New SoHo Community Board Chair Says She'll Fight to Keep Artists in the Neighborhood

SOHO, NY — Incoming Community Board 2 Chair Terri Cude is all about being "proactive."

She mentioned the word several times while speaking to Patch by phone about how she envisions her tenure as incoming chair for the community board that covers Greenwich Village, SoHo, NoHo, Little Italy, Hudson Square, Gansevoort Market and Chinatown.

“As chair, my job is to make sure everyone has the tools and the access and the information,” she said. “I’m kind of optimistic because we have a really good board.”

Cude was a public member of Community Board 2 for two years, before joining as a full board member in 2010. She said she was initially inspired to get involved because she lives at Bleecker and Mercer streets, and had concerns about New York University (NYU)’s expansion plans.

Cude said she envisions a board that takes a proactive approach to tackling the numerous issues facing Community District 2 — such as city zoning changes, small businesses in jeopardy, parks that need protecting— and reviewing the slew of applications always coming in for new liquor licenses, sidewalk cafes, coding variances, landmarks, etc.

"We face overdevelopment, oversaturation of licenses," Cude said. "This is a balance that needs to be achieved. We have a board that really takes its responsibility seriously.”

Community boards have 50 members and act in an advisory capacity, making recommendations to the city and various agencies about anything from a liquor license renewal to a developer asking for a change in zoning for a development.

Also: With Mount Sinai relocating and downsizing Beth Israel Hospital in the East Village, and St. Vincent’s on West 12th Street closed since 2010, Cude said she's concerned about the absence of an admitting hospital within Community District 2.

“If you live in the West Village on West 10th Street, where the heck are you going?” Cude asked.

Mount Sinai reportedly released a plan last month to move Beth Israel to a smaller location in the East Village, then offset the downsizing by opening a network of emergency facilities and doctor's offices around Manhattan. Cude said she wants the board to “look into the transition early and we want to have a voice in how that’s shaped.”

“CB2 has unique needs,” Cude said. For instance, she pointed to real-estate zoning regulations in SoHo and NoHo. Currently, those two areas are zoned M1-5A and M1-5B, which allows artists to “occupy joint living work quarters as an industrial use,” according to the Department of City Planning’s website.

“We will fight for artists staying in SoHo and NoHo," Cude said.

A recently opened five-story, 55,000-square-foot Nike store at 529 Broadway caused an uproar and a protest. Opponents to the store said that by calling the project an “alteration” instead of a newly constructed building, the developers took advantage of a loophole.

“CB2 believes it was improperly considered an alteration,” Cude said. “It was a complete new building.”

When a big retail store like Nike moves into a neighborhood, Cude said it also raises concerns about the survival of NYC's iconic and necessary mom-and-pop businesses, such as dry cleaners and grocery stores.

“The small businesses are being squeezed out,” Cude said. “We need businesses that serve the local community.”

Cude also mentioned the Elizabeth Street Gardens, a volunteer-run green oasis in Nolita which city officials want to replace with affordable senior housing. In September, the city took a huge step forward in this plan by issuing a request for proposals from developers, according to DNAinfo.

“We have to protect the Elizabeth Street Garden,” Cude said. “Every bit of land that doesn’t have a building on it is not necessarily a development site. We need green space.”

Little Italy, in particular, is an underserved area when it comes to parks, Cude said.

And as the brand-new chair of Community Board 2, Cude promised to be the “convener” and “facilitator” to move issues like these forward — all while making sure every voice in the community is heard.

“My goal is to have an open ear,” she said.

Photo courtesy of Terri Cude