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Consents & Variances
Application by the Garment District Alliance to upgrade and unify the current light pole designs within their district
At the monthly meeting of Community Board Five on Thursday, October 09, 2014, the Board passed the following resolution with a vote of 36 in favor; 0 opposed; 2 abstaining:
WHEREAS, The Garment Center Alliance is seeking the support of Community Board Five for the replacement of 185 current street lights (of three varying styles: the Bishop Crook, the Cobra Head, and the Grand Central Partnership) with new, uniform, LED lights within the Garment District; and
WHEREAS, The majority of these lights are between 9th Avenue and 5th Avenue, and above 34th Street and below 42nd Street, with the replacement of the Bishop Crook's poles along the Avenues in this region already underway; and
WHEREAS, The Garment Center Alliance wants to use $30,000 of its own funding along with $450,000 in capital funding allotted to it by the Office of the Manhattan Borough President and by Councilmember Corey Johnson for street light replacements that will be returned to the City if not used; and
WHEREAS, On design of the chosen LED street lights, many members felt the new design was aesthetically inconsistent, and even jarring, and were unclear about how or why this design was chosen among the many styles currently available; and
WHEREAS, The Board has not been presented with data substantiating the argument that the investment in the chosen LED street lights provide a long-term cost savings for the City; and
WHEREAS, The Board wants to know more about what these new poles offer in terms of increased lighting or safety, as well as whether the current poles pose any type of safety risk or any other functional problems; and
WHEREAS, The Board wants to know more specifics about the Garment Alliance's funding for the project, including any stipulations or any major deadlines associated with the financing of the LED lights; and
WHEREAS, The Board is very concerned about the proposed phases of installation, including why the phases were planned in the current manner with respect to timing, location, and general sequencing of installation, and how the funding of this project will ensure its full and speedy completion; therefore be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends denial of the current application from the Garment Center Alliance to replace street lighting.