Public Hearing on Rudin Plan for ‘Preservation’ of Reiss Building on West 12th Street
 A public hearing has been scheduled on the plan by the Rudin Organization for the “preservation and re-use” of the Reiss Building on West 12th Street as part of its condo development plan for the former St. Vincent’s Hospital East Campus. Rudin’s original plan, approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, would have demolished Reiss, which was opposed by GVSHP and many others. As part of the approval by the City Council of the Rudin plan, the Reiss Building is supposed to be preserved and re-used rather than demolished. However, because the plan still involves constructing a large garage under the building, and because prior City Council approvals for “preservation and re-use” of buildings have allowed for their near total demolition, GVSHP has asked for more details from Speaker Quinn about exactly what is required of Rudin in the agreement and what would be considered “preservation and re-use.” The Speaker’s response can be read HERE.
Because the agreement appears to hinge on the approval of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, this still leaves key questions unanswered, especially as the Landmarks Preservation Commission has determined the building “non-contributing” to the Greenwich Village Historic District (a determination with which we disagree) and routinely approves partial and total demolition of “non-contributing” buildings. However, the upcoming hearing on the plan for the building in Community Board #2’s Landmarks Committee on Monday, April 16 at 6:30 pm at NYU’s Silver Building, 32 Waverly Place (btw Wash. Sq. E. and Greene Street), rm. 705, will provide an opportunity to find out more and seek answers to these questions.
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