Res. No. 192 Title Resolution calling upon the Mayor of the City of New York, Michael Bloomberg, to allow the Borough of Manhattan Community College to temporarily utilize the Tweed Courthouse to house some of their offices and classrooms due to losses the college sustained during the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001. Body By Council Members Seabrook, Baez, Fidler and Jennings; also Council Member Vann Whereas, The Borough of Manhattan Community College ("BMCC") was founded in 1963 and opened in 1964 as a small, primarily business-oriented community college offering programs aimed at the business community; and Whereas, BMCC is an integral part of the City University of New York ("CUNY"), the nation's largest municipal university system and the third largest public university system in the nation, comprised of ten senior colleges, six community colleges, a graduate center, a technical college, a law school, and an affiliated medical school; and Whereas, BMCC was originally located in two floors of a commercial building in midtown Manhattan, moving in 1983 to its current campus situated in Downtown Manhattan at 199 Chambers Street; and Whereas, Currently, BMCC enrolls approximately 16,000 students in degree bearing programs and approximately 8,000 more students in adult and continuing education programs; and Whereas, In September 1993, Miles and Shirley Fiterman donated to the college a 15-story building located on 30 West Broadway, approximately three blocks away from the main campus on Chambers Street and less than a block away from the World Trade Center complexes; and Whereas, After taking possession of the 15-story building, now known as Fiterman Hall, BMCC launched a $65 million renovation project that allowed the college to house 60 "smart" classrooms, the college's business and computer programs, and adult and continuing education programs; and Whereas, As part of the renovation project, BMCC was scheduled to open in January 2002 a new integrated workforce development center, called Skills Exchange, as well as a 24-hour virtual library at Fiterman Hall; and Whereas, The collapse of Seven World Trade Center as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, caused severe damage to Fiterman Hall; and Whereas, According to BMCC, to replace or rebuild Fiterman Hall will cost an estimated $274 million and take between two to three years to complete; and Whereas, The City of New York recently completed an approximately $89 million renovation to the Tweed Courthouse, a building that is currently vacant; and Whereas, Mayor Bloomberg has recently stated that he would like to utilize the building as an educational center, which would house a public school and the City's Board of Education; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the Mayor of the City of New York, Michael Bloomberg, to allow the Borough of Manhattan Community College to temporarily utilize the Tweed Courthouse to house some of their offices and classrooms due to losses the college sustained during the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001...Body |1013| |10
13|