What would you do with $4.3 Million? 

Council Member Julie Menin recently secured $4.3 million under a community benefits agreement, ostensibly to mitigate the impact of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's construction of a massive 598 ft tall hospital at 1233 York Ave, between East 66th & 67th Streets, in a residential zone. The unprecedented height will make the MSK Pavilion the tallest hospital in the world.

However, local residents, whose lives will be most impacted by years-long construction noise, dust, and hazards, and who will forever live in the shadow and traffic of a 598 ft tall hospital across from their homes, were EXCLUDED FROM NEGOTIATIONS!

We oppose Council Member Julie Menin's allocation of $4.3 million to renovate 24 Sycamores Playground WITHOUT OUR INPUT! 

Given the history of 24 Sycamores' failed $1.6 million dollar renovation of its bathrooms that remain inoperable, this allocation could easily "flush away" much needed funding and opportunity for actual improvements.

Local residents therefore demand a halt to this expensive and unnecessary renovation of such a poorly located playground, (read our 24 Sycamores Playground op-ed) surrounded by FDR traffic and exhaust fumes, which will in no way benefit our health and quality of life.

Instead, we request that a task force of impacted residents living on East 66th & 67th Streets, between York & 1st Avenues, be assembled to determine the most meaningful use of these funds to genuinely improve our health and quality of life. 

CALL or EMAIL Council Member Menin before March 26th: 

212-860-1950  District5@council.nyc.gov 

SUGGEST BETTER WAYS TO SPEND $4.3 MILLION! 

Here are some possible alternatives:

• Fund safe and secure access to Rockefeller University gardens for local residents in need of tranquil open green spaces.
• Fund an accessible natural playground on the underutilized lawn under the Alice Aycock Sculpture on the East River Esplanade.  Our kids deserve healthy and creative playgrounds!
• Purchase land to create much needed Lenox Hill green space.
• Fund a Seniors' Playground in the Lenox Hill core, an initiative  proposed to CB8 by Amy Paul, a local advocate for seniors.
• Fund an "Overbuild Park" in Lenox Hill, over the FDR Drive, much like the beloved Carl Schurz Park in Yorkville, connecting residents to our waterfront.

This petition was organized by Lenox Hill F.A.C.T. (Families Advocating for Children to Thrive) - a grassroots community group in the Lenox Hill neighborhood of the Upper East Side. We are working together to mitigate the impact of ever-expanding health-care facilities and construction in our residential neighborhood – specifically the impact on our children, who deserve to grow up and learn in a safe, healthy environment that balances the needs of local hospitals with that of the community in which they are situated. 

Please email LenoxHillFACT@gmail.com for more information or follow us on X for the latest updates @LenoxHillFACT