Daily News from New York, New York • 41

SUNDAY NEWS, MAY 17, i970 115 fmni Carter Burden of Manhattan's 4th District. Burden describes the UN expansion as a "commercial adventure, a land grab abusing public bonding and condemnation powers to build private office space, a sector of the city's construction industry that needs no encouragement from government. The same effort should be put into housing construction." Like many others in the battle against the UN Center, Burden seems to regard the real enemy as the Ford Foundation, which has pumped in excess of $10 million into the project. More than half of that went to purchase property within the project area as long ago as 1967. Said Burden of the Foundation, whose new building is at the southern end of the UN development district: "It is a dubious use of their tax-exempt status, to purchase homes and take them off the market, considering the present housing crisis." -x is T'' Ps I xi i I i 5 8 I Fees of UN expansion are so suspicious of neighboring Ford Foundation's role in plans that buttons like this have become popular in Tudor City.

Lions Development Corp. to organize but also rave it the right to sell bonds with which to finance the project. Of the S350 million in bonds authorized, $50 million would be used to finance the construction of the Waterside pi ject, according' to present plans. Slowly, the project moved through the laborious process of public hearings, modifications in some aspects of the plans, end eventual approval by the city's Housing and Development Administration, the Planning Commission and, last month, the Baard of Estimate. As it did, the critics' cries grew louder.

One of them is Andrew Stein, Democratic Assemblyman from the 62d A.D. Upset that the UN Development board of directors does not include anyone from the Tudor City -Turtle Bay area, Stein has filed suit to challenge the legality of the enabling legislation. He prefers "Welfare Isiartd as an alternate site. A I'l il rr A i I -II- rcnirecTS moaei ot Tour tu-STory giass towers That will rise across hirst Ave. from Secretariat Building at right.

Designed by Kevin Roche-John Dinlceloo Associates, three of towers will be devoted to offices, the fourth a hotel open to public, athough UN personnel would get first call on rooms. He alsi said it it i ino will na no an verse ing buildine on the city's project will housing supply put a total of dwelnntr units into the ai 'be number being raed. One half of them ill be UN families and the other half I HIS anti-Foundation sentiment has blossomed in recent weeks into lapel buttons with such legends as "Fight Ford" and "Don't Let McGeorge Do It." the latter an oblique swipe at McGeorge Bundy, chairman of the board of the Ford Foundation. This hostility mystifies executives of the Foundation. Arthur D.

Trottenberg, a vice president, considers many of the critics wildly inaccurate. Much of the confusion over the role of the Ford Foundation springs from an unquashable rumor that it intends to buy all 12 buildings in Tudor City, which has been for sale for some years. Trottenberg has spent tw-o years denying that and explaining that, while the Foundation has contributed to the L'N Development the latest grant being $3.15 million for start-up costs, it does not tell its grantees what to do with the money nor dors it control the development corporation. He readily admits that the Foundation had bought buildings within the project area, using dummy company names. He says it did so "not to drive up real estate prices all over the East Side." Trottenberg said the Foundation has not rented available apartments in the buildings it bought because it could see no purpose in renting to tenants who would shortly be evicted when the UN Center project got underway.

He said the Foundation will not make anything when it sells the buildings hack to the UN Development Corp. "The sponsors, after all. are specifically forbidden by the law to make any personal gain." he said. UN Development Corp. president Appleby cites the same law with regard to fears of personal profit by either board members or the corporation itself.

He also refers to two ai ts passed by the state legislature, one in lft8 and the other last year, that specifically exclude Tudor City from the UN development area. Despite these denials and the publication of several fliers on the subject, the belief persists in Tudor City that either the Ford Foundation or the UN will eventually swallow up the homes. One reason could be the result of recently disclosed plans of the UN to expand to the south, wrapping an office building around a Queens tunnel shaft east of First Ave. between East 41st and 42d Sts. This project, which also involves a three-acre park on pilings to be driven N't dized iorkers, with 1MI of the unit no hi.

i by the corporation IK into the East River, would cost $S0 million and provide additional office space for personnel from the UN Secretariat, UNICEF and the UN Development Program. It is in no way connected the UN Center project, but since it was announced late last year it served to add to the confusion of residents in the Tudor City and Turtle Bay areas. Allegations that the UN Center sponsors did not consult residents of the area about their plans annoy Appleby, who insists that the corporation has been consistently responsive to the community. He denies that the project ill add to traffic congestion or air pollution, saying that corporation will share in the expense of a Second Ave. subway connection, which, with other public transportation, is expected to handle of the rush hour traffic.

He also disputes claims that zoning changes for the UN Center constitute a precedent that could be utilized by eommercial developers elsewhere in the city. Similarly, he says that the contention that less than 40' i of the project will be used by the UN and its related activities is false. In fact, he says, iW of the space will be used immediately, a figure he expects will rise to 00'; within 25 years. Contrary to rumors that the project will pay no real est ale taxes. Appleby said the UN Center could produce as much as $7 million a yfar, as opposed to the current yield of around SfiliO.OOn.

WTEIN calls the plan "a stark demonstration of the arrogance of power exercised in a manner that can only destroy neighborhoods and lead to a further rending of the social fabric of New York. "This proposal was never discussed with the community before it was made public as an accomplished fact. This proposal was conceived in indecent haste behind closed doors by those who do not share the concern of more than fiOO tenants scheduled to be thrown out in the street during the period of the most 'severe housing shortage in the history of the city. "Let's make no mistake about this plan. It is a land grab, pure and simple." Similarly upset over the project is Peter Detmold, vice president of the Turtle Bay Association.

Detmold challenges the contention that only 600 tenants will have to be relocated. He says a simple mailbox check shows 810 dwelling units in the buildings scheduled to be razed. Detmold, too, has filed a suit, this one on behalf of Warehouses, Romaine Weil, an official of the Save Our Neighborhoods Committee, and the Turtle Bay Association. It attacks the legality of the zoning changes made to clear the way for UN Center and is scheduled to be heard this week in state supreme court. Another vehement foe of the plans is Democratic Liberal City Councilman about $70 a room.

Appleby said the based, conM li-n plans will let The iow.t ne families now living in 'be project stay on as long as possible and ha the corporation will pay relocation bei.nts In evicted tenants. He said tin- displaced tenants, loth residential and commercial, will be civ.n priority in relocating in the Watersi, It-project between East 'Jath and 30th at rents ranging from public beting levels to iiiaikei If. as some ciitics contend. Wai- isi.le never wili be built. Appleby i-aid nis corporation would 'nave to come up with an alternate relocation area that mets city approval.

While he could not speculate r.b..ut what might happen to the corporation should th- UN disappear, Appleby did say that when the bonds were off after 40 years he presumed the UN Center would continue to operate is a non-profit, tax free intity. paying j's own way with rent revenues. He saitl plans call for the sale ff bonds later this year. With this money, the corporation plans to start buying property within the ptoiect tariy in 1 1, using condemnation to obtain it where necessary. Actual demolition and const i u.

ion probably will not begin for two vars and when it does it will involvt i u-residential property first. What this means is I hat no tenants will have to move for two and a heif years and by hat 1 ime, A pplcbv said. be Waterside development should be finished and ready for them. What happens if it isn't? That's anybody's guess. Also up in the air is the possilility that lawsuits could stall the U.N" n.d expansion and the bond sale for ant.

tier year, when the lasi of the Komi grant runs out. This would leave the UN livbp-ment Corp. in the awkward position of having to fight a 1I battle wilh no ash, which is iov rt opponents j.ot. UN Development Corp. president Thomas Appleby, Turtle Bay Association leader Peter Detmold, Assemblyman Andrew Stein and City Councilman Carter Burden, left to right are ley figures in debate ever UN Center.

Despite Appleby's de-fenie of plans, Detmold and Stein have filed suits attacking project that Eurden has labeled a "land grab.".