Controversy surrounding the Chelsea Market Expansion continues to stir as a new poll conducted by Global Strategy Group and reported by DNAinfo, reveals that over 63 percent of Chelsea residents support the plan. However, many residents seemed split upon the proposed plan, protesting and opposing the proposition at public forums.
Jamestown Properties, which is heading up the redevelopment plans, had to redesign the entire proposal after opponents said the initial design was out of place in the neighborhood. During a community meeting last month, members of the High Line were among the expansion's only supporters.
The Chelsea Market Coalition is a collection of pro-business groups that support the expansion. The coalition plans on using the poll as evidence to push the expansion. However many other groups still oppose the plan's advancement.
"I put no credence in this poll. I don't know of any individuals in the whole neighborhood who are for this," Lesley Doyel told DNAinfo. Doyel spearheaded the Save Chelsea movement, a community group which has fought against the expansion for over a year. Her organization has collected over 2,000 signatures on a paper petition against the expansion. Along with several other community organizations, Save Chelsea launched an online petition against the rezoning on Tuesday.
The disparity continues as a spokesman for the Chelsea Market Coalition defended the poll, stating that the poll surveyed a wide range of New Yorkers and has a long track record of accurate and reliable data. The Coalition stated that it surveyed residents in Midtown, the West Village and Chelsea.
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