D.4-D.5 - public comments - 297-327 — original pdf
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Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Sierra R Friday, April 29, 2022 11:30 AM HPD Preservation URGENT: Public Comment for May 4th Hearing Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Follow up Flagged *** External Email ‐ Exercise Caution *** Dear Historic Landmark Commission, My name is Sierra Richardson. I'm reaching out in response to The Hanover Co's demolition request of the 4th street block between Colorado and Lavaca. I am STRONGLY AGAINST Item A1 and want my comment made public on May 4th recorded by email. You can reach me by phone at Please respond as soon as possible with the next steps and additional information. Sincerely, Sierra Richardson CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Follow up Flagged noreply@coadigital.onbehalfof.austintexas.gov on behalf of City of Austin <noreply@coadigital.onbehalfof.austintexas.gov> Friday, April 29, 2022 11:51 AM HPD Preservation No demo to 4th Street This message is from Leah Bostwick. I'm writing to oppose the demolition of historic LGBTQI+ institutions on 4th street. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Josue Gonzalez Friday, April 29, 2022 12:08 PM HPD Preservation URGENT: Public Comment for May 4th Hearing Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Follow up Flagged *** External Email ‐ Exercise Caution *** Dear Historic Landmark Commission, My name is josue gonzalez, I'm reaching out in response to The Hanover Co's demolition request of the 4th street block between Colorado and Lavaca. I am STRONGLY AGAINST Item A1 and want my comment made public on May 4th {IN PERSON, VIA PHONE, OR RECORDED BY EMAIL}. You can reach me by phone at {YOUR PHONE NUMBER} and by email at {YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS}. {DELETE THIS IF NOT USING {INSERT RECOMMENDED ADDITIONAL BODY TEXT ‐ PERSONAL STORIES, BEING QUEER, TEXAS/GOV. ABBOTT ATTACKING QUEER RIGHTS, ETC}} Please respond as soon as possible with the next steps and additional information. Sent from my iPhone CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Forest Miller Friday, April 29, 2022 4:39 PM HPD Preservation SUBJECT: URGENT: Public Comment for May 4th Hearing *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Dear Historic Landmark Commission, My name is Forest Miller. I'm reaching out in response to The Hanover Co's demolition request of the 4th street block between Colorado and Lavaca. I am STRONGLY AGAINST Item A1 and want my comment made public on May 4th RECORDED BY EMAIL. You can reach me by phone at As an LGBTQ ally and lifelong Austin resident, I want to strongly voice how important every queer establishment in the 4th street area is to the community. These establishments provide a safe and welcoming space for our queer community that help make Austin the great place it is. Venues like Oil Can Harry’s and the Coconut Club are also cultural icons that have been around for so long providing great memories for queer and non-queer patrons in Austin, it would be incredibly jarring if they were removed. If Austin is really the progressive and inclusive city it claims to be, it WILL NOT let this 4th street development happen. Stripping away one of the key safe spaces for a marginalized community in the name of development and making more money is simply not acceptable. Please respond as soon as possible with the next steps and additional information. Thank you! Forest ‐‐ Forest Miller Associate Project Manager, RWE Renewables Americas Austin, TX University of Texas c.o. 2021 . 1 CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. 2 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Caitlyn Franklin Friday, April 29, 2022 5:44 PM HPD Preservation URGENT: Public Comment for May 4th Hearing *** External Email ‐ Exercise Caution *** Dear Historic Landmark Commission, My name is Caitlyn Franklin and I’m a queer homeowner and voter in Austin. I'm reaching out in response to The Hanover Co's demolition request of the 4th street block between Colorado and Lavaca. I am STRONGLY AGAINST Item A1 and want my comment made public on May 4th recorded by email. You can reach me by email at The 4th Street district is one of the only places in austin that is a safe, celebratory area for the LBGTQIA+ community, and should be safeguarded as such, especially now, at a time where LBGTQIA+ rights and individuals are under attack all over the country and right here by our own governor. CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Martha Chapman Sunday, May 1, 2022 1:55 AM HPD Preservation URGENT: Public Comment for May 4th Hearing *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Dear Historic Landmark Commission, My name is Martha Chapman. I'm reaching out in response to The Hanover Co's demolition request of the 4th street block between Colorado and Lavaca. I am STRONGLY AGAINST Item A1 and want my comment made public on May 4th recorded by email. You can reach me by phone at These bars have been a safe space for me and my partner to be our full selves, dance together in a welcoming space, and safely let our guard down. When visiting gay bars in larger cities including NYC, LA, and Philadelphia, I was often called out as not looking gay enough and didn’t feel as comfortable as I do on 4th St. That has never been the case in Oilcan Harry’s, Coconut Club, and Rain, where people welcome me with open arms as I am. These 4 Austin gay bars are unlike others and to lose them would be an irreversible mistake for our rapidly changing city. I have always felt safe in Austin but this news scares me for our city, especially as our state is trying to take away LGBTQ rights. Austin is swarming with chef forward restaurants, which I enjoy, but losing these havens for the LGBTQ community and our allies to another restaurant and high rise would significantly reduce Austin’s culture. Please respond as soon as possible with the next steps and additional information. Martha Chapman CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Tyler Dunnam Sunday, May 1, 2022 4:07 PM HPD Preservation Item A1 *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** To whom it may concern, I would like to submit my support for preserving the 4th Street section in question and plea that it NOT BE DEMOLISHED. Culture and community are more important than money! These buildings also have historical and architectural significance, but most importantly they provide a safe space for our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. Thank you, Tyler Dunnam CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Rosie Strawberry Sunday, May 1, 2022 5:47 PM HPD Preservation URGENT: Public Comment for May 4th Hearing *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Dear Historic Landmark Commission, My name is Rosemarijn. I'm reaching out in response to The Hanover Co's demolition request of the 4th street block between Colorado and Lavaca. I am STRONGLY AGAINST Item A1 and want my comment made public on May 4th recorded by email. You can reach me by email at Please respond as soon as possible with the next steps and additional information. Rosemarijn CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Nathalie Pagán Monday, May 2, 2022 5:16 PM HPD Preservation URGENT: Public Comment for May 4th Hearing *** External Email ‐ Exercise Caution *** Dear Historic Landmark Commission, My name is Nathalie Pagán. I'm reaching out in response to The Hanover Co's demolition request of the 4th street block between Colorado and Lavaca. I am STRONGLY AGAINST Item A1 and want my comment made public on May 4th recorded by email. You can reach me by phone at Item A1 attacks the culture and essence that makes Austin. The community will continue to resist these unnecessary and insensitive actions that the city is trying to push for. Please respond as soon as possible with the next steps and additional information. Sincerely, Nathalie Pagán Sent from my iPhone CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Alissa Rhee Tuesday, May 3, 2022 11:12 AM HPD Preservation URGENT: Public Comment for May 4th Hearing *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Dear Historic Landmark Commission, My name is Alissa Rhee. I'm reaching out in response to The Hanover Co's demolition request of the 4th street block between Colorado and Lavaca. I am STRONGLY AGAINST Item A1 and want my comment made public on May 4th as recorded by email. You can reach me by phone at 4th Street is an essential space for queer and trans folks to feel joy and be with community. After the countless attacks from Abbott and this country on queer and trans people, we need spaces like this now more than ever. The physical removal of our spaces symbolizes the continued violence against our community and the city’s flagrant disregard for some of its most marginalized folks. The city has an opportunity to demonstrate that the people who make Austin the vibrant city it is matter more than the developers trying to profit off its uniqueness. Please respond as soon as possible with the next steps and additional information. CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Ruth Cundiff Tuesday, May 3, 2022 1:03 PM HPD Preservation May 4th Meeting/Item A1 *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** To whom it may concern, My name is Ruth Cundiff & Im a local Realtor, developer, and Austinite. Regarding ITEM A1 & the demolition of our 4th street safe haven for the marginalized people of Austin, what is housed on 4th street is more than just businesses like Oilcan Harry’s, Coconut Club, and Neon Grotto is more than just clubs‐ It is a safe space for our community. Part of what makes Austin home to so many of us in the LGBTQIA+ community is that it has always been a city where we feel more lifted up by our culture and community. We may have a long way to go, but I promise you that taking away safe spaces like Coconut Club, Oilcan Harry’s and Neon Grotto is not the way to continue to build our community up. "We can’t save a business, but we can save a place where businesses like it can survive and thrive," Said your own board member Kevin Koch, This culture of the city should be celebrated, not destroyed and gentrified like most of Austin has come to in the past decade. Support the right side of history, Ruth Cundiff ‐‐ M m m M m m M m m Ruth Cundiff Amazing Realty 13740 Research Blvd, Bldg G #1, Austin TX 78750 | The Texas Real Estate Commission requires me to provide you with 2 documents: Information about Brokerage Services and the Consumer Protection Act. These are located on our website for your convenience. CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Katie McGaha Tuesday, May 3, 2022 1:09 PM HPD Preservation URGENT: Public Comment for May 4th Hearing *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Dear Historic Landmark Commission, My name is Katie McGaha. I'm reaching out in response to The Hanover Co's demolition request of the 4th street block between Colorado and Lavaca. I am STRONGLY AGAINST Item A1 and want my comment made public on May 4th recorded by email. You can reach me by phone at Please respond as soon as possible with the next steps and additional information. CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Haley McCarley Tuesday, May 3, 2022 1:21 PM HPD Preservation URGENT: Public Comment for May 4th Hearing *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Dear Historic Landmark Commission, My name is Haley McCarley. I'm reaching out in response to The Hanover Co's demolition request of the 4th street block between Colorado and Lavaca. I am STRONGLY AGAINST Item A1 and want my comment made public on May 4th RECORDED BY EMAIL. You can reach me by phone at The establishments on 4th street were the ONLY places I felt safe for many many years as I was going through the process of coming out. The removal of these establishments will deny thousands of overs like me of the safe spaces they do desperately need. This CANNOT go through. Please respond as soon as possible with the next steps and additional information. Sent from my iPhone‐‐ Best regards, Haley McCarley Class of 2016 | Stan Richards School of Advertising | TexasMedia Moody College of Communication | The University of Texas at Austin haleym05@gmail.com | 409‐750‐2447 CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Brit'ne Sissom Wednesday, May 4, 2022 8:48 AM HPD Preservation URGENT: Public Comment for May 4th Hearing *** External Email ‐ Exercise Caution *** Dear Historic Landmark Commission, My name is Brit'ne Sissom. I'm reaching out in response to The Hanover Co's demolition request of the 4th street block between Colorado and Lavaca. I am STRONGLY AGAINST Item A1 and want my comment made public on May 4th recorded via email. You can reach me by email at With the attacks on lgbtq+ rights around the country by state governments, including Texas, it is extremely important that there remains at least one safe space for us to go. Please respond as soon as possible with the next steps and additional information. CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Katherine Graciano Wednesday, May 4, 2022 10:40 AM HPD Preservation URGENT: Public Comment for May 4th Hearing Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Follow up Flagged *** External Email ‐ Exercise Caution *** Dear Historic Landmark Commission, My name is Katherine Graciano. I'm reaching out in response to The Hanover Co's demolition request of the 4th street block between Colorado and Lavaca. I am STRONGLY AGAINST Item A1 and want my comment made public on May 4th recorded by email. You can reach me by phone at As a once‐tourist‐turned‐newly‐Austinite, I know the importance of tourism. When I first was able to experience 4th street, it provided me with safety amongst having fun. It’s important to the queer community that we keep Austin safe. And by taking away a chunk of their haven, this does the opposite. More than ever, we need this here in Austin. It’s important that the LGBTQIA+ community is heard and listened to. 4th St has such a wonderful charm BECAUSE of the LGBTQIA+ community and it shows that Austin is a welcoming, loving, vibrant city. Austin does not need another sky rise, it needs to preserve its history and right now, this community is living history in these unstable times. Again, it’s truly wonderful to see such a beautiful part of town be so accepting towards the LGBTQIA+ and it would crush us if these building were torn down because they belong here as a solidified representation that Austin is welcoming to all. Please respond as soon as possible with the next steps and additional information. Thank you, Katherine Graciano CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. 1 Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Samantha Borek Wednesday, May 4, 2022 12:01 PM HPD Preservation; Allen, Amber Comments for Item A1 Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Follow up Flagged *** External Email - Exercise Caution *** Hello! My name is Samantha Borek and I'm a member of the LGBT+ community here in Austin that strongly opposes item A1 regarding the 4th street facade reconstruction. Here are my comments for uploading to the HLC site for review. My partner and I have lived in Austin for only a few years, fleeing cities and families that were hostile to our existence. And here we found a thriving community we’ve come to rely on in our times of need. However, in the last two years, we have seriously debated leaving not because we want to, but because we have to. Austin, like most cities in the US is facing a few crises: an ongoing pandemic, a hostile state government, and a housing crisis to name a few. And the most marginalized are disproportionately affected by these things, particularly Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other people of color, as well as disabled people, who are LGBT+ .The development of this project speaks to those obstacles we’re facing. While I know that places like Oilcan Harry’s will eventually return, allegedly with below-market rent promised to them, the fact is that the apartments built above these sites will only serve the most privileged among us, while our most underserved siblings sit in crumbling apartments with skyrocketing rent, as my partner and I do now, or remain houseless. It is only inevitable that as demand rises for these desirable apartments, the rent on the spaces below them will also rise in the interest of capital to further displace our community. High-rolling investors have no interest in preserving what makes Austin the city it is, or helping its communities, they only care about bringing in people with the money to spend on their lavish accommodations, and displacing those who cannot. As our state government continues to be hostile toward our trans siblings, such a project to further displace them and not give them refuge is a misstep. This committee is about preservation, and more important than the preservation of buildings is the preservation of culture and people who will surely eventually be eroded away as housing skyrockets and wages stay low in the city. If we continue to push out those who built what Austin is, Austin will cease to exist as it once did, it’s already whittling away at its most marginalized in their time of converging crises. Thank you for your time, Samantha Borek CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. 1 May 4, 2022 Dear Members of the Commission, My name is Gillian Kümm. I have been a resident of Austin for about six years and I would like to strongly urge you to vote against Item A1. As a queer Black non-binary person, it wasn’t until I was embraced by Austin’s queer community that I felt safe living as my authentic self and the historic queer corner of Colorado and 4th has been a crucial space for that sense of safety. I know I am not the first and I hope not to be the last to find comfort and community dancing at Neon Grotto, singing karaoke at Coconut Club, and grabbing coffee at Cuatro Gato. These spaces are essential to the health and well-being of so many people within the Austin artistic community, queer or otherwise as all are welcome. Please consider the many people who rely on these spaces for their livelihoods and safety. Please consider not only the queer history you’ll be paving over but also the present day queer community that helps keep Austin Weird. Please don’t pave over us. Thank you for your consideration, Gillian Kümm (they/them) Allen, Amber From: Sent: To: Subject: Lauren Osborne Wednesday, May 4, 2022 2:36 PM HPD Preservation URGENT: Public Comment for May 4th Hearing *** External Email ‐ Exercise Caution *** Dear Historic Landmark Commission, My name is Laure Osborne. I'm reaching out in response to The Hanover Co's demolition request of the 4th street block between Colorado and Lavaca. I am STRONGLY AGAINST Item A1 and want my comment made public on May 4th recorded by email. You can reach me by email at It would be a huge mistake to allow this development to occur. We want Austin to remain unique and welcoming and safe for all people, right? Well bulldozing over ANOTHER cultural hub, especially that of an already marginalized community, works directly against that goal. The 4th St district has been one of the safer spots for people to be their true selves and letting this developer disturb that peace is unacceptable. We don’t need another boring high‐rise that benefits a wealthy few, especially since most of the people who would benefit from it aren’t even from Austin and have no stake in its communities. Please do what you can to help preserve this special part of downtown. Please respond as soon as possible with the next steps and additional information. CAUTION: This email was received at the City of Austin, from an EXTERNAL source. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious and/or phishing email, please forward this email to cybersecurity@austintexas.gov. . 1