There was a fantastic turnout for Thursday’s Community Board 2 hearing! More than 100 people attended; during two shows-of-hands in the course of the hearing, opposition to the proposed development was unanimous – not one single person indicated support of the proposal.
Lots of people gave rousing testimony opposed to this destructive project. Everyone clearly cared deeply about the issue and put a lot of thought into everything that was said. 18 docents from the High Line represented by one of their own presented letters strongly opposed to the project. Parents from the Horatio Street Nursery School voiced concern about the impacts of this development on their landmarked school. Andrew Berman of GVSHP advised Aurora to go back to the drawing board. Local media attended, including New York 1, The Villager, the Village Voice, and Curbed.com.
We hope and expect that CB 2 will now write a strong resolution opposing this project. Remember that CB 2’s role is purely advisory, and that the actual decision will be made by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The NY 1 report can be viewed here; it summarizes the issues well and has video from the hearing. The developer’s rationale for his huge buildings: “What this district, this historic district, is largely about is about change.” Really? That’s a pretty weak argument, and could be used to justify the construction of literally anything anywhere in this landmarked historic district.
Curbed’s coverage is here. It’s mostly a rehash of the developer’s presentation, but the comments are lively.
The Village Voice article is here. It’s a decent article with a truly stupid headline!
The CB 2 hearing was great. Now it is essential that everyone show up to repeat the performance at the all-important Landmarks Preservation Commission Hearing on October 27th! The hearing will be at 1 Centre Street (at Chambers Street), 9th floor. It will take place some time during the day, but the exact time will not be released until a few days in advance. Check back for more updates.
