PRESERVATION ALERT
from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
September 29 , 2006
GVSHP DEMANDS POST OFFICE BLOCK USE OF AIR RIGHTS AND PERFORM REQUIRED HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEW
Post Office Air Rights: With the recent discovery that the Post Office’s deal with a developer for sale of its air rights at the Cooper Station on East 11th Street allows it to block use of its air rights at any time, GVSHP has called upon the Post Office to stop the construction of the 26-story NYU mega-dorm next door in order for the required – but never performed – Section 106 review to take place (CLICK HERE for letter). Section 106 review is a federally-mandated procedure for all federal agencies to examine and attempt to mitigate any negative impacts upon historic resources when properties are sold or developed. When GVSHP first caught the Post Office having sold its air rights from this and other stations without having gone though this required federal review (CLICK HERE for original letter), the Post Office claimed that the deals were done and it was too late for them to perform the reviews. However, much like their original promise not to conduct any further air rights sales without going through the required review (CLICK HERE for more information), this Post Office claim has turned out to be false. GVSHP is also calling upon the state and federal agencies with oversight of Section 106 reviews to help force the Post Office to halt these projects until the required review takes place. So far, however, neither agency has taken any formal action against the Post Office.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, State Senators Tom Duane and Liz Kruger, City Councilmember Rosie Mendez, and City Council Landmarks Subcommittee Chair Jessica Lappin have all also called upon the Post Office to withhold consent for use of its air rights and halt these projects and allow the required Section 106 review to take place (CLICK HERE for letters) .
HOW TO HELP:
To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE
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PRESERVATION ALERT
from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
September 12 , 2006
PRESSURE INCREASES OVER POST OFFICE AIR RIGHTS
Pressure Increases Over Post Office Air Rights Sales: Elected officials and preservation organizations from around the city, state and nation have joined GVSHP in expressing outrage about the Post Office’s continued attempts to flout the law and sell its air rights from stations across Manhattan without subjecting the sales to the mandated Section 106 review. Section 106 review involves communities and preservationists in efforts to mitigate any negative impacts upon local historic resources that might result from the sale of state or federal properties.
In August GVSHP exposed the Post Office’s most recent attempt to sell their air rights from the Canal Street station without going through Section 106 review. In response to our requests for support for pushing the Post Office to obey the law and adopt guidelines we suggested to ensure meaningful compliance, City Council Zoning Subcommittee Chair Tony Avella, State Senator Tom Duane, City Councilmember Rosie Mendez, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Preservation League of NY State, the Municipal Art Society, and the Historic Districts Council have all written to state and federal officials about this issue.
However, the Post Office is yet to even admit to any wrongdoing, much less to halt the sale, and the state and federal agencies with oversight are yet to take any formal action against them.
HOW TO HELP:
To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE
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from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
August 25, 2006
GVSHP CATCHES POST OFFICE SELLING AIR RIGHTS IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW -- AGAIN!
Post Office Air Rights: GVSHP has discovered that the United States Postal Service (USPS) is yet again seeking to sell air rights from one of its stations in Manhattan WITHOUT putting the sale through a federally mandated review that is intended to mitigate adverse impacts upon local historic resources. In 2005, GVSHP caught USPS doing the same thing at the Cooper Station Post Office on East 12th Street (those air rights are now being used to build NYU’s proposed 26-story, 700-bed mega-dorm next door), and upon further digging, found at least three other Post Offices where they had also sold air rights without going through the required review. GVSHP brought this to the attention of the State and Federal agencies which oversee implementation of this regulation, and they agreed with GVSHP that air rights sales are indeed covered by the law. USPS was forced, grudgingly, to admit the same, and promised to comply with the law in the future.
However, sensing USPS’ lack of interest in obeying the law, GVSHP drew up guidelines for how such sales should be governed, and urged USPS and the State and Federal agencies to adopt them (CLICK HERE for guidelines); State Senator Liz Kruger, City Councilmember Margarita Lopez, the Historic Districts Council, and several community boards and community organizations joined us in urging these guidelines be adopted (CLICK HERE for letters). However, in spite of insistent pressure by GVSHP, the guidelines were never adopted, and the agencies relied solely upon USPS’ word that they would obey the law in the future.
This week, GVSHP discovered that in spite of assurances to the contrary, USPS was seeking to yet again sell air rights without going though the mandated federal review, this time at the Canal Street Station at Church Street. GVSHP discovered that plans had been submitted by hotel developer Sam Chang to the Department of Buildings for a 20-story hotel on a neighboring lot which would utilize air rights from the Canal Street Post Office, with no required review of the sale having taken place (CLICK HERE for story in Metro).
In light of this most recent flagrant violation of the law, GVSHP has urged the State and Federal agencies to take swift action against USPS, and to implement the guidelines GVSHP has long proposed (CLICK HERE for letter). USPS’ continued violation of the law results in overdevelopment of our neighborhoods and degradation of our historic landmarks and resources.
HOW TO HELP:
To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE .