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5 June 2013

IN THIS ISSUE

South Village Landmarking Hearing June 25th

 

Zoning Variance Hearing for Sullivan Street and Sixth Avenue June 12th

New Landmarks Applications

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South Village Landmarking Hearing June 25th

 

Proposed South Village Historic District. Click to enlarge.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission will hold its public hearing on "phase II" of our proposed South Village Historic District on Tuesday, June 25th. This is a vitally important next step before they vote on the district some time before the end of the year. It will be critical to have a strong turnout, and to urge the Commission to approve the district, not to shrink the boundaries at all, and to move ahead with the remainder of the proposed historic district, south of Houston Street.

 

 

After years of struggling and campaigning, the Commission is finally moving ahead with the second phase of the South Village Historic District GVSHP proposed in 2006 ("phase I" was designated in 2010). After initially excluding a pair of architecturally notable, low-rise NYU buildings which could be future development sites and a row of ten 1840s houses at 130-148 West Houston Street which were in GVSHP's proposed district, in May these sites were added back in to the historic district now under consideration.  But when the Commission votes in December, they can roll back the boundaries again, and GVSHP is urging them to include all of the proposed buildings in the district when designated.

 

The Commission has also not yet agreed to consider the section of GVSHP's proposed South Village Historic District south of Houston Street, which is both worthy of landmark designation and imminently endangered. GVSHP is urging them to move ahead with this area as soon as possible.

 

HOW TO HELP: 
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Zoning Variance Hearing June 12th for 120-140 Sixth Avenue/72-78 Sullivan Street

   

An application has been filed for a zoning variance for a development on this site north of Broome Street, which formerly housed a gas station and a car wash. For many years, a developer has planned to build an 18-story hotel on this site, which the zoning for the site allows. He is now seeking a zoning variance to allow the development to be residential, rather than a hotel, which the zoning for this site currently does not allow.  You can read more about the application and proposed development HERE, HERE, and HERE.

 

It is outrageous that an 18-story development is allowable on this site, regardless of the use. The site is located within the South Village Historic District GVSHP proposed in 2006 (and which the City has still not agreed to move upon), and within an area GVSHP has long urged city officials to rezone, but which they have refused. 

 

That said, GVSHP does not object to a residential use at this location, which might in many ways be preferable to a hotel. However, while this site is zoned for hotel and other commercial (but not residential) development at 18 stories, nearly all the sites in the surrounding neighborhood which are zoned for residential development only allow new development at a much more limited scale -- about 31% smaller than the proposed development. Therefore we believe that if this development is to be allowed a variance for  residential development at this location, it should be at the size and density which is allowed for residential development in the surrounding area.

 

HOW TO HELP:
  • Attend the Community Board #2 Land Use Committee public hearing on the variance on Wednesday, June 12 at the Little Red Schoolhouse Auditorium, 272 Sixth Avenue (Bleecker Street) and urge the Community Board to only approve a variance for residential use IF the size of the development is consistent with what the residential zoning for the surrounding neighborhood allows. The meeting begins at 6:30 pm, and this is the 3rd and final item on the agenda.   
      
  • If you cannot attend, you can e-mail your comments to the Community Board at info@cb2manhattan.org (please copy gvshp@gvshp.org), though attending and testifying has a much greater impact.
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Latest Landmark Applications Available

 

GVSHP provides an ongoing record of all applications for changes to landmarked properties in our neighborhoods (Greenwich Village, NoHo, Gansevoort Market, the South Village, and the East Village) that require a public hearing before they can be approved. These proposals range from minor alterations to large additions, demolition, and new construction on landmarked sites.

 

Find out about the application, when the Community Board and NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission public hearings will take place, and how you can weigh in before decisions are made. You can also sign up for alerts to be notified of changes in the status of the application.    

 

The new applications below are scheduled to be heard in the near future at the Community Board, the LPC, or both. Click on each for more information.

CB2 hearing: 06/10/2013 LPC hearing: 06/18/2013
CB2 hearing: 06/10/2013 LPC hearing: 06/18/2013
CB2 hearing: 06/10/2013 LPC hearing: 06/18/2013




To sign up for notifications of new landmarks applications, please click HERE.


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Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

232 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003 / (212) 475-9585

www.gvshp.org