March 12, 2007
Dr. Rohit T. Aggarwala
Director of Long-term Planning and Sustainability
City of New York
Mayor's Office of Operations
253 Broadway, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10007
Dear Dr. Aggarwala:
As a leading voice on neighborhood environmental and planning matters,
the Riverdale Nature Preservancy is adding our communal perspective to
the PlaNYC2030 process. The Riverdale Nature Preservancy is a member
organization representing some 450 households in the northwest Bronx.
We have long stood at the forefront of efforts to maintain a clean, green,
and appropriately developed community. Our success in this regard is
well-known throughout the City, as Riverdale enjoys an outstanding
reputation as one of the “gems” of New York City: a neighborhood known
for its high quality of life and the natural beauty of its environment.
After many months of work, in December 2006 Mayor Michael Bloomberg
announced the launch of plaNYC2030, a long-term growth and
sustainability plan intended to guide the City’s policymaking efforts in
several different areas over the coming decades. Importantly, plaNYC2030
is very forward thinking about climate change issues, reflecting concerns
about how rising sea levels and more extreme weather events could
adversely affect our coastal city. Thousands of New Yorkers have
contributed their voices to the planning process through the multiple
venues set up by the Mayor and his planning office, providing an important
street-level perspective of what can be done in the future to improve their
neighborhoods and their city.
We are therefore pleased to offer the enclosed suggestions to the Mayor
and his team, focusing our attention on those policies and programs that
address the ten key long-term planning goals the Mayor outlined in
December. In most cases, these suggestions are Riverdale-specific,
addressing deficiencies in local services or infrastructure, or amenities that
we would like to see addressed. In certain instances, however, our
recommendations would also provide benefits to others around the City,
and we hope the Mayor will establish similar policies elsewhere to ensure
(over)
Riverdale Nature Preservancy
March 12, 2007, page 2
widespread public benefit in the areas of conservation, preservation, environmental
protection, public health, and traffic congestion reduction.
Thank you for this opportunity to add our voice to this historic planning effort. As we
continue to develop additional ideas, we anticipate sending you further correspondence. If
you need to contact us, you can reach Peter Kohlmann, our Co-president, at 917-733-7383.
Sincerely yours,
Franz W. Paasche
Co-president
Peter S. Kohlmann
Co-president
Enclosure