Critical Chelsea Market Hearing Wed. May 2 at 6 P.M.
 This Wednesday, May 2nd Community Board #4 will have a critically important public hearing before it votes on the application by Jamestown Properties to upzone Chelsea Market in order to allow the construction of large office and hotel additions atop the existing historic complex (see images HERE). WE STRONGLY URGE YOU TO ATTEND THIS HEARING AND TESTIFY AGAINST THE REQUESTED UPZONING AND NEW DEVELOPMENT. The hearing will take place at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital, 1000 10th Avenue at 59th Street, 2nd floor conference room, starting at 6pm.
Because of the large size of the existing structures on the site, the current zoning for Chelsea Market does NOT allow any additional development. However, Jamestown Properties, the new owners of Chelsea Market, are asking the City to change the zoning to allow them to add several hundred thousand square feet of new construction in the form of an office tower atop the 10th Avenue end of the complex and a hotel tower atop the 9th Avenue end. The Chelsea Market complex, built in stages in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by the Nabisco Company, was successfully nominated by GVSHP to the State and National registers of Historic Places in 2007. GVSHP had also included Chelsea Market in the Gansevoort Market Historic District we had proposed to the City; after initially encouraging its inclusion, the City cut the historic complex out of the district they designated in 2003. The State and National Registers offers incentives for preservation of historic structures but does not require it; New York City landmark designation could have prevented the proposed additions to the complex.
Community Board #4 is the first stop in the public review and approval process for this rezoning application. The Board and Borough President Stringer will issue recommendations regarding the proposed rezoning, and then the City Planning Commission and the City Council MUST approve the rezoning in order for it to move ahead.
HOW TO HELP:
You can find out more about Chelsea Market and the effort to preserve it HERE, and support our efforts to preserve Chelsea Market and our neighborhoods’ history and character HERE.
We hope to see you on Wednesday night.
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