Critical Hearing re: Mayor’s Tech Hub Plan and Impact on the Village & East Village Wed. 1/10
On Wednesday, January 10th at 6:30 pm Community Board #3 will receive a presentation from the City about their proposed‘Tech Hub’ on 14th Street just east of 4th Avenue which requires approval by the City Council. It’s critical that we be there to send a message that any approvals for a zoning change for a Tech Hub MUST be accompanied by approvals for long-proposed zoning changes for the adjacent residential neighborhood to protect it from overdevelopment.
(l. to r.) One version of 300 or more ft. tall office tower contemplated for 799 B’way (at 11th Street); 311-room hotel under construction on E. 11th St. btw. 3rd & 4th Aves, with multiple bars, replacing nearly one hundred units of housing; and a 285 ft. tall condo tower nearing completion at University Pl. & 12th St.
Why? Because the area directly adjacent from University Place to 3rd Avenue, between Union Square and Astor Place, is experiencing a huge wave of oversized and out-of-character development – 300+ ft. tall tech-related office high-rises and luxury condos, and 300+ room hotels replacing low-rise buildings with long-term tenants. The Tech Hub will greatly accelerate this trend UNLESS it is accompanied by zoning protections GVSHP has long proposed for this area, supported by every local elected official and community board, which the Mayor has consistently blocked.
The Mayor likes to say that the Tech Hub and rezoning are separate, unrelated issues. They are not. The Tech Hub will greatly exacerbate the overdevelopment issues this area faces, and the Mayor has made clear he won’t change the zoning for the surrounding area on his own. The ONLY way he will is if the City Council, and our new City Councilmember Carlina Rivera, stands firm with her campaign pledge that she will ONLY support the approvals for the Tech Hub IF they are accompanied by zoning protections for the surrounding neighborhood.
You can also help by sending letters to Mayor de Blasio, Borough President Gale Brewer, and City Councilmember Carlina Rivera:
