| Libertarian Party of NY -- Press Release -- Libertarian Activist to lead City Hall Protest Sunday: Claims many West Village residents want 'dictatorial powers' |
"We're standing up for the rights of those who want to develop the West Village and those who want to move there as tenants of new buildings," Doctor explains. "Some West Villagers would like to put up barbed wire and roadblocks to keep people out. Since they can't, they hope to use zoning, historic district restrictions, and landmark designations to prevent the construction of high-rise apartments on the waterfront. Their supposed love of 19th-century housing is a nice smokescreen to hide their greedy goal of keeping the West Village to themselves."
"Preservation of architecture is a terrific hobby/vocation until it becomes a means to control another person's property," he continues. "Many people in The Greenwich Village Society don't care about preserving architecture, but about preserving their economic status, their views, their free parking, their sunlight. The moral way to do that is to buy their neighbor's land--not to ask government to take control."
Doctor notes that restrictive zoning to prevent high-rise development along West Street would subvert private property rights, perpetuate Manhattan's housing shortage, and run contrary to the American concept of personal freedom.
"We're not fighting against preservation," Doctor insists. "We are fighting a few people who want to force their preferences upon other people. You may have a lot of great ideas about architecture and neighborhoods, but that doesn't give you the right to make people adopt them. Property owners should be able to decide for themselves to modernize or preserve."
To attend the demonstration, take the R or W train to City Hall, the 4, 5, or 6 to Brooklyn Bridge, or the 1, 2, 3, 9, A, C, or E to Chambers Street.
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