LMDC Issues Priorities for Remaining Funds By Etta Sanders The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) released a plan on April 14 that outlines priorities for spending the remaining $735 million of the $2 billion of federal grant money earmarked for Downtown's post-9/11 recovery. The public will get what may be a last chance to weigh in on that spending at a forum on April 27 at 6 p.m. at the U.S. Customs House. The LMDC will also accept comments by mail and e-mail until May 1. To view the report, go to www.renewnyc.com. Four main areas are earmarked for a contribution: large-scale neighborhood projects, including a makeover of Fulton Street and the southern part of Greenwich Street (see story); public infrastructure on the WTC site; the WTC memorial; and a new rail link between Long Island/JFK airport and Lower Manhattan. The plan for the funds, known as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), gives no specific dollar amounts, but allocations for more than $200 million have already been discussed. The LMDC is expected to give $20 million toward the building of a new k-8 school on Beekman Street and $70 million for the completion of the Hudson River Park. Up to $125 million would be used to create an automated bus garage and other improvements near the Battery tunnel and $20 million has been proposed for street changes between Chinatown and around the Brooklyn Bridge. The LMDC and the city also are proposing improvements to the East River waterfront and Fulton Street, but no specific contribution from the LMDC has been announced. Perhaps the most contested priority will be the rail link between Long Island and Downtown, which has an estimated price tag of $6 billion. Several groups, including Community Board 1 and the Civic Alliance have given support for the link, but have recommended that no CDBG funds be used. At the April 14 LMDC board meeting, Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff said he hopes the funding will be found elsewhere, including $2 billion in requested federal tax credits and some of the $700 million savings from the decision not to construct a West Street tunnel. "My hope is that we won't have to use money from the LMDC for the rail link," said Doctoroff said. Advocates for affordable housing and job training said the plan fails to address the real needs of Lower Manhattan and the city. Fifty million dollars of the CDBG funds-market rate housing, but is not enough, said Bettina Damiani, director of Good Jobs New York. "I'm continually disappointed by the lack of affordable housing and job creation." With less than half of the $2 billion remaining, LMDC board members have increasingly spoken of the remaining money as a contingency fund for the rebuilding the WTC site and creation of the memorial. Said LMDC board member Roland Betts, "There are still tremendous needs on the site, that as a priority is the highest priority."