NEW YORK | 50 West Street | 778 FT / 237 M | 64 FLOORS

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by antinimby

Ah yes, how could I have forgotten? That's another common one.

As far as that goes, most of Lower Manhattan will be covered with construction in some form or another...

[NYguy]

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_21...lopersays.html

Developer says ‘no’ to affordable housing, so C.B. 1 considers saying ‘right back at you’



Time Equities plans to build a new 63-story luxury condo building at 50 West St.

By Skye H. McFarlane

A presentation on the proposed 63-story tower at 50 West St. last week left local community board members wrestling with two questions: What sort of community amenities would mitigate the impact of the project’s desired zoning variances? And when does the impact become so significant that no potential amenity could make the deal worthwhile?

The developers at 50 West St. formally presented their request for two separate land use actions on June 6. Now it is up to Community Board 1 to determine whether green design, a public plaza and a laptop program for a local school are reason enough to approve zoning variances that would allow Time Equities to add more than 20 stories to their planned hotel and condominium combo.

So far, the answer seems to be “no,” particularly since the developer refused a request by C.B. 1 members to consider building any affordable apartments in Lower Manhattan.

“We’re moving in right direction, but I don’t think we’re there yet,” said City Councilmember Alan Gerson, who helped negotiate the amenities with the developer. “The community voiced legitimate concerns and requests at the meeting.”

For some community members, the addition of park maintenance, cultural space or a pedestrian bridge could make the development palatable. For others, 50 West St.’s high density, out-of-context design and lack of affordable housing make the project a no-go, no matter what the developers offer the community. The board will hold another meeting this Monday to craft a resolution on the development. According to C.B. 1 chairperson Julie Menin, the board plans to write a conditional approval or disapproval, rather than a simple “yes” or “no.” The full board will vote on the resolution this Tuesday.

By law, the Department of City Planning must consider the community board’s opinion as a part of the official Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. The City Council, however, will have the final say on whether or not the 50 West St. project gets approved.

By right, the developer, Time Equities, can build a 30 to 40-story building on the site, which is next to the entrance to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. A 1912 office building will be demolished to make way for the new tower. If the developers’ land-use application is approved, they will be able to add 180,000 square feet of space through the construction of a public plaza along little-known Ward St. and the purchase of air rights from over the Battery Tunnel.

The building will be a slender, translucent glass cylinder designed by noted architect Helmut Jahn. Time Equities director of acquisition and development Phillip Gesue said that the building’s aesthetics made the most sense at its planned height of 63 stories. He pointed out that most of the city’s most significant and beloved buildings, such as the Woolworth Building, were out of context with the height and style of their surroundings when they were first constructed.

“Over time, everything blends in,” Gesue said of the building’s height. “I think this design is very different, very special.”


Despite his admiration for the design, Gesue would not release a rendering of the project for publication.

Several board members agreed that the Jahn design was appealing. Their concerns, they said, rested more with what will be inside the building — namely 300 luxury condominiums filled with new residents. The building will also contain a high-end hotel and ground-floor retail spaces. Community members worried that the new residents and their children would further stress the neighborhood’s already crowded schools, parks and ballfields.

In an attempt to mitigate that impact, the developer offered up a plan to provide laptops for every student in Battery Park City’s I.S. 89. Time Equities would provide laptops, backup equipment and a staff technician for four years. Asked why the developer was offering a temporary amenity to offset a permanent development, Gesue said that the laptop program was designed to see the school through until a new school can be built in the neighborhood, presumably at Site 2B in the neighborhood’s south end.

I.S. 89 principal Ellen Foote and David Feiner, an aide to Councilmember Gerson, both spoke in support of the plan. By giving the school laptops, they said, the developers will allow I.S. 89 to turn its computer room into two regular classrooms — thus reducing class size. Although I.S. 89’s enrollment is capped, P.S. 89, which shares the building, has experienced acute class-size problems in recent years.

Feiner also spoke in favor of 50 West’s plan to seek a “Gold” rating from the U.S. Green Buildings Council. In addition to the rating, Gesue said at the meeting that Time Equities was open to requiring the use of ultra low sulfur diesel fuel and emissions filters in its construction vehicles.

“This is the perfect place to have a green building,” Feiner said. “It’s important to set the standard and hopefully other developers will have to follow the standard and compete.”

One aspect of the building’s green plan, however, was a sticking point for local residents. To encourage the use of public transportation, the building will not have a parking garage. Community members said they feared that the building’s high-income residents and guests would bring cars into the neighborhood anyways, clogging up the streets and raising the price of parking in local garages.

At the Wednesday night meeting, the community debated back and forth with Gesue about other possibilities for community benefits in and around the site. Although the development will include a tree-lined pedestrian plaza along Ward St., Time Equities backed off of its earlier support for a pedestrian bridge connecting the area to Battery Park City.

Gesue said that a bridge landing inside the building would present space and cleanliness issues. A resident of the Greenwich South area himself, Gesue said that he was personally in favor of a pedestrian bridge landing in plaza, but that the developers would have to discuss the feasibility of such a project at a later date.

Gesue said that the developer would consider adding public art or cultural space to the building, so long as the cultural space was occupied by a paying tenant. He did not respond to suggestions that the developer might pay to improve the small parks and streetscapes in the neighborhood.

Menin said that if Time Equities did not choose to take on the park and streetscape upgrades, she hoped that the city would do it instead. If the ULURP application is approved, the city would stand to earn an estimated $18 million from the sale of its air rights. Because the sale of city air rights over a street is an unusual and (to some board members) unsettling proposition, Menin and others insisted that the neighborhood must reap the benefits of that sale from the municipal end.

“One-hundred percent of the proceeds must go to Downtown to support much-needed infrastructure,” Menin said. “That money cannot end up in Red Hook.”

The mention of Brooklyn drew the ire of community residents more than once during the meeting. Because the developer plans to take advantage of the 421-a tax abatement, community members asked whether Time Equities planned to include any affordable housing in the 50 West project. South of 14th St., any development can currently take advantage of the tax break, which was put into place during the 1970s economic crisis.

A new version of the law, however, is expected to pass the state legislature this session. If passed, the new 421-a law would require developers in Lower Manhattan to include at least 20 percent affordable housing in their projects to merit the tax break. The new law would take effect in the new year. The 50 West project plans to break ground in late fall, which would put the project under the old version of the law.

Gesue said last Wednesday that it would be financially impossible to include affordable housing at 50 West as it is currently designed, since the building’s complex architecture and green features have put the construction price tag at over $1,000 per square foot. Asked if Time Equities would consider putting affordable housing off site in one of the company’s other Downtown properties, Gesue said no.

Frustrated with that answer, board member Allan Tannenbaum asked Gesue if he believed that Lower Manhattan should be reserved only for the rich and the super-rich.

“I think that Lower Manhattan should be for the people who can afford to pay the prices that it currently costs to live here,” Gesue said, stressing his strong belief in the free market. He added that if he could no longer afford to live in Lower Manhattan, he would happily move to Brooklyn. He suggested that other neighborhood residents could do the same. “You move to the neighborhood that you can afford to live in.”

The comments — and the thought of another tower going up in the narrow streets of her rapidly developing neighborhood — brought long-time Washington St. resident Esther Regelson close to tears. She urged C.B. 1 to refuse the ULURP application. Gesue argued that the towers, particularly 50 West, would bring commerce and street life to a “gritty” area that currently houses strip clubs and parking garages in addition to its historic old buildings and tenement apartments.

In the end, the board members decided that they needed to go home and carefully weigh the many aspects of the 50 West St. proposal before making a final decision.

“It’s a very good looking building, but would we rather have smaller scale here with stoops and stairs?” asked board member Tom Goodkind. “It’s not just about what the developer is going to give us. We have to ask, ‘Will this improve the neighborhood?’ It might, but I don’t know yet.”

[GFSNYC]

“I think that Lower Manhattan should be for the people who can afford to pay the prices that it currently costs to live here,” Gesue said, stressing his strong belief in the free market.

This may open a huge flame war, but here goes. Affordable housing integrated in reasonable amounts to areas like this are definately anti-free market and a form of social promotion - things I often don't like.

In practice though, cities that leave things totally to free markets end up having ghetto neighborhoods, which will often have crime spill over into richer neighborhoods. Rather then have a strict police force putting opportunistic criminals in place, remove the opportunity to commit crime to begin with. I think people respond better to an incentive then a fear of punishment - affordable housing's purpose is to lessen the ghetto effect as much as possible, and make sure that civic services are distributed equitabily. Brasilia is comming to mind here.

Free markets are excellent for economic progress, but sometimes needs to be tempered by social realities. NIMBY's take it to an extreme oftentimes, but the total opposite is no better. As for this development, a little bit off the bottom line will go a long way from a social prespective.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by GFSNYC

In practice though, cities that leave things totally to free markets end up having ghetto neighborhoods, which will often have crime spill over into richer neighborhoods. Rather then have a strict police force putting opportunistic criminals in place, remove the opportunity to commit crime to begin with.

Free markets are excellent for economic progress, but sometimes needs to be tempered by social realities. NIMBY's take it to an extreme oftentimes, but the total opposite is no better. As for this development, a little bit off the bottom line will go a long way from a social prespective.

Yeah. The City should just clear a whole swath of Wall Street and build housing projects down there. Since you say everyone is entitled to live everywhere, then let's just get right down to it. Because, as you know, even the "affordable housing" in New York often is not affordable to the poor. I can identify some prime sites for housing projects in the financial district, including Battery Park City.

As far as this development goes, even if the developer did agree to build some sort of affordable housing, it doesn't necessarily mean it will be at this site. As is done with other developments in the City, the affordable housing component could be built blocks, even miles away from this site. Would that really satisfy the objectors here?

[CoolCzech]

I think the chief social reality is that people need JOBS, and cities get jobs by having the private sector build places to work. Downtown and Midtown Manhattan are the BUSINESS heart of New York City. Everyone will benefit, in varying degrees, from all the development in NYC's immediate future, even if they don't live in the immediate vicinity.

"I think that Lower Manhattan should be for the people who can afford to pay the prices that it currently costs to live here,” Gesue said, stressing his strong belief in the free market. He added that if he could no longer afford to live in Lower Manhattan, he would happily move to Brooklyn. He suggested that other neighborhood residents could do the same. “You move to the neighborhood that you can afford to live in.”

Sounds pretty commonsensical to me.

[NYguy]

http://downtownexpress.com/de_215/cb1oksluxury.html

C.B. 1 OKs luxury tower on West with conditions




By Skye H. McFarlane

The 50 West St. tower can rise to 63 stories, so long as a good chunk of the windfall lands squarely within Community Board 1 and the Greenwich South neighborhood, the board said Tuesday night.

Board 1 essentially yellow-lighted the proposed hotel and condominium. The board voted to approve the glassy tower’s two land-use actions, but only if the developer and the city fulfill a laundry list of 13 wide-ranging conditions.

To mitigate the impact of 150 hotel rooms and 300 apartments filled with new, wealthy residents, the community is insisting that the developer, Time Equities, fulfill its promises to provide a public art gallery within the building, as well as a laptop program for I.S. 89.

In addition, the community stressed in its five-page resolution that Time Equities must build affordable housing Downtown, overhaul two small neighborhood parks and facilitate the construction of a pedestrian bridge over West St. The developer must also conduct its demolition and construction work using the safest, greenest and least disruptive techniques available.

The board’s most stringent requirement, however, addresses the city. Because one of the land-use actions would allow Time Equities to purchase 180,000 square feet of air rights from over the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, the city would stand to receive a significant profit from the development. The community is determined that 100 percent of the proceeds — likely in the tens of millions of dollars — be spent on projects within Lower Manhattan.

Chief among the community’s priorities for the money are the creation of affordable housing, the development of green space and sports fields, and the implementation of the Downtown Alliance streetscape program along Washington St. The board also asked the city to eliminate an extra 190,000 square feet of air rights that would be created by the land-use action, so that no future developer could ever apply to purchase them.

“These can’t just be pie-in-the-sky dreams,” said C.B. 1 Chairperson Julie Menin of the board’s conditions. “We really need concrete guarantees that we are going to get these things.”

Menin favored rejecting the project unless the conditions were met, but she couldn’t convince enough of her fellow board members to go along. She yielded when the language was change from “support” to “conditionally support.” The advisory resolution passed 34 to 5 with three abstensions.

Legally, the board’s opinion must be considered as a part of the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. However, the borough president’s office and the Department of City Planning also get to review the proposal. Because the application includes de-mapping a city street, the City Council will have the final say on the plan, even though C.B. 1 voted yes. Under most ULURPs, City Planning has the final say when the community board votes yes. If the Council approves the plan, Time Equities will purchase the air rights and create a pedestrian plaza along Ward St., the dark, narrow alley that separates the Battery Tunnel from 50 West St. to the north.

By rights, the developer can already take down the 13-story building on the site (known as the “copper-top” because the roof is painted green to look like copper patina). Current zoning, which caps bulk but not height, would then allow a 30- to 40-story building. By adding the 40-foot wide plaza — which would contain trees, cobblestone pavers and an outdoor café — the developer would earn the right to build another five to seven stories. That, combined with the air rights purchase, would put the building at a little over 500,000 square feet (63 stories under the current design).

There was much debate among board members over how to evaluate the proposed building. Many board members liked the building’s curving, near-transparent façade, designed by noted architect Helmut Jahn. They universally approved of Time Equities plan to seek a Gold rating from the U.S. Green Buildings Council. The building would also bring in customers to bolster the local retail scene.

To offset some of the building’s impact on the overcrowded local schools, Time Equities has proposed to provide laptops for all of the children in I.S. 89, along with maintenance and insurance for four years. The laptops would allow I.S. 89 to give its computer room to P.S. 89, which would convert the space into two regular classrooms to help alleviate acute class-size problems.

"There are other concerns with this project, but from a youth and education standpoint, we need the school space,” said Paul Hovitz, chair of the board’s Youth and Education Committee. “If we don’t do this, we are left to depend upon the [Department of Education] to address the overcrowding and we’ve seen how well that works out.”

After the community asked repeatedly for an art space in the building, Time Equities proposed to include a public art component, possibly light installations, in the hotel portion of the project. However, board members agreed that the laptops and the public art would not be enough to offset the extra stress that the new residents would put on local parks, schools and transportation systems.

Time Equities’ refusal to voluntarily include affordable housing in any of its Downtown projects also irked many board members, especially when a representative of the developer suggested that those people who could not afford to live in the neighborhood could always move to Brooklyn. Time will get state tax abatements as of right. A new version of the 421-a program would require Downtown developers to invest in affordable housing to get the tax benefits, but the bill, expected to pass June 21, will not take effect until June 2008.

“I really feel that the city can and should do more to press the developer to create affordable housing elsewhere in the district,” said board member Barry Skolnick.

A small number of board members wanted to reject the project altogether because of its large scale and precedent-setting use of city air rights. Others, including Menin, wanted to phrase the board’s opinion as a conditional rejection. The negative language, they felt, would make a stronger statement. The board compromised on “conditionally supports.”

Board members reasoned that since City Planning worked with the developers to craft the ULURP application, it would be unlikely that the City Council would outright reject the proposal. The Economic Development Corporation, the Battery Park City Authority and State Senator Martin Connor have also spoken in favor of the project. Councilmember Alan Gerson, who was involved in the negotiations with the developer, has not yet given his full support to the building, but his aide, David Feiner, has spoken in favor of the project at two different board meetings.

Therefore, the board decided it would be better not to fight the construction of the building, which will be very large regardless of the zoning variances. Instead they will fight to ensure that both the city and the developer make significant reinvestments in the neighborhood.

“I think it’s more than likely that we’ll get this building whether we like it or not,” said Battery Park City Committee chairperson Linda Belfer at a meeting Monday night. “We might as well get something in the way of mitigation.”

_______________________________________________

http://downtownexpress.com/de_215/editorial.html

50 West St. plan should be rejected

Community Board 1 gave conditional support Tuesday to a troubling 63-story luxury condo and hotel project in Downtown’s most perilous pedestrian area, without any commitment for affordable housing from the private developer in this government-subsidized project, or much improvement to the area. The battle over 50 West St. now moves to Borough President Scott Stringer, a strong affordable housing advocate, and to the City Council and Councilmember Alan Gerson, who was far too accommodating in the early negotiations with the developer.

Julie Menin, C.B. 1’s chairperson, was right to try and get the board to take a “no, but” position, but she didn’t prevail. The board did attach many sensible conditions to its approval, but its “yes with conditions” position weakens its ability to influence the developer and the project. The developer, Time Equities, now can truthfully say the board endorsed the thrust of the plan. We hope members stay on top of this project closely so their views are not distorted.

Under the estimated $550 million plan, Time Equities will demolish a handsome 1912 building and buy 183,000 square feet of air rights from the city at an undisclosed price, allowing the firm to build the most lucrative condos at the tower’s top. The developer will also get state tax breaks under the 421–a program. Had the developer made this proposal a year from now, the firm would have had to invest some of the subsidies in affordable housing, assuming Albany amends 421-a this week as is expected.

Not only is Time Equities refusing to invest even one dollar out of the millions of its tax subsidies in affordable housing, Phillip Gesue, the firm’s executive, bluntly told C.B. 1 members to move to Brooklyn if Downtown rents were getting too high for them.

What does Downtown get? Laptop computers for I.S. 89, which will also allow the computer room to close in order to free up two classrooms for one of our crowded schools, P.S. 89. Time Equities will offer temporary tech support for four years. The hotel lobby or some other part of the project will have public art space of unspecified size. Tiny unknown Ward St., a narrow pedestrian throughway near the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel and the West Side Highway would be widened with a public plaza that will also enable the developer to build bigger.

Almost five years ago, Mayor Bloomberg proposed transforming this pedestrian nightmare into a new residential neighborhood, Greenwich Street South, with new parks, and an easy walkway connecting the area to Battery Park City, along with residential buildings to help pay for the improvements. The idea has not progressed much beyond the pretty picture phase. Time Equities hinted about paying for a pedestrian bridge at first, but now is backing off. The city could presumably use the developer’s air right money to pay for the Greenwich idea, but none of that is clear.

What is clear is Time Equities has to offer a lot more in neighborhood improvements, specifically something toward affordable housing to justify receiving any public assistance. Stringer’s past record shows he understands these types of issues, and moments. Councilmember Gerson has also fought for affordable housing and we hope that his original enthusiasm for the developer’s offer is history. Gerson, Stringer, and the Council should either force dramatic improvements or tell Time Equities “No.”

[Jularc]

Community Board 1 approves 63-story tower at 50 West Street





22-JUN-07

Community Board 1 voted this week to approve the plans Times Equities, a real estate company headed by Francis Greenburger, to erect a 63-story hotel and residential condominium development at 50 West Street across from Battery Park City.

The slim tower has been designed by Gruzen Sampton LLC and Helmut Jahn of Murphy/Jahn Architects of Chicago, who designed CitySpire, Park Avenue Tower and 425 Lexington Avenue in New York and the great State of Illinois Center in Chicago.

The curved south side of the tower would have a plaza that would provide an alternate and more attractive pedestrian walkway from Battery Park City to Greenwich Street than the existing walkway through the Battery Tunnel Garage.

The proposed building would house a 155-room hotel on floors 1 though 13, 48 "full-service residential units" on floors 14 through 18 and 259 residential condominium apartments on floors 20 through 63. It would not have a garage.

The ground floor of the tower, which would be designed to achieve a Gold LEED rating, would contain a "light-art gallery showcasing some of the most innovate light installation artists in the world, a caf¿/bar, a restaurant and a "gourmet" corner store grocery.

The project requires text changes to allow a plaza at the site and to permit the transfer of development rights above the Battery Tunnel garage to be used "only in the at-grade area north of J. P. Ward Street, and by special permit only."

In addition, the project requires the demapping of a 8-inch strip between J. P. Ward Street and the applicant's site and a demapping for "a plane above J. P. Ward and the portion of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel Approach located 37.2 feet above the area between West, Washington, Morris and J. P. Ward Streets.

The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel Approach has about 2.7 million square feet of unused air rights and the 50 West Street project plans to acquire about 183,000 square feet of those air rights.

The project's site is just to the north of the proposed, 8-acre Greenwich Street South project that would deck over the Manhattan entrance to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, create a new park and a new, automated, green-roofed bus garage and five residential towers, a plan that was initiated by Mayor Bloomberg in 2002 and which the chairman of the Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority, Jim Gill, said last year he would like to take charge of.

An urban design study for that project was prepared in 2005 envisioned a new, curved pedestrian bridge over West Street to connect the southern part of Battery Park City to Greenwich Green, a new park between Morris and Edgar Streets between West and Greenwich Streets.

Julie Menin, chair of the Community Board, urged the board not to recommend approval of the project, but a resolution approving it "conditionally" was passed by a vote of 34 to 5 with three abstentions.

Members of the community board indicated they wanted any income from the sale of air rights to the project to be used for projects in Lower Manhattan, indicating that they were concerned about schools, a new pedestrian bridge over West Street, and the area's need for more cultural institutions and affordable housing.

Time Equities has agreed to give a local school 159 laptop computers with four-year maintenance contracts to help address the area's school needs, but the board indicated it wanted the project to contribute more to the community's needs, which include affordable housing and a bridge over West Street.

The redevelopment of the 50 West site would involve the demolition of the 12-story, 1912 building once known as the Crystal Building that has a 3-story-high mansard roof.


Copyright © 1994-2007 CITY REALTY.COM INC.

[NYguy]

This one has turned into a pleasant surprise.

[Fabb]

Originally Posted by NYguy

So the tower will stand 725 ft.

It has nice proportions. Even though it's not extremely tall, it's handsome.

[Scruffy]

for lower manhattan, thats a tall roof height. its virtually on par with 7wtc, goldman sachs, and World Financial Center 1

[NYguy]

^ That's true.

Originally Posted by Fabb

It has nice proportions. Even though it's not extremely tall, it's handsome.

It's very tall for that small site also. At 725 ft, it's slightly taller than Foster's 709 ft tower that will rise in Midtown...

[Antares41]

I like the height and it will help to balance out the western downtown skyline south of the WTC complex. It will be very prominent at that location and promises to be another beautifully glistening bldg. in the orange glow of the setting sun.

[NYguy]

http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/newsjuly07/50west.htm

Lots of 'Ifs' In CB1's OK of New Tower

By Andrea Appleton
POSTED JUNE 29, 2007




Community Board 1 gave its advisory approval for a 63-story residential tower at 50 West Street, near Rector. Conditional approval, that is. The board says the 725-foot tower should only be built if an abundance of community amenities—including a new pedestrian bridge across West Street and a public art gallery—come with it.

Last month developer Time Equities, Inc., headed by well-known arts patron Francis Greenburger, sought the board’s advisory approval, the first step in an extensive city-mandated review. A Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) is required because the developer wants several exemptions to the current zoning, as well as permission to purchase air rights from the Brooklyn Battery Garage across the street.

The full board voted on June 19 to lend its “conditional support” to the applications.

The tower would house about 300 condos and a 155-room hotel, and include a public plaza. The applications next go before Borough President Scott Stringer, followed by the City Planning Department, and finally City Council.

At a presentation earlier in the month, Philip Gesue, acquisitions director for Time Equities, Inc., argued that the building would benefit the city. Well-known architect Helmut Jahn designed the tower, and a plaza along the Joseph P. Ward and Washington Street edges of the lot would provide a pedestrian-friendly route between the southern neighborhood of Battery Park City and the rest of Lower Manhattan. Now, the only direct route from West Street to Washington Street in the vicinity is through the Brooklyn Battery Garage or up a dark sidewalk hemmed in between the garage and the adjoining building.

“It’s dangerous and illegal,” Gesue said, “and doesn’t contribute to the fabric of the community.”

While many CB1 members seemed unconvinced that the benefits of the development would offset what they saw as the negative impacts of the tower— increased traffic, the burden on local schools, and an overall change to the neighborhood’s character—the general sentiment was one of resignation.

“It’s more than likely we’ll get this building whether we like it or not,” said Linda Belfer. “We should figure out what amenities might sweeten this mess.”

To help mitigate effects on P.S./I.S. 89, Gesue said Time Equities would invest about $500,000 in the schools—to buy 159 laptop computers and fund a full-time computer maintenance person for four years. (Since the students will be able to use their laptops in class, the computer room would then be converted to a classroom for P.S. 89.)

“The impact on the school, the growth, directly affects P.S. 89,” I.S. 89 principal Ellen Foote said following a presentation, “but indirectly affects I.S. 89. We’re being squeezed and the only way to maintain an appropriate level of technology is to go by this route.”

While board members applauded the offer, it did not appease them.

“Five hundred thousand dollars is a drop in the bucket for these people,” Paul Sipos said at a meeting. “We should get twice as much money for the schools.”

In addition to the computers, CB1’s resolution stipulates that the developer must include a “significant” public art gallery in the building, improve two small parks at the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel approach, and redesign the plaza to include the landing of a new pedestrian bridge.

CB1 is demanding even more from the city, which would profit from the sale of the air rights.

Among the complex zoning modifications the building’s design requires is the “demapping” of several areas associated with the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel approach. This would allow the developer to purchase air rights from the city. They would essentially buy them from the city-owned garage across the street, adding 183,000 square feet to the 275,000 square feet currently allowed.

The city has not revealed how much revenue the sale would generate, but CB1 knows just where it should go.

“We need 100 percent of the money from the sale of the air rights to go to projects in the Lower Manhattan community,” chair Julie Menin said. The resolution lays out terms for how that money should be spent: affordable housing, green space and streetscape improvements.

On this count, CB1 may face an uphill battle. According to a City Planning source, the city has never targeted the proceeds of an air rights transaction on one area.

City Councilman Alan Gerson told the Trib that his office was looking at the legality of earmarking the funds. “But the underlying principle is that there should be additional benefits to the Lower Manhattan community,” he said. “I will be insisting on that before approving the transfer.”

[Dale]

"...migh sweeten this mess..." ? Good grief.

[GFSNYC]

increased traffic, the burden on local schools, and an overall change to the neighborhood’s character—the general sentiment was one of resignation.

63 Story tower, lets see... half of the residents of the tower will have kids, of that maybe half of those would be enrolled at public schools, mind you, they all be of varying ages. A good portion will use their apt 3/4 of the year. Half may have cars, doubtful any will use it for communiting to work. Oh a luxury highrise?! In downtown!? footsteps from battery park! Why, a luxury highrise would be totally out of place!!!!! *sarcasm*

[fioco]

Obviously I live in the wrong neighborhood.

Now, if I could just move near a proposed major tower . . . then my new-found friends and I could demand a 3-star, Michelin-rated French restaurant, a small but significant gallery specializing in early Renaissance art, a Savile Row tailor, and an ATM that disperses cash free-of-charge to local residents -- as a scaled-down request for amenities to offset the hardships we would endure. I don't mind suffering. But, please, please, compensate me.

[fioco]

double post (but I hit enter once) ??

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by fioco

Obviously I live in the wrong neighborhood.

Now, if I could just move near a proposed major tower . . . then my new-found friends and I could demand a 3-star, Michelin-rated French restaurant, a small but significant gallery specializing in early Renaissance art, a Savile Row tailor, and an ATM that disperses cash free-of-charge to local residents -- as a scaled-down request for amenities to offset the hardships we would endure. I don't mind suffering. But, please, please, compensate me.

Yeah, that's the spirit. Maybe we should all take a page from the NIMBYs on how to "sweeten the mess" around us...

These people live in one of the most densely packed skyscraper neighborhoods on earth. Yet, somehow this slender, 725 ft tower is seen as a "mess".

At a presentation earlier in the month, Philip Gesue, acquisitions director for Time Equities, Inc., argued that the building would benefit the city. Well-known architect Helmut Jahn designed the tower, and a plaza along the Joseph P. Ward and Washington Street edges of the lot would provide a pedestrian-friendly route between the southern neighborhood of Battery Park City and the rest of Lower Manhattan. Now, the only direct route from West Street to Washington Street in the vicinity is through the Brooklyn Battery Garage or up a dark sidewalk hemmed in between the garage and the adjoining building.

“It’s dangerous and illegal,” Gesue said, “and doesn’t contribute to the fabric of the community.”

Yet, somehow that doesn't qualify as a mess.

[fioco]

^ . . . which is why I wrote my silly, over-the-top parody. The new developments south of WTC will change this ever forlorn area. It's already so dark, tall towers would be merely casting shadows on the shadows. With several towers going up together, the area will gain shops and restaurants immediately . . . the very thing BPC folks claim they need. Plus, West Street is getting its 'Boulevard' makeover as well as one or more pedestrian crossings. Oh, the horrors!

I sympathize with the need for schools, and with the need to correct the difficult walking situation around the tunnel entrance. These are legitimate issues to negotiate with the developers. But even then, couldn't they be dealt with collectively, developers and community addressing common concerns? Instead of piecemeal extortion, CB 1 should put their cards on the table (schools, pedestrian crossings, the need for grocery stores, whatever) and let the developers respond. Where is city planning in this? Is there a chosen site for additional schools when the Battery Tunnel entrance is platformed? Other than for a few amenities, I don't agree with aggressive collective bargaining for every tower that's proposed. As is typical for nimbys, they are so short-sighted they actually hurt themselves and limit what the neighborhood could become. They're stupidly selfish. If they were smarter, they would actually end up with lots more.

I never hear about nimbys demanding improvements from the trashy developments around town (McSam and so forth). The day is coming; the day of the nitbyes (not in that backyard either). Saints preserve us.

[antinimby]

Originally Posted by fioco

the area will gain shops and restaurants immediately . . . the very thing BPC folks claim they need.

That's where you're wrong. The impression I get from them is that they don't like mix uses (retail on the ground, apartments on top). These people want a suburban atmosphere in the city. The thought of vibrant streets scares the hell out of these people.

That's why you don't see many BPC towers with ground floor retail. They want easy access to stores but just as long as those places are not immediately in their backyards.