DNA Info: Gansevoort Developer Gets “Rude Greeting” From Community

August 27, 2015Uncategorizedaronson

DNA Info reports on last week’s community presentation by Aurora Capital of their plans for massive new buildings on the south side of Gansevoort Street:

Just 10 minutes into describing a new Gansevoort Street development, the architect’s presentation was already going off the rails. Harry Kendall, a partner at BKSK Architects, broke off mid-sentence from the first slide and turned to a cluster of women.

“Don’t shake your head,” he urged, offering an anecdote about his jury duty service that morning. “The underlying basis of our justice system is innocent until proven guilty,” he said, drawing a few laughs before the women interrupted with a chorus of “Guilty!” Kendall said it was “disconcerting” and “unkind” of the women to judge his plan so quickly…

The meeting represented Aurora’s attempt to woo skeptical locals, who had loosely organized under the banner Save Gansevoort. “We’re hoping to position the block as multiple luxury retail tenants,” said Jared Epstein of Aurora, the developer of several buildings nearby including one on Ninth Avenue where a construction worker was killed in April. “Gansevoort Street has been a blight on the community,” Epstein continued to gasps and grumbling. “There’s nightclubs there. There are buildings that have been boarded up.”

GVSHP Slams Gansevoort Plan in letter to LPC

August 24, 2015Uncategorizedaronson

The Greenwich Village Society For Historic Preservation has sent a letter to the Landmarks Preservation Commission strongly urging that they reject the proposal from Aurora Capital to build a massive mall development on landmarked Ganseoort Street. We couldn’t say it better ourselves:

The current plan, which would involve the demolition of two buildings on Gansevoort Street, the construction of two new buildings, one at the corner of Washington and Gansevoort Street reaching approximately 120 feet in height, and the addition of four stories on top of the iconic row of two story market buildings at 60-68 Gansevoort Street, runs completely contrary to the entire purpose of the designation of the Gansevoort Market Historic District, and would destroy many of the very features the district is intended to celebrate and preserve. As the organization which originally proposed and, along with many others, fought for the designation of this district, we would find the approval of this plan or any plan which includes these basic components a tragic and devastating blow not only to the Gansevoort Market Historic District, but to landmark designation and historic preservation in New York City.

Gansevoort Street forms the heart of the Gansevoort Market Historic District, and its cobblestoned street surrounded by low-scaled market buildings encapsulates exactly what is so unique, visually pleasing, and historically significant about the Meatpacking District. This proposal would erase many of these key elements and features. Transforming the row of two-story market buildings at 60-68 Gansevoort Street into a six-story building merged with a new, adjoining 8-story, 120 foot tall structure would completely change the scale and feel of this block which serves as a gateway for thousands of people each day to and from the Meatpacking District, the rest of the West Village, the High Line, the Whitney Museum, and the Hudson River Park.

Villager Newspaper: “Gasps over Gansevoort Plan as Developer Calls Historic Street ‘Blighted’”

August 21, 2015Uncategorizedaronson

The headline says it all:

Concerned residents living in and near the district packed a room above the Gansevoort Market food court on the evening of Tues., Aug. 18, to hear the developer’s proposal for a row of new buildings that will reach up to eight stories and replace some of the one- and two-story market buildings that currently line the block, between Greenwich and Washington Sts.

“I think Gansevoort St. has been a blight for the community,” Jared Epstein, vice president and principal at Aurora Capital Associates, told the meeting.

Project Details Unveiled

August 20, 2015Uncategorizedaronson

There was a GREAT turnout for the community meeting with the Gansevoort Towers developer; the room was packed. The project is even worse than we thought. Our guesses about the heights of the buildings were close (they will be about 111′ and 88′) but we were surprised by how massive they are – these things are ugly. We’ve posted all the details of the project on our Proposed Gansevoort Towers page.

Developer to Unveil Plans For Gansevoort Street at Community Meeting on Tuesday

August 13, 2015Gansevoort TowersAurora Gottlieb, community Meeting, Development, Gansevoort Street, Plans Unveiledaronson

Aurora/Gottlieb and their architect, BSK Architects, will be giving a detailed presentation of their plans for the entire block on the south side of Gansevoort Street between Greenwich and Washington Streets. This will be an opportunity to learn exactly what the developer hopes to do, and to ask questions.

All are welcome.

The meeting will be held at 58 Gansevoort Street, 2nd Floor, above Gansevoort Market, on Tuesday August 18th at 6.30pm.

See you there!

The facebook event page can be found here:
facebook.com/events/1545606052352938/

The Villager Newspaper: Growing Opposition To Massive Gansevoort Development

August 8, 2015Gansevoort Towers, GVSHPDemolition, Gansevooert Street, Gottlieb Estate, GVSHP, Meatpacking Districtaronson

There is growing opposition from preservationists and neighbors to the proposed development of Gansevoort Street South . Widespread concern is turning to action among community members who have formed savegansevoort.org and started an online petition. And other organizations are now getting involved:

This new proposal is really a bridge too far,” said Andrew Berman, the executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation…“It would seem to almost obviate the notion of this being in a historic district at all.

Manslaughter Charges For Contractors at Aurora/Gottlieb Site in The Meatpacking District.

August 6, 2015Gansevoort TowersAurora Gottlieb, contractors, manslaughter, Pastis site, Pit collapse, treacherous excavationaronson

Manslaughter charges have been filed against two contractors at the site being developed by Aurora/Gottlieb on Ninth Avenue in The Meatpacking District. The same developers (and architect) are behind the proposed towers on the south side of Gansevoort Street. The charges arise from the treacherous conditions that existed during excavation inside the old Pastis building, resulting in the death of a worker.

From The New York Times:

The worker who died, Carlos Moncayo, 22, an Ecuadorean immigrant who lived in Queens, was crushed by thousands of pounds of dirt when the walls of a site in the meatpacking district, steps from the High Line, collapsed around him on April 6.

Prosecutors said on Wednesday that the two managers — Wilmer Cueva, of Sky Materials, and Alfonso Prestia, of Harco Construction — had ignored repeated warnings for months from private inspectors that treacherous conditions existed at the site on Ninth Avenue.

From Gothamist:

“Carlos Moncayo’s death at a construction site was tragic, but it was also foreseeable and avoidable,” said Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance in a statement. “As detailed in court documents, repeated warnings about safety hazards at 9-19 Ninth Avenue were issued in the months, weeks, and even minutes before a trench collapsed, killing Mr. Moncayo.”

GVSHP Expresses Concern About Gansevoort Towers Project

July 29, 2015GVSHPGansevoort Market Historic District, GVSHP, Landmarks, Restrictive Declarationaronson

From the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation:

There have been disturbing reports in recent weeks about plans for demolition of landmarked structures and/or large scale new construction on sites owned by the Gottlieb Estate at 60-74 Gansevoort Street (Washington/Greenwich Streets) in the Gansevoort Market Historic District and 7-11 Weehawken Street/177 Christopher Street in the Weehawken Street Historic District. All of these sites are located within designated New York City historic (landmark) districts which GVSHP and many in the community fought hard to secure.

No building located within a landmark or historic district can be demolished, altered, or added to without the approval of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and requires a long, public hearing and review process. Such approvals, which are rare, can only be granted if the applicant proves that the buildings in question do not make a contribution to the designated historic district and are not part of the reason why the district was designated, and/or that the proposed changes are consistent with the important historic character and features of the site and district.

No applications have been filed with the Landmarks Preservation Commission for either site, but GVSHP will be monitoring closely, as we do for all landmarks applications in our neighborhood. While we do not opine upon applications which have not been filed, all of these sites are important and integral parts of our historic districts, and GVSHP and many in the community would no doubt adamantly oppose any application to demolish or compromise these sites. Additionally, the Gansevoort Street sites are governed by a restrictive declaration which limits the types of uses and activities which can legally occupy these spaces, any change to which would require an additional lengthy public review and approval process, including approval by the New York City Council.

Developer Files Plans For Two Towers On Gansevoort Street

July 28, 2015Gansevoort Towers, UncategorizedAurora Capital, Gansevoort, Gottlieb Estate, Landmark, Row, Towersaronson

Aurora Capital and the Gottliebs – the people who brought you the giant “ice cube” addition now being constructed on top of the old Pastis building – have announced plans to develop the entire south side of Gansevoort Street between Greenwich and Washington Streets. The highlights, so to speak, are 111′ and 75′ (this last is a rough guess) towers on the western end of the block.

See this article in the Real Deal:
http://therealdeal.com/blog/2015/06/24/aurora-gottlieb-file-plans-for-gansevoort-row-development/

Any development will have to be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The developer has indicated they expect their landmarks application to be heard by CB2 in this September, and by LPC shortly thereafter. Needless to say, there is going to be huge opposition to Gansevoort Towers.

There is also a restrictive declaration on this lot which prohibits office use. The developer has indicated they plan to try to amend this declaration in order to allow office use, which we think they will need in order to make Gansevoort Towers profitable. This will require action by the City Planning Commission and by the City Council, and, as with the Landmarks application, there’s going to be a major fight.

The developer initiated a meeting with a group neighbors, but then abruptly cancelled it last week just 2 hours before it was to take place. Extremely unprofessional behavior, to say the least, but it indicates they are worried.

Neighbors have already started organizing to oppose Gansevoort Towers; stay tuned for developments.

An Excellent History of the Creation of the Gansevoort Market Historic District

July 1, 2015GVSHPGansevoort Historic Market, Landmark, Meatpacking District, The Villageraronson

Ever wonder how the Gansevoort Market Historic District (better known as the Meat Market) came to be created? The Villager newspaper has the story:

How the district’s landmarking came about was an improbable tale, about as hard to predict as the incredible transformation the neighborhood has undergone. Defying the odds, the Gansevoort Market Historic District was designated in 2003…

Though it may be hard to believe now, in the summer of 2000 the Meatpacking District was still very much a backwater. The neighborhood was pretty empty during most daylight hours. But when the sun went down, the clubs opened (of both the sex and dance variety), transgendered prostitutes worked the streets, and the meatpacking businesses opened their doors around 4 a.m. and started loading and unloading their products until around noon, when the cycle started all over again. The cobblestoned streets dripped with animal blood (and some other unsavory liquids), but the neighborhood had achieved a kind of equilibrium in which not much changed, and all parts seemed to coexist in relative harmony.