City College Expansion Plans Incite Heated Debate at CB9

Sparks flew over City College of New York’s proposed expansion and a resolution concerning the relocation of Hamilton Grange to St. Nicholas Park at a Community Board 9 general meeting Thursday night.

City College, a campus of the public City University of New York located at 137th Street, has proposed to expand its campus in the wake of city approval of Columbia’s Manhattanville plans. While representatives and architects for the college presented their expansion plans to the community board and promised to hear its concerns, they later announced that plans could no longer be changed. This ignited outrage among board members.

“Some time ago there was some time for community input, but unfortunately not now,” City College Director of Urban and Government Affairs Karen Witherspoon said at the meeting, responding to a question from CB9 Chair Pat Jones regarding “mechanisms for community input.”

“We do not mean to exclude the community, we don’t mean to take the community’s space, but we’re very lacking in science, so painful sacrifices must be made. As much as I understand these concerns, we are desperate for this space,” Witherspoon added.

Board members and attendees expressed frustration with what many characterized as “after-the-fact consultation.” City College should have followed City Charter regulations and consulted with CB9 years ago when change was still possible, said board member and former chair Jordi Reyes-Montblanc. “Don’t be surprised that a lot of people here are kind of upset that something is being constructed that we have very little information about and is being done in a very nonchalant way,” he said.

The expansion, which will contain new health and science facilities, will yield benefits for the community in its “health-oriented” research, said a City College administrator who attended the meeting. He called the college’s plan “a public goal, not a private one,” and maintained that the campus would remain open to the community.

But, said board member Savona Bailey-McClain, the community should be compensated with short-term benefits and ways to mitigate potential impacts of the college’s expansion. Others took issue with aspects of the expansion plan itself, such as the demolishment of centuries-old trees and a running track that used to be open for community use.

Close to the end of the meeting, Ron Melichar, president of the Hamilton Heights-West Harlem Community Preservation Organization, switched the focus to discuss the Hamilton Grange plan. Melichar spoke of a “four-week window” during which changes to the plan to move the historic home of Alexander Hamilton from its current location on W. 143rd Street into St. Nicholas Park can be made.

A resolution regarding the Grange relocation, and concerns that its facade will face a different direction, had been tabled by CB9’s executive committee for voting at Thursday’s meeting due to what Jones said was “a lack of clarity.”

Local resident Michael Henry Adams expressed anger with the situation, accusing CB9 officers of being “sell-outs” and “doing this deliberately to destroy a great landmark.” Adams entered into a loud conflagration with other board members, and at one point had to be physically restrained.

“What was raised here was not raised at the executive meeting,” Jones said with regard to the committee’s decision. The next opportunity to vote on the resolution will take place after the end of the four-week window.

daniel.amzallag@columbiaspectator.com