For more than a decade, residents of Lower Manhattan have benefited from the protection, advocacy, and vision of a staunch civic champion.
During that time, Catherine McVay Hughes has served not only as chair of Community Board 1 (CB1), but has also lobbied relentlessly for programs to protect the health of Downtown residents affected by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, sought to manage the scale and pace of redevelopment in the years following that tragedy, argued eloquently for building new schools, and has sounded Cassandra calls about the need to flood protection and resiliency measure in advance of the next extreme weather event.
But, last week, she completed her second term as CB1’s chief, and is now passing the baton. Below, she reflects on her tenure, and predicts what challenges lay ahead.
Why is now the right time to step down? Is this a difficult decision?
It was not a difficult choice to step down this year. I always planned to serve as chair for two terms (four years) after being vice chair for six years and before that, chairing the Financial District Committee for some time. I have worked full time for years rebuilding our neighborhood and there are lots of folks now on the Board who represent the new residents with diverse backgrounds. They should have an opportunity to take on more leadership positions and address the changing needs of a district that has more than tripled in population since September 11, 2001.
As we approach the 15-year anniversary of September 11th and the four-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, I am proud to have worked with so many smart and thoughtful people in rebuilding our community. It has been an exciting time, with lots of change, including the reincorporation of the World Trade Center into the fabric of Downtown. This change can be seen in our skyline and landscape. Also, with the renewal of the Zadroga Bill in December 2015, we can be confident that September 11 responders and survivors will get the healthcare they need.
What accomplishments are you proudest of?
During my 18 years on the Community Board, I am most proud of bringing back our community after September 11, 2001 and then again after Hurricane Sandy.
In between those events, the 2008 financial collapse created its own challenges.
Vulnerability to our infrastructure was highlighted and the need to advocate for sustainable building practices that would result in energy-efficient buildings was critical to the bottom line for energy resiliency, and to minimize the impact of extreme weather events and sea-level rise. It has been important to fight for clean air and water by advocating for cleaner fuel, such as the use of ultra low sulfur fuel, catalytic converters, as well as moving away from dirty heating oil, and minimizing vehicle idling. It has also been a priority to prevent fracking in New York City’s precious watershed. It is important that there are green places of refuge to escape the density of skyscrapers — so the addition and funding of dozens of acres of high-quality public, open green parks has increased, including at The Battery, Governors Island (including two new ball fields), Peck Slip, Liz Berger Park, the Hudson River Park, and the completion of the East River Esplanade up through the Brooklyn Bridge.
Now more people are loving our neighborhood — almost too many! The recent opening of Liberty Park at the end of June is an example of the Port Authority and the community working together to transform what would have been the rooftop of a parking garage into an elevated one-acre park with a living green wall.
What was the biggest surprise, or the thing you least expected, during your tenure?
It’s shocking how government will forget about issues and it’s up to us to shine a spotlight on what matters. Taking care of our first responders with the Zadroga Bill — why was that a battle? Or checking air quality post-September 11, and getting a proper cleanup outside and inside buildings. It’s also crazy that we have to push so hard for government to work on resiliency for CB1. Despite all this, I still believe in democracy, but… wow!
What have you learned, or what insights have you gleaned about how to govern at the community level?
The most important thing is to listen and to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to be heard. I truly believe in the community process and having vigorous conversations on difficult topics. Downtowners are smart and committed, and they know their block and street better than anyone. Sometimes I feel like this bottom-up, grass-roots energy is the only thing driving the rest of the system.
What was your biggest source of frustration or disappointment?
The slow pace that government works and the lack of oversight.
As we approach the four-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, there is no comprehensive resiliency plan in place and the City’s community engagement process, which was expected to take two years, has not even started for “Manhattan Tip,” the waterfront south of Brooklyn Bridge.
Also, after several years of working with the City and all levels of government, attending countless meetings and hearings, the City has allocated only $100 million to a project which has been estimated at multiples of that, but many other parts of the City have all the funding they need, such as the entire East River waterfront north of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Unfortunately, there was no additional funding allocated in this year’s budget, which the City Council just passed in June. Thanks to Borough President Brewer office, we have created a preliminary engagement structure for a Manhattan Tip Resiliency Task Force, which will be important when the City begins the process — hopefully by the end of July.
The City is not prepared for extreme climate events and sea-level rise that threatens the fourth-largest business district in the country. We may not know the exact month and year, but these are predictable threats: We know what’s coming. If the power and telecommunication grids are out and the trains stop working, “Manhattan Tip” stops — and so does a lot of New York and the tri-state region.
What did you not know as a member of CB1 (before becoming chair) that you came to understand as chair?
The time-frame for the City to respond and to complete a project, even a little one, is extremely slow and would never be tolerated in the private sector. One of the three things that community boards are supposed to focus on is the delivery of City services. It can take forever to get Parks to fix a broken light fixture in City Hall Park, plant a tree in an empty tree pit or complete a segment of a park, such as the northern part of Collect Pond, or to repair the Esplanade damaged by Sandy at the Seaport. There is a revolving door of politicians and people at the agencies, which only exacerbates the bureaucracy.
What are the most important goals, challenges, or pieces of unfinished business in the years ahead for CB1 and the Lower Manhattan community?
Given our turnaround over the past 15 years, there are definitely growing pains and it is necessary for the infrastructure to catch up.
Everything about city life needs to adapt, from school seats to subway seats.
We need to make our streets safer and reduce the congestion on streets and sidewalks. That means dealing with the vendors and ticket sellers, the tour buses, and the scourge of placard parking, which is especially hard for us to fight since the people we need to persuade in government are the ones taking advantage of the placards!
There’s still a lot of construction scaffolding that never seems to go away, and modern families count on e-commerce deliveries, which means more trucks dropping off packages and lots of empty cardboard boxes to recycle.
What advice would you offer the next chair of CB1?
Although CB1 is only 1.5 square miles, it is a very diverse community and the needs are different in different areas. Battery Park City and Tribeca are wonderful — they have the challenges that come from being popular.
That means attention to landmarking and rising real estate prices: How can we keep the small businesses that make it livable and unique and increase the residential representation on the BPCA?
The Financial District is still in transition and has a different set of issues: rapidly growing population crammed into a street grid that’s older than the country. They need a program like Smart Streets, which has had a lot of success in Europe, managing congestion, trash pickup, and so on.
And the Seaport Historic District’s turnaround has only just begun: There are very big questions there about land use and how to make those assets — the museum, the ships, the historical buildings — sustainable in the long term, while also preserving their unique character. But as different as each area is, capital investment in resiliency and school seats are needed throughout the district, as well as the need to minimize the impact of 90 major construction projects with little City coordination and no funding yet for a vehicular and pedestrian study to address the increased density.
What advice would you offer to the Lower Manhattan community as a whole as it tries to navigate issues such as school crowding, development, and September 11 health, in the years ahead?
Get involved! Ask the tough questions! Demand specific responses, not clichés about “being heard.” Attend the public meetings, speak up during the public sessions and testify.
It is important for the community members to actively participate, whether it is at your community board or neighborhood association.
If you do not engage, others will make those decisions for you — whether you want them to or not.
At a minimum, go out and vote, since your elected officials determine who will be working in the agencies that serve you and how your hard-earned taxes are spent. Even when you don’t like the choices available in an election, voting still gives you power in the process.
Every single school seat, playground, park, ball field, school crossing guard, World Trade Center health program, community center, Notify NYC bulletin, and so much more that makes our community the envy of so many, came about because of those who cared enough to get involved and effectively advocate as a team.
What comes next for you, personally?
Personally, what comes next for me is that I would like to enjoy the community that we have all created, together with my family and friends in the best place to live and to work in the world!