Community District
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Manhattan CD02 Projects
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Manhattan Community District 02
3 Washington Square Village, #1A
New York, NY 10012
Phone: 212.979.2272
Fax: 212.254.5102
Email: cb2manhattan@nyc.rr.com
Far West Village Rezoning
The City Council approved the application to rezone the Far West Village on October 11, 2005, and the zoning changes have since been in effect. The rezoning plan covers a 14-block area of the Far West Village in Manhattan. The goal of the rezoning was to restrict high-rise development and encourage new development to stay within the 19th century-era character of the neighborhood.
Recent headlines
Rezoning of New Area Rejected Again in Far West Side
February 15, 2008
The Real Deal
New Residential Building for Far West Village
November 7, 2007
The Villager
Intersection Redesigns in West Village Support Pedestrians
July 29, 2007
New York Times
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Hudson River Park Ruling-NY State Dept. of Conservancy
Hudson River Park
Plans call for the partially completed Hudson River Park to run for five miles along Manhattan’s Hudson River front, from Battery Place to West 59th Street. When completed, the park will encompass 550 acres, including 13 old maritime piers that are being converted into public parks. Of the park’s six segments, two have been completed, one is currently under construction, and the remaining three are in development stages. Over $350 million in public money has gone into the park, of which approximately one third each came from the state and city, with the remaining third coming from a variety of sources.
The development of the park has been marked with controversy, especially from within the environmental community, some of whom joined the Hudson River Park Alliance to support most of the park planning and others of whom remained critical of the project. The latter group has been particularly critical of the plan to support the maintenance of the park with funds from commercial developments within the park itself, arguing that a simpler park could be maintained entirely through public funds. Critics also decried the adverse environmental effects of the park, especially on the native fish habitat. The park’s supporters maintain that allowing certain piers to decay naturally will protect those fish, and that utilizing funds earned in the park is the only way in which to maintain a park of this magnitude.
Plans for Pier 40, located just off Houston Street, have also been at the center of controversy. Pier 40 is one of the City's largest recreational facilities heavily used by the local community and youth sport’s leagues especially. The Hudson River Park Trust issued an RFP in August 2006. Initially there were two proposals being considered: Camp Group's "The People's Pier", including educational space, a part-time day camp, and boutique retail and Related's "Pier 40 Performing Arts Center," involving Cirque du Soleil, a multiplex cinema, and rooftop recreation. Neither proposal has received full support from the community or local officials even after modifications. While many are eager to see much needed renovations and improvements, some community residents express fear of increased costs and overcrowding possibly resulting from these proposals. Concerns have also arisen about the financial feasibility of “The People’s Pier” and the need for both proposals to extend the 30-year lease mandated by the Hudson River Park Trust.
In January 2008, a late entry proposal was made by the Pier 40 Partnership, a community-based parent’s group, for the pier to be revitalized with new artist space, a public high school and continued use of protected sports fields, the bike path, and other recreational space. This plan has been endorsed by the Pier 40 Working Group and Community Board 2’s Waterfront Committee; making it a valid contender for the redevelopment of the Pier. A meeting of the Hudson River Park Trust is expected at the end of January 2008 to reach a consensus and move forward so as not to delay or set back the project any further.
Recent headlines
Hudson River Park Trust Releases RFP for Pier 57
July 14, 2008
Busniess Wire
Interest Grows for New Pier 40 Plan
July 11, 2008
Downtown Express
Public School Facility A Possibility for Pier 40
June 25, 2008
The Villager
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New York Diamond Tower
Gary Barnett, a former Belgian diamond trader, plans to construct a 725,000-square foot, $433.5 million New York Diamond Tower on West 47th Street, including modern office space, underground parking, a maximum-security vault and a museum. The developer promises that his tower will restore the district as a world center for the diamond trade. The developer promises 520 to 1,320 new jobs. Based on those jobs the City’s Economic Development Corporation has proposed a $37.5 million subsidy package over 10 years for the project, which consists of payments in lieu of City property taxes, exemption from City and State sales and use taxes, and exemption from City and State mortgage recording taxes.
Landlords and tenants on 47th Street have mobilized against the proposed tax incentives, hiring lobbyists and publicists to go against those employed by the developer at a city Industrial Development Agency hearing. Opponents of the plan argue that the city's proposed subsidy would push the tower’s rents below market rates, serving only to poach tenants from other buildings in the Diamond District and that it is illogical for the city to give incentives to commercial construction in Midtown, where the commercial real estate market is booming, with low vacancy rates and high rents. City officials say the tax incentive offered to Mr. Barnett is less than what he had initially sought and is tied to the number of jobs the building creates. They say adding discounted, concentrated, and modern space to the district would boost the stagnant diamond industry, which is on the verge of hemorrhaging jobs to other cities and countries. Further they argue that the incentives are required to keep the new tower, expected to cost more than $400 million, affordable to diamond industry tenants.
The city's Industrial Development Agency approved the subsidies on November 14th, 2006. To actually receive the breaks, the developer must lease at least 65 percent of the new building with diamond- and jewelry-related occupants and at least 20 percent with businesses that are new to or expanding in the city.
Recent headlines
Diamond Tower Receives Early Approval, Some Landlords Worried
November 15, 2006
NY1
Diamond District Tower Debated
November 9, 2006
New York Times
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Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
Community Task Force on NYU Development
NYU Office of Strategic Assessment, Planning, and Design -- History of NYU
NYU Development
Founded in 1831, NYU has grown from an inaugural class of 158 students to become the largest private university in the country, with almost 40,000 students enrolled in its 14 schools and colleges. NYU also numbers among the largest employers in New York City, with over 16,000 staff and faculty members on its payroll. Originally housed in a four-story building at the corner of Beekman and Nassau, NYU has undergone continual and significant expansion to accommodate the needs of an ever-growing university community and now maintains roughly 15 million square feet of space in Manhattan. The bulk of that development has occurred in and around Greenwich Village, particularly since NYU sold its University Heights campus in the Bronx to the city in 1973. NYU now owns over 100 buildings in the Village but continues to confront need for new space.
Some area residents oppose NYU’s growing footprint, concerned with the impact of large facilities that they feel are out of context with the predominately low-rise architecture of the Village. Various NYU construction projects have sparked controversy over the years, ranging from the law school’s Vanderbilt Hall, which displaced a group of popular local artists from their tenements along Washington Square South in 1947; to I.M. Pei’s University Village towers, which were developed as part of the city’s widely criticized urban renewal efforts of the 1960s; to the 2001 Kimmel Center for Student Life, which opponents argued would cast a shadow over Washington Square Park and block southbound views through its historic arch. Most recently, in 2007 NYU moved forward on a plan to build a 26-story dorm on the former site of St. Ann Catholic Church on East 12th Street despite significant community opposition. A lawsuit was filed against the developer of the dorm because of concern over a transfer of air rights from the United States Post Office. The plaintiffs argued that, since the federal government is not bound by city zoning laws and the Post Office could later disregard its agreement with the developer and construct a second skyscraper with impunity, the transfer should be considered invalid. A judge subsequently dismissed the suit on a technicality (ruling that the plaintiffs should have first applied to the Board of Standards and Appeals to stop construction) but also criticized the plaintiffs’ central argument as a “highly questionable contention.” Dubbed the “mega-dorm” by local community groups opposed to its construction, the building will be the tallest in the East Village.
In May 2007, NYU hired an outside consulting firm, SMWM, to help develop the university’s long-term growth plan. Throughout the planning process, NYU sought to engage a variety of community stakeholders in the discussions. The Community Task Force on NYU Development, formed by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer in Fall 2006, brought elected officials, government agencies, and community groups together with NYU president John Sexton and the SMWM team in a series of meetings and open houses intended to set development on a course that would benefit both the university and its neighbors. After nine months of feedback, SMWM presented its final recommendations in April 2008. The resulting draft plan, called “NYU Plans 2031,” is focused on the following guiding principles, which were endorsed by Borough President Stringer and the Community Task Force:
• maintain the campus core in the Washington Square Park area for academic and student-services uses;
• better utilize existing resources and assets;
• respect the historic and cultural character of nearby neighborhoods;
• have public interaction and take public input on the plans;
• develop mixed-use spaces;
• protect natural and historic resources in the area;
• use high quality urban design and architecture;
• promote sustainability;
• and develop new public green spaces.
NYU expects that it will need to add up to 6 million square feet of residential and classroom space to accommodate the needs of the university in 2031. Andrew Berman, Executive Director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, has advocated that NYU explore the possibility of satellite campuses around the city instead of solely focusing on acquiring space in the Village. Berman’s position was echoed in resolutions passed by Community Boards 2 and 3 in 2006 that praised NYU’s “positive contributions to our communities” but expressed “deep and genuine concern that NYU, through its continued expansion, will cease being an important part in the make-up of our neighborhoods and instead become a dominating and overwhelming presence.” Recently, NYU signed a lease for new housing in Brooklyn Heights and purchased land for faculty housing on Roosevelt Island. Other areas for expansion suggested in the SMWM report include Downtown Brooklyn (NYU’s recent merger with Brooklyn Polytechnic could move some class space to this area), the Health Corridor in the East 20s and 30s (where NYU’s Medical Center and Dental College are already located and where NYU recently placed a bid to acquire Hunter College’s Brookdale campus) and the largely undeveloped Governor’s Island.
Nonetheless, a significant portion of NYU’s future expansion will likely occur within its “core campus” around Washington Square Park and dialogue with its neighbors will be ongoing. Already in the few months since the unveiling of SMWM’s recommendations, two NYU development projects have sparked extensive negotiations with community groups and government officials: the university’s decision to build a new co-generation plant on Mercer Street, which will power 30 buildings as part of its Green Action Plan, and its proposal to build a new research facility for the law school above and around the historic Provincetown Playhouse on MacDougal Street. Both projects were ultimately approved by Community Board 2.
Recent headlines
NYU Strives to “Be a Good Neighbor” as it Plans Expansion
July 13, 2008
New York Magazine
Community Board Permits NYU to Demolish Buildings near Playhouse
June 20, 2008
The Real Deal
NYU Pledges Transparency and Community Input on Plans for Provincetown Theater
April 30, 2008
New York Times
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SoHo Sanitation Garage
The Sanitation Department has announced plans for a 140- to 150-feet-high garage on a lot bounded by Spring, Washington and West Streets. The 427,000-square-foot garage’s ground floor would be used by United Parcel Service, which now parks its trucks on the lot, while the rest of the building would be used by the Sanitation Department, consolidating three garages. A smaller garage just to the south of the parking lot and next to the ventilation shafts would be turned into a truck wash and refueling depot, storing 13,000 gallons of fuel and oil. DSNY vehicles and equipment – refuse and recycling collection trucks, snow plows, salt spreaders, etc. – would be parked, maintained and refueled there. The Department insists that the garage was needed to replace garages along the river in the newly established Hudson River Park. The quickly gentrifying area is no-name land between Greenwich Village, TriBeCa and SoHo but it also includes a new condo development where condos have sold for millions. Residents of the building and developers of land nearby are fearful of what effect the garage might have on views and noise in the area.
Recent headlines
Envisioning Hudson Square on Display for Community
October 29, 2007
Metro New York
Architects Design Space for Hudson Square
October 5, 2007
Downtown Express
Hudson Square Community Disproves Sanitation Garage
October 5, 2007
Downtown Express
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South Village Historic District
The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation has submitted a proposal for the creation of the South Village Historic District. The boundaries of the district would cover the blocks south of West Fourth St. to West Houston St., between Seventh Ave. and LaGuardia Place, and an extension from Houston St. down to Watts St. between Sixth Ave. and the midblock line west of West Broadway. Comprised of 38 blocks and about 800 buildings, it would be the city’s first tenement-based district. What many consider the heart of the Village — streets including Bleecker, Carmine, MacDougal, Sullivan, Thompson, Cornelia, Jones, Minetta and Minetta Lane — are included in the proposed South Village district but were missed when the Greenwich Village Historic District was designated in 1969.
Although the neighborhood has seen less development pressure than other places, like the recently landmarked and rezoned far West Village, it is home to several buildings beloved of preservationists. The proposal cited the demolition of the Tunnel Garage on Broome and Thompson Sts., the Circle in the Square Theater on Bleecker St., the Sullivan St. Theater and the Poe House and Judson Memorial Church Community House at Thompson and W. Third Sts.
Recent headlines
Preservation Groups Push for South Village Landmark
December 10, 2007
Metro New York
Rally For South Village Historic District
October 9, 2007
AM New York
South Village Historic District Forces Developers Westward
May 24, 2007
New York Sun
Trump Soho Hotel Condominiums
Donald Trump, in partnership with the Bayrock Group and Tamir Sapir, are building a condo-hotel, which will have 411 rooms, at 246 Spring Street, between Varick Street and Sixth Avenue. The luxury hotel, at 454 feet high, will be the tallest structure in SoHo, and will be equipped with an outdoor pool, a screening room, restaurant and cocktail lounge, members’ library, and event space. Envisioned as Manhattan’s first “condo-hotel,” every unit in the Handel Architects-designed building will be sold individually to buyers who can live in them and also are free to offer up their Rockwell Group-designed units as hotel rooms.
Supporters maintain that the structure will be a hotel and that it will bring nearly 400 jobs and much needed event space to the community. Trump and his partners claimed that since the development is not a residential use, the project is “as of right” and therefore requires no rezoning or variances, nor does it have to go through ULURP. On May 8, 2007 the Department of Buildings approved the structure after the Bloomberg administration negotiated a deal limiting owners of the hotel's units to stays not exceeding 29 consecutive days and 120 total days per year.
Opponents of the project, however, claim that the Trump Tower would violate zoning laws by placing permanent residences in an area zoned for manufacturing. After failing to stop the Department of Buildings from granting Trump a building permit, opponents, led by the SoHo Alliance, initiated legal action with the goal of forcing the Building Department to rescind the permit. The legal appeal, which is supported by numerous community groups and local economic development corporations, is currently pending before the City’s Board of Standards and Appeals. A decision is expected on the appeal in May, 2008.
The construction of the project has also been marred by several accidents. In January 2008, a worker fell 42 stories to his death and in March 2008, a chain from a crane on the project shattered several glass windows on the project sending glass down to the street and sidewalk. Also in March 2008, the crane at Trump’s project failed inspection and the project was forced to stop-work.
Recent headlines
Trump Soho Wins at Board of Standards and Appeals
May 7, 2008
The Real Deal
Crane Violation Halts Construction at Trump Hotel
March 27, 2008
Newsday.com
Accident at Trump SoHo Tower Shatters Glass, Stops Work
March 10, 2008
New York Daily News
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Washington Square Park Council
Wired New York Discussion Forum
NYU Office of Community Affairs
Environmental Assessment Statement (NYC Dept. of Parks)
Washington Square Park Redesign
The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has begun construction on the renovation of Washington Square Park. The plans include a $16 million redesign of the Greenwich Village landmark paid for with funding by the city, the Tisch family, and NYU. The fountain will be refurbished and moved so it lines up with the arch, the central plaza will be ripped up and flattened, and a new playground will go where concrete play mounds now sit, and a four-foot wrought iron fence will replace the current mishmash of lower barriers. The new park will feature an adventure play area for older kids and a refurbished bathroom house. Holley Square will be moved away from the central fountain to create freer walkways, and there'll be more benches in some areas, new tables for Scrabble, and lower walls for sitting. The central plaza and lawns will all be made to the same grade so wheelchairs can get around and the different parts of the park feel connected.
Proponents of the plan say that the park is in a state of disrepair and that the large expanses of pavement should be replaced with green-space. Opponents of the plans fear that the park will loose its unique character, and they also fear disturbing the burial ground underneath the park during construction. The alleged disenfranchisement of local community members in the planning and design process is of greatest concern to many. During 2005 and early 2006, three lawsuits were filed challenging various aspects of the Parks Department's renovation plans. All of those suits were eventually resolved in the City’s favor, which allowed construction to begin in late 2007. The first phase of the construction is scheduled to be completed in the Spring of 2009.
Recent headlines
Washington Square Park Redesign Opponents Assess Park Character
March 1, 2008
The New York City Independent Media Center
Ancient Graveyard Discovered At Washington Square Park
February 6, 2008
Metro New York
Opponents Protest Washington Square Park Renovations
December 21, 2007
AM New York