Lynn Kelly has sent out a letter in response to last night's cancellation of the Coney Island Development Corporation Public Meeting. She gives reason why on Monday they were anticipating many attending that are not RSVPed and therefore printed a letter with a form to take their contact info to be informed on the next meeting.She also makes it clear that the community will have full participation and be given the opportunity to make themselves heard.
The CIDC is now working on obtaining a larger venue and will soon announce the time and place.
Here is the letter in its entirety:
Dear Friends and Residents of Coney Island:
As you may know, last evening we had to postpone our planned Community Information Session at Coney Island Hospital when, after consulting with hospital security and the NYPD, it became clear that the auditorium simply could not safely accommodate the number of people who attended. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience that this caused and can assure you that we will reschedule this Community Information Session in the near future in a venue that can accommodate larger numbers. We remain committed to ensuring that any and all residents who want to learn about the plan have that chance.
We had originally chosen the hospital auditorium as the venue in hopes of providing the opportunity for true interaction between community residents and planning staff in a smaller “working group” environment, as we had with the successful community-based planning of the Coney Island YMCA. Unfortunately, we immediately recognized that this would not be possible upon the arrival of large groups of individuals who were bused in for the meeting and who we simply could not accommodate in this limited space. Had we been notified by the organizers of this effort in advance that such large numbers were interested and would be bused in, we could have tried to find alternate space. We have the greatest respect for each and every individual who wants to be part of this important conversation and we regret that we were not able to fit everyone.
As we had noted on our original public session notice, we had asked for RSVP’s simply to help us to gauge the level of attendance and ensure that the venue would suffice. By late Monday, we realized through our RSVP’s that we were potentially approaching capacity for that evening (by which point it was unfortunately too late to move the venue). Therefore, we sought to be as responsive as possible to anyone who had not RSVP’ed in advance and could not be accommodated by having a form ready to take their contact information and ensure that they were directly contacted to participate in the next upcoming meeting. While this smaller “working group” structure was the result of good intentions and our honest desire to provide an interactive discussion with the residents of Coney Island, we again are sorry for any inconveniences that the logistical limitations of this format may have caused.
Finally, it is important to note that last night’s session was not a public hearing as part of the official land use review process, and was simply a public information session that is an opportunity to inform Coney Island residents in advance of the public process. Not only will everyone have a chance to learn more about the plan in the re-scheduled public session, but you will have the opportunity to make your voice heard as part of the official record once the ULURP process begins in 2008.
We will be back in touch soon with a re-scheduled date for the meeting in a larger venue and we look forward to working with you to make Coney Island the best it can be. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to call us at 212-312-4233 or email at info@thecidc.org for scheduling updates and additional info. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Lynn Kelly
President
Letter was also posted on the CIUSA board.
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