ALBANY – Opponents of the United Nations’ plan to take over a city playground as part of a major renovation project of its Manhattan headquarters urged the world body yesterday to move to Plan B.
State Conservative Party chairman Michael Long said if the United Nations is going to stay in New York, it would be better off following another option it had considered by building additional space on the complex, not taking the parkland.
“Why should we even consider helping them? They certainly haven’t been our friends,” said Long, who sent a letter Thursday to state lawmakers opposing legislation that would’ve started the process.
When developing its capital master plan in 2002, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan presented two options for renovating its headquarters, according to a 2003 congressional Government Accountability Office report.
The first, and most controversial, option chosen by the United Nations includes taking the Robert Moses Playground from the city and erecting a new 35-story building.
But a slightly more expensive but less publicized second option rejected by the United Nations includes erecting a new four-story building on the headquarters complex where the two-story south annex is currently located.
Asked about the alternate plan, U.N. Development Corp. head Roy Goodman said, “That option was shot down a long time ago by the U.N. itself and is not under consideration at this moment.”