Public Forum on Proposed Additions Atop Chelsea Market January 25
 Community Board #4 will hold a public forum on the proposed rezoning of Chelsea Market to allow two large new additions to be constructed atop the complex. The forum will be this Wednesday, January 25th at 6:30 pm in the Fulton Center Auditorium, 119 9th Avenue (17th and 18th Street). It is critically important that all who are concerned about this proposal attend to express their opinion.
Chelsea Market is a superb example of successful adaptive re-use of a historic complex. GVSHP successfully nominated the complex to the State and National Registers of Historic Places in 2007, and had proposed the complex for inclusion in the NYC Gansevoort Market Historic District, but without explanation the City declined to include the complex in the district designated in 2003.
We believe that the proposed rezoning and resultant large-scale additions to the complex should not be approved (view images of the latest iterations of the proposed additions HERE). The additions would mar the historic integrity of the complex and loom over the adjacent High Line. They would also be highly visible over the adjacent low-rise Gansevoort Market Historic District. And the very large complex, which already generates a significant amount of traffic in the neighborhood, is already built as large as the zoning allows; the new owner/developer is seeking a 50% increase in the zoning to add several hundred thousand square feet of hotel and office space to the complex, which we believe is unnecessary and unjustified.
The application to rezone the site will not be submitted until at least late February. Once submitted, it goes through a 7-month public hearing and review process, and cannot move ahead unless it is approved by the City Planning Commission AND the City Council. GVSHP will let you know when plans have been filed and how you can weigh in on the public approval process.
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