VICTORY! Facing Massive Opposition, East Village Zoning Variance Withdrawn
We’re pleased to report that the zoning variance application to allow an oversized development at 432 East 14th Street/435 East 13th Street in the East Village, which GVSHP strongly opposed, has been withdrawn! The request to exceed zoning limits for the site is now off the table, and the developer may only proceed as allowed by the site’s contextual zoning, which limits new development to 80 feet in height. Read coverage in The Real Deal, Curbed, EV Grieve, Town & Village, and DNAinfo.
This is a great victory for community efforts, preserving the scale and character of the East Village, and ensuring fair and equal application of the law. From the beginning, GVSHP argued that this developer had not established the legally-required case for a “hardship” that would entitle him to build more than 50% taller and 25% larger than the zoning allowed, as he had requested. Earlier this month, in the face of vigorous opposition by GVSHP and our allies, the developer chopped that zoning request down by two-thirds. But GVSHP continued to oppose the reduced zoning variance request, arguing that it was still out-of-scale for this area and still had no basis in fact. On Tuesday, the morning of the next BSA hearing on the variance request, it was announced that the developer had withdrawn the application.
We want to thank our members, who sent hundreds of letters to the Board of Standards and Appeals opposing this variance (which the Chair cited) and showed up for multiple hearings and rallies; City Councilmember Rosie Mendez, State Senator Brad Hoylman, and Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh; Local 32 BJ SEIU; the East Village Community Coalition; and scores of neighbors who came out with us to fight this variance.
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