Since the late 1970′s Silver has blocked affordable housing plans for a Manhattan lot that was cleared in 1967. The lot had
housed low-income apartments with mostly Hispanic families. When New York City razed the apartments, the families were
promised that new low-income housing would be built. Instead, the 20 acres remain vacant. The story reported Silver’s
objective was to preserve the all-white makeup of the neighborhood.
The New York Times article quotes Frances Goldin, a leader in the Lower East Side Joint Planning Council, who said, “They
would rather have the vacant lots and rats than have minority people there.”
Lalor continued, “Silver’s obstructionism had one purpose, preserving ethnic homogeneity. He’s used the levers of
bureaucracy and political favors to pursue segregation. It’s an ugly policy that favors a vacant 20 acre lot over development
because Silver wants to keep minorities out of his neighborhood. That has no place in New York government. Governor
Cuomo knows that. It’s time he had the courage to tell Silver to go.”
http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/208942/citing-nyt-story-lalor-calls-silver-a-segregationist/
