One Year Later, 14th Street
Tech Hub Commitments Broken
or Unmet  

Last week Village Preservation sent a letter to Mayor de Blasio and City Councilmember Carlina Rivera regarding several commitments which had been made as part of the approval of the 14th Street ‘Tech Hub’ that have been broken or not been met.  On the occasion of a year having passed since the City Planning Commission approved the upzoning for the 14th Street Tech Hub, we pointed out that the sole zoning protection for the impacted neighborhood promised by Councilmember Rivera and the City – the imposition of a requirement of a special permit for new hotels in the 3rd and 4th Avenue corridors -- has not been implemented or even drafted, nor had a promised “tenant protection campaign” for area residents which was to include “community-wide forums” and “door-knocking campaigns.”

We further pointed out that the developer explicitly committed that all demolition and construction work would be done within the bounds of the property and that neither the sidewalk on 14th Street nor the roadbed would be encroached upon. Instead, with City permission, the developer has encroached upon the sidewalk and two of three lanes of eastbound traffic, forcing pedestrians waiting for the bus to stand in the street, and completely blocking the single remaining lane of eastbound traffic when MTA buses stop to pick up and let off passengers in front of the Tech Hub site (where a bus stop is located). Read the letter here.

Village Preservation has been very critical of the deal between Mayor de Blasio and Councilmember Rivera approving the upzoning for the 14th Street Tech Hub, which increases pressure on the adjacent University Place, Broadway, and 3rd and 4th Avenue corridors for out-of-scale and out-of-character commercial development.  The deal neither included the neighborhood protections Councilmember Rivera promised to condition any approval for the Tech Hub upon when she ran for office, and the Tech Hub itself has turned out to be a sweetheart deal largely benefitting the Mayor’s donors and campaign fundraisers.  A year later, even the incredibly meager and watered-down commitments which were made have still not been kept or have been broken, while the developer is moving full steam ahead with demolition and construction. 

Village Preservation is continuing to fight for the comprehensive protections this neighborhood was promised and deserves.

Send A Letter Demanding Real Protections for This Neighborhood – CLICK HERE