For more info contact:
save-ruppert-playground@googlegroups.com
Oscar Fernandez
e-mail: oscarfernandezjr@gmail.com (Campaign To Save Ruppert Playground Organizer)
Tel. 646-761-8364
We are planning our second letter writing drive day on Monday 12/19 from 4pm to 8pm in the community room at 222 East 93rd street (see details below). We need volunteers for this event especially starting at 3:30pm and donations of stamps and envelopes. Please contact me via phone or email to help. Our goal is to send out over 1,000 letters again (last time we sent out over 1,400 and achieved our goal of garnering the attention and commitment of elected officials including Speaker Quinn).
Additionally, we need help promoting the event by posting the flyer in buildings and local businesses in the community. So if you can donate copies or better yet distribute the flyer that would be greatly appreciated (download flyer here).
The focus of this letter writing campaign is to contact the New York Proton Regional Cancer Treatment Center who is now the potential commercial anchor tenant at the proposed site and tell them that although we support treatment options for those with cancer we do not feel this is an appropriate site for this type of center. We have all been personally touched by cancer in one way or another, but a center such as this should be built in an area that is better suited to handle the increased traffic at such a site – perhaps in an area such as the proposed Hudson Yards development that Related is also working on near Penn Station.
Ahead of the formal letter writing campaign please contact the representatives at NYPRC telling them of your opposition to Related Companies plan to build anything on the current site of Ruppert Playground, including their Proton Center. Please contact them with this message asap via calls, emails, letters and faxes. Remember that without this anchor tenant in place Related would have to reconsider their plans so it is imperative that we get this new message out.
Email list: info@NYPRC.com; william@nyprc.com; info@tpiony.com; wendy@tpiony.com; karolyn@nymedscan.com
Also CC our elected officials to make sure they hear this new message as well and know that we are still fighting to Save Ruppert Playground: garodnick@council.nyc.ny.us; lappin@council.nyc.gov; serrano@senate.state.ny.us; bp@manhattanbp.org; quartd@assembly.state.ny.us; speakerquinn@council.nyc.ny.us
Contact: William Lievendag – Executive Vice President – NYPRC (phone: 212-751-8337 Ext 130
Contact: Wendy Black – Vice President of Operations and Marketing (at 212 599-5555 The Proton Institute of NY another off shoot of this company)
Contact: Dr Karolyn Kerr – To Be Medical Director (212 599-5555)
New York Proton Regional Center
755 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Fax: (212) 268-3165
Here are also some notes regarding NYPRC:
Their Websites: http://www.nyprc.com/index.html (this is the investor facing site) <http://www.nyprc.com/index.html> and (http://www.tpiony.com/ this is the patient facing website)
1) They are part of the EB-5 immigration \ foreign investment program (Link to EB-5 program site <http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=2785a5f224a2e210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=2785a5f224a2e210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD> )
2) If an investor contributes a minimum of 500K it gets them a temporary green card and visa which makes them eligible for a permanent residency after 2 years. This would be for the investor, their spouse and dependents under the age of 21.
3) After 5 years they claim investors will get their full money back and earn at least 3.5% in compounded interest year over year
4) Investors and their spouse get a free CAT and PET scan.
5) Please see a WSJ article on the initially proposed site at 57th street that fell through:WSJ Article <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704858304575498103060976396.html>
6) Also note that the medical community is still mixed on usefulness of Proton treatment “because they haven’t been subjected to enough rigorous peer-reviewed research” (See website discussing Proton Vs other treatments) <http://www.advancedradiationcenters.com/?p=protontherapy>