Community Board 2 Pier 40 Air Rights Transfer Working Group Public Hearing Nov. 12
In October the City announced a proposal for a massive upzoning of the 3-block long St. John’s Terminal building at Houston and West Street to allow, among other things, 200,000 square feet of air rights to be  transferred from Pier 40. The planned 5-building, nearly 2 million square foot development will include luxury and 25-30% affordable housing, a hotel, and 200,000 square feet or more of retail and event space. The plan must be approved by the City Planning Commission and the City Council, and would increase the allowable size of development on the site by over 70% or more than 800,000 square feet. It would also generate $100 million in funding for the repair of Pier 40.
GVSHP has many concerns about the proposal, including that the City is once again willing to move ahead on developer-initiated rezoning plans, but refuses to consider neighborhood-initiated rezoning plans to protect the scale and character of our communities, such as the South Village and University Place / Broadway corridors. Additionally, many unanswered questions remain about the entire air rights transfer process, how it might be used in the future, and why less problematic alternatives for funding the park are still not being considered.
Community Board #2 has established a working group to examine the issue while it is in the early, pre-approval (scoping) stage of the process. Many more public hearings will take place once the plan is finalized and must go through the public review process.
HOW TO HELP:
Read more about Hudson River Park Air Rights issues here, and South Village preservation efforts here.
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