Chatham Not The Only Victim

In researching the past activities of the NYSDOTi, I have come across another instance of the DOTi claiming "the public has been properly informed", when in fact they have not been.

Here is a link to a Village Voice article from 1998, describing what seems to be a very familiar NYSDOTi habit. Here is a taste of the article:

The Tribeca residents argue that NYSDOTi failed to adequately inform them of its plans for Canal Street. In a November 18 letter, Community Board 1 chair Anne Compoccia complained that "these changes were apparently buried in hundreds of pages of engineering drawings" that eluded the community, including elected officials. City Council member Kathryn Freed, for instance, is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit."

And from the DOTi:

Alex Dudley, a spokesperson for NYSDOTi, says the plans were part of publicly available documents, and that "for anyone to say that it wasn't available isn't truthful." Dudley called the outreach on the project "historic." So how could elected officials be unaware of NYSDOTi plans? "I'm not sure how that could happen, but certainly the 9A paper is a large document, and certainly we were concentrating on items that we felt would be controversial and of concern to community.

We are not alone in being kept in the dark. Decisions have been made that will impact our village. That beautiful Oak tree by the retaining wall? Gone. Destroyed to create a sidewalk. A sidewalk which many on the CACi feel would be a dangerous route to travel. The Circle we all are very used to? Gone. Made into an abomination scarring our village for the sake of an engineer's ego. Will safety be improved? Let me ask you: How many people have you seen run down in the street while trying to cross? How many accidents have you witnessed in the Circle?