the necessary safety upgrades it will bring, but added she will remain wary of the project's impact on the neighboring garden.
But mostly, she said, locals want to be kept in the loop when it comes to projects directly impacting beloved community resources.
The garden is a vital oasis in a community with little green space, she said, and has become an important sanctuary for the neighborhood's most vulnerable populations.
Gardeners and activists in the 1980s worked to transform the patch of Sara D. Roosevelt Park — then overrun by drugs and crime — into a space offering refuge to the homeless and special programs for children and seniors.
When asked what precipitated the authority's decision to alter the plan to minimize impact on the garden, the MTA did not respond. When asked at what stage the community would receive formal notice of the project and whether community feedback would be sought, the authority also did not respond.
A Parks Department spokeswoman said the department has met with the MTA to discuss their "preliminary proposal" for the project, and echoed the MTA's insistence on minimal impact to the park.
"Parks' goal ultimately would be to have minimal impact to the garden during their process," said Parks spokeswoman Crystal Howard.
