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Correspondence

March 22, 1972

Letter from Irving Brodsky about the Welfare of Jewish West Side Tenants (1972)

The Jewish Center
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Correspondence

Letter from Judge Alvin Hellerstein about West Side Public Housing and its Effect on Jewish Center Membership (1972)

Dear Rabbi Lamm: As requested by your letter of December 2, 1971, I reviewed the master plan for New York City, published in 1969. Volume 4 of that plan deals with Manhattan, and pages 96 through 104 of Volume 4 deal with the West Side/Lincoln Square/Upper West Side area, that comprehended by Manhattan Community Planning District 7. That portion of the plan was republished and available at the hearing I discuss below, and I enclose a copy. The 1969 plan, except for a few changes that do not appear to be significant, is the one in effect.Community Planning District 7 extends from 59th St. to 110th St., from Central Park West to the Hudson River. In our particular area, you are familiar with the Urban Renewal activities from 87th St. to 97th St. There is no public housing planned south of 87th St. and north of 72nd St., with the possibility of a few exceptions that do not seem to be significant.With respect to the Urban Renewal Project between 87th and 97th St., the 1969 plan proposed for 2,500 low income units, 5,421 middle income units and 151 luxury units. In addition, 485 brownstones were slated for renovation.Within the past several months, a modification to this proposal has been seriously discussed, resulting in various proposals to the applicable city agency. I am not familiar with the details of the proposals. From the opposition that was expressed by a number of speakers at the hearing I attended, I gather that no substantial changes are intended to the allocations established by the 1969 plan.On January 10, 1972, at Brandeis High School a public hearing was held with respect to the plan for Community Planning District 7. I attended that meeting between approximately 9:30 and 11:00 and heard a number of different speakers. Most of the speakers who addressed themselves to housing expressed concern that the area between 72nd St. and 96th St. was witnessing a substantial shift from low income groupings to relatively high income groupings.Based on my study of t…
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Correspondence

Letter to Dr. Marvin Schick about the Welfare of Jewish West Side Tenants (1972)

Dear Marvin: It was a pleasure seeing you at the “Sukkah in the Sky” a couple of weeks ago. I assume that with the closing of the holidays, both of us have come down to earth. Permit me to burden you with a request for information which you may be in a position to obtain for me. There is a good deal of housing going up in the area just north of my synagogue. I am anxious to contact Jewish residents both for purposes of “schooling” and “shooling.” The Housing and Development Administration sent me the Directory of Publicly Aided Housing Developments, but that does not contain a list of names of tenants. Hence, two questions: 1. Is such a list of names available so that we might pick out the Jewish names? 2. Does the city have any lists of specifically Jewish tenants? Do be good enough to let me hear from you, and best regards. Cordially, Rabbi Norman Lamm
The Jewish Center

Correspondence

Letter to Michael Burak and Richard Swergold about West Side Neighborhood Development (1974)

Dear Michael and Rickey, I have long been concerned by developments in the neighborhood. The welfare and future of The Jewish Center is inextricably tied up with developments on the West Side. I feel that it is not enough for us to react, but we must be "on top of things" insofar as neighborhood developments are concerned. The officers of The Center have asked me to invite the two of you to constitute a committee that will be involved both in the Planetarium Neighborhood Council and in seeking out information about the new construction that is going on in Columbus Avenue, West End Avenue, and elsewhere, which might affect us and potential membership.A gentleman who does not belong to The Center, but who joins us frequently for services and classes, Mr. Herbert Lauer, has taken the trouble to write to me about some of these matters. Another young man who has expressed an interest in these matters, and similarly joins us for services frequently though he is not a member, is Dr. Stanley Ocken of 107 West 86th Street. He too might be pressed into service.I am sending you xeroxed copies of the material I received from Mr. Lauer, as well as some of the documents relating to the Planetarium Council.I earnestly request of you that you both accept this commission. It involves representing The Center at the appropriate times, keeping in contact with each other with an eye to informing us when we must take action, and what can be done so as to enhance the membership potential of The Jewish Center.May I count on you for this? Please do be kind enough to contact each other and then let me hear from you. Your telephone numbers are as follows:Mr. Burak – H: 799-2607; O: 516-536-3030Mr. Swergold – H: TR7-1902My best regards to your families.Cordially,RABBI NORMAN LAMMNL\:cwEnc.cc: Mr. Max SternMr. Lawrence KobrinMr. Martin Schwarzschild
The Jewish Center