Save Ruppert Park | Upper Eastside Park New York City

Save Ruppert Playground. A Grass - Roots Public Awareness Campaign to Preserve Ruppert Playground from Development "Since the park has proven so popular with the teenagers, many residents would like to see it become a permanent feature in the neighborhood." East Side Express - November 1978 Dear Neighbor, We have just been informed that the Related Company plans to close Ruppert Playground on September 12, 2011, to begin preparations to build a 49 story building on the site! We are organizing a broad-based public awareness campaign to preserve Ruppert Playground from being developed. We need your help to protect this vital neighborhood resource! If we are to have a chance in our fight we must be very visible to be able to apply sufficient pressure!! So please join us for rally in support of this cause on Saturday September 10, 2011 at 2pm in the park. Additionally, we need to put pressure on the current (and potential future) NYC administrations to get the Ruppert Playground property transferred back to the City and designated as a NYC Park. The City sold the property years ago in a behind closed-door deal to Related Company and the City can negotiate a deal to get it back! One possibility is for the City to swap another piece of land in exchange for the Ruppert Playground property. This is done all the time. The Related Company is one of the largest real estate companies in America and is well connected politically. They are very friendly with the Bloomberg administration and are involved with many projects that involve the City. We need your help to defeat this irresponsible plan. The park must be preserved exclusively for park and recreational uses. For more than 25 years the park - located btw. 92/93rd Sts. btw 2nd/3rd Aves - has played a vital role in the lives of countless people. Community Board 8 is already the City's most densely populated community and yet it ranks dead last in publicly accessible recreational space. We already have strong support from our local elected officials. However, it is EXTREMELY important that you immediately contact (call and email) the few people who have the power to stop the irresponsible development of this park. Please take a few minutes to voice your strong opposition and demand help!! WE NEED YOU TO Contact: Mayor Michael Bloomberg - (212) 788- 3000 or dial 311 in NYC Email: http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (212) 788-7210 Email: http://council.nyc.gov/d3/html/members/home.shtml (click "Contact Speaker Quinn" to email her). Also email Danielle Decerbo at Quinn's office. ddecerbo@council.nyc.gov The Related Company (212) 801- 1000 Stephen M. Ross - Chairman and CEO - Email: sross@related.com and Jeff T. Blau - President jblau@related.com They need to hear from hundreds of you. Please call AND send letters/e-mails. (Click here for a sample letter and talking points) Encourage everyone to get involved: Your children, sisters/brothers, aunt/uncles, grandparents… Spread the word to playground users, neighborhood residents, businesses, the general public, school groups…etc. The Related Company plans to destroy a popular park for a commercial development at the same time that the construction of the Second Avenue subway has already made living in this community a nightmare for many. We need the help and support of the community. We must work together. Please get involved. For more information please contact save-ruppert-playground@googlegroups.com or NYC Park Advocates (212) 987- 0565. We Need Your Financial Help too! The Campaign to Save Ruppert Park will require considerable financial resources for printing, personnel, supplies, legal and other expenses. Please consider making a donation. Online: You can use your credit card or checking account: http://nycparkadvocates.org/contribute or mail a check made payable to: NYC Park Advocates 222 East 93^rd St. -Suite 40H, New York, NY 10128 Att : Geoffrey Croft NYC Park Advocates, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All contributions are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. EIN # 14-1883533. NYC Park Advocates, Inc. is the city's only independent watchdog group for all city, state and federal parklands and open space in NYC. For more information please visit us at http://nycparkadvocates.org For more than 30 years Ruppert Playground - located between E. 92/93rd Sts. between 2nd/3rd Avenues - has played a vital role in the lives of countless people. With more than 217,000 residents and only 1.7% of its total land area (653,750 sq. ft.) dedicated to parks and open space, CB 8 is the city's densest community, and ranks dead last in publicly accessible recreational space. The Related Company plans to destroy the popular playground by building a 40 story luxury building. We need your help to defeat this irresponsible plan. We hope you will support the community in its efforts to have the property transferred back to the City and designated as an NYC Park. The City sold the property to the developer and the City can negotiate a deal to get it back! The park must be preserved exclusively for park and recreational uses. The time has come to create a very visible public campaign to SAVE RUPPERT PLAYGROUND! During the second week of April boring equipment arrived in the park to take earth and rock samples. This is the first step of an impending construction project and the first public sign of Related Company's intention of proceeding with developing the site and TAKING AWAY our PARK!!! We are organizing a broad based public awareness campaign to oppose Ruppert Playground from being developed. We need your help to protect this vital resource! WE NEED YOU TO: • Please take a few minutes and contact your local elected officials and city agencies to voice your opposition and ask them for help. Please also contact the Related Companies. (Click here for Contacts) This is imperative. Please call AND send letters/e-mails. (Click here for a sample letter and talking points) • Spread the word to park users, neighborhood residents, businesses, the general public, school groups etc. Sign the petition. Encourage everyone to get involved: Your children, sisters/brothers, aunt/uncles, grandparents, neighbors… • If you are interested in helping out further please contact us. This community has the Lowest amount of park space and the Highest density of any neighborhood in the city. In order to stop this construction and preserve this vital resource time is of the essence! The Related Company is one of the largest real estate companies in America. They are very well connected politically. We need the help and support of the community in order to be able to apply pressure. We must work together. Please get involved. For more information please contact save-ruppert-playground@googlegroups.com or NYC Park Advocates (212) 987-0565.
		Listen to our rally to Save Ruppert Playground

		Hear our rally to Stop Related Companies

CAMPAIGN TO SAVE RUPPERT PLAYGROUND A grass-roots, broad-based public awareness campaign to PRESERVE Ruppert Playground from development. Contacts: Please contact the following people:
	ELECTED OFFICIALS Mayor of New York City Hon. Michael Bloomberg NY City Hall New York, NY 10007 212-788-3000, Fax: 212-788-2989 Email web form: http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/contact_the_mayor.html NYC Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn District 3 - Council Member – Democrat 224 West 30th St (Suite 1206) New York, NY 10001 212-564-7757 E-mail: quinn@council.nyc.gov	RELATED COMPANIES 60 Columbus Circle New York, NY 10023 212-421-5333 Stephen M. Ross -Chairman and CEO E-mail: sross@related.com Jeff T. Blau - President E-mail: jblau@related.com AGENCIES Rafael Cestero - Commissioner Department of Housing Preservation & Development 100 Gold St, New York, NY 10038 212-863-6100 Fax: 212-863-6302 E-mail: lay@hpd.nyc.gov
Easy email list of everyone:
	Quick Easy email list of everyone: sross@related.com; jblau@related.com; lay@hpd.nyc.gov; garodnick@council.nyc.ny.us; lappin@council.nyc.gov; rep.carolyn.maloney@mail.house.gov; Minna.elias@mail.house.gov; serrano@senate.state.ny.us; nyssenate28@gmail.com; kellnerm@assembly.state.ny.us; lkrueger@senate.state.ny.us; NYSenatorLiz@aol.com; bingj@assembly.state.ny.us; bp@manhattanbp.org; info@cb8m.com, aburden@planning.nyc.gov (Please make sure you also “cc” mail@saveruppertplayground.org as well as oscarfernandezjr@gmail.com)

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