Museum clears first hurdle

Community Board 7’s parks and preservation committees, in a joint session Tuesday night, backed the American Museum of Natural History’s expansion plan.

The Sept. 20 meeting marked the first time CB 7 has reviewed the project since it was announced by the museum in 2014. But the board has followed the proposal’s progress – and some members have attended the public sessions hosted by the museum over the last year. After a marathon three-hour session, both committees voted overwhelmingly in support of the proposed Gilder Center.

More than 100 people came out to the meeting at Goddard Riverside Community Center. In an attempt to head off some concerns, preservation committee co-chair Jay Adolf outlined the meeting’s purpose.

“We’re certainly all aware that there are a host of issues that ultimately are involved in this project and will be reviewed,” Adolf said. “What we are not considering tonight are any of the issues that are going to be raised by the Environmental Impact Statement, such as transportation, traffic congestion, things like that.”

Some of the community members in attendance on Tuesday had already seen the museum’s presentation at a public hearing on Sept. 13, and many of the same voices from previous sessions were heard again.

“I am proposing a new strategy for landmarks and historic district protection, which is that … landmarks must be left alone,” said one opponent. Still others railed against the Gilder Center’s design and its use of a quarter-acre of Theodore Roosevelt Park, which surrounds the museum. Critics complained that museum is not going far enough to use sustainable materials or reduce carbon emissions.

But some supporters showed up, too. “I’ve benefited from several [museum] workshops and institutes, and I frequently bring my students to visit,” a local science teacher said. “A lot of what I’ve heard tonight is a conversation centering around concerns for loss of park space. But I want to represent the perspective of my students and young learners for whom the museum provides … one of the few opportunities for them to ignite their curiosity.”

A representative from the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District also expressed enthusiasm for the project and the influx of consumers it would bring to the area.

After the time for public comment had ended, Community Board members voiced their own views. Most were supportive of and excited about the Gilder Center, with a few caveats. “I am still concerned about the encroachment into the park land,” said Meisha Hunter Burkett, a member of both the parks and preservation committees. “I applaud the museum for reducing the footprint and the amount of the encroachment. I think as far as the landscape proposal, to me I didn’t see enough evidence of a conversation of this landscape design with the existing landscape holistically.”

Before voting, the committees added recommendations to their resolutions that the museum more carefully consider the inflow and outflow of visitors from the building into Theodore Roosevelt Park, and that they aim for a zero carbon footprint.

The issue will be taken up again by the full community board at its Oct. 5 meeting.