from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

November 17, 2010
www.gvshp.org

More Trump SoHo Failures




The Wall Street Journal reports that the owners of Trump SoHo are offering buyers partial refunds on their deposits if they agree not to participate in a lawsuit alleging sales figures for the development were misrepresented. This all stems from the ‘condo-hotel’ usage which GVSHP and the SoHo Alliance long argued made the project illegal, whereby the City considered the units a “transient hotel” even though they were sold to individual buyers who could live there for much if not all of the year. We contended that because of this use, permits should never have been issued for the project to allow it to be built. Unfortunately, city and elected officials disagreed, and the project was allowed to be built.



To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership
PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

October 13, 2009
www.gvshp.org

Rezonings Still Needed in the Far West Village and Hudson Square

GVSHP and community groups have been pushing for zoning changes in the Far West Village and Hudson Square to help preserve community character and prevent out-of-scale development in the area. In both cases the city has given indications that they are willing to consider such changes, but there has been no tangible progress on their implementing or even proposing such changes. In the meantime, several out-of-scale developments have moved ahead in these areas, and the city has approved or allowed progress on nearby developer-requested zoning changes, even as these community-requested zoning changes have languished.

HOW TO HELP:

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership


Update on the Trump SoHo ‘Condo-Hotel’ developers from The Real Deal 07/31/2009



Recent out-of-scale hotel development plans in the Far West Village, South
Village, and Hudson Square highlight the need for rezonings GVSHP has
been pushing for (click map to enlarge)

Preservation Alert
from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
October 29, 2008
www.gvshp.org

Urgent Need for Rezoning in the Far West Village, South Village, and Hudson Square: Over the last three years, GVSHP has called upon the City to rezone several areas in the Far West Village, South Village and Hudson Square to prevent out-of-scale development.  We were spurred by the Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel,' oversized proposed new buildings at Washington and Perry Streets and Washington and Charles Streets, and a desire to preserve the scale of the South Village.  Thus far however the City has resisted changing the zoning of these areas to protect neighborhood character, although this summer they approved a developer-requested rezoning of a nearby area.

The call for rezoning has now become more urgent with the recent announcement of plans for a 36-story hotel at 68-74 Charlton Street, and with GVSHP's recent discovery of plans for an 18-story hotel at 76 Sullivan Street/160 Sixth Avenue.  In the two years since GVSHP first called for a rezoning of the area around the Trump SoHo, more than a half-dozen out-of-scale buildings have gone up or are underway.  For a map of some of the planned new developments and the areas GVSHP has urged be rezoned, CLICK HERE.

GVSHP has written to the City Planning Commission reiterating the urgent call to rezone these areas, citing these new threats to neighborhood character. 

HOW TO HELP:   
    • Send a letter to City Planning Chair Amanda Burden urging her to move ahead with these requested rezonings -- go to www.gvshp.org/RezoningLtr.htm for a sample letter you can use. 
To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm
PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

September 18, 2008
www.gvshp.org

Last week it was revealed that the Department of Buildings (DOB) approved an additional, 43rd floor for the 454 ft. tall Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel.'  However, a review by GVSHP of DOB's records shows that the developer has recently submitted permit applications referring to a 44th floor, one floor even higher than DOB already approved.  GVSHP has written to DOB to express outrage over the approval of the 43rd floor, and questioning the new reference to a "44th floor." We have urged DOB not to approve any additional height for the building, and to rescind the existing approvals.  We have also filed a Freedom of Information request to review all of DOB's relevant files for the project, to uncover and refute the Department's justification for approving these permits in the first place.
 
GVSHP also continues to work closely with the SoHo Alliance in their legal challenge in NY State Supreme Court against the City's original approval of the Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel.'
 
Rezoning To Prevent More Trump SoHo Towers:  GVSHP has long called for changes to the zoning for the area around the Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel' south of Houston Street to prevent more such massive developments.  However, the City has said that there was no need to rezone this area or its surroundings because the current zoning "reflected the consensus of the Community Board, local civic groups, and elected officials."  GVSHP refuted that claim, but the City has still refused to act.
 
However, this summer, the City approved a developer-requested rezoning of part of this area.  GVSHP opposed this rezoning, which did not address the need to prevent more Trump SoHo-type developments.  Now that the City has reconsidered its position to rezone part of the area for developers, GVSHP has again written to the City calling upon them to respond to community requests to change the zoning for this area to prevent more out-of-scale development like Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel.'
 
HOW TO HELP:   
    • Write to the City Planning Commission urging that they change the zoning for the neighborhood around the Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel' to prohibit development of that size and scale ever again -- go to www.gvshp.org/HudsonSqzoninglet.htm for a sample letter you can use.
To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm. 
PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

May 6, 2008
www.gvshp.org

Today the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) voted to UPHOLD the City's ruling that the Trump SoHo Condo-Hotel is permissible under New York City zoning.  While this is deeply disappointing, it is not unexpected, given that the BSA is composed entirely of Mayoral appointees, and they very rarely rule against fellow Mayoral agencies (such as the Department of Buildings in this case). 
 
The good news is this means the case can finally be appealed to an independent court now that the BSA has ruled, and our allies at the SoHo Alliance are planning to file such an appeal in NY State Supreme Court shortly.  While the structure is already partly built, a successful legal challenge can both have an impact on the final form of this building as well as prevent similar buildings from being constructed in the future.

Thank you to the hundreds of people who have supported the appeal thus far and to all the groups and elected officials who urged the BSA to overturn the Trump approval: City Council Zoning Subcommittee Chair Tony Avella, the Municipal Art Society, the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation, the New York Industrial Retention Network, the Garment Center Industrial Development Corporation, the East Williamsburg Industrial Development Corporation, the Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation, the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center, the Council of Chelsea Block Associations, the Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood Association, the Tribeca Community Association, the Greenwich Village Community Task Force, and Community Boards 1 & 5, Manhattan.

Read coverage of the BSA decision regarding the Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel' from City Realty.

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm

PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

April 1, 2008
www.gvshp.org

Dear Friend,

GVSHP has long contended that the Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel' was merely a trojan horse for illegal residential uses, and should never have been allowed by the city.  That is why we are supporting the SoHo Alliance's lawsuit to have the permits rescinded.  In this week's New York Magazine, writer Michael Idov poses as prospective buyer through the Trump website, and is directed on how to get around the supposed prohibitions against residential uses:

When I started getting whiny because I said I wanted to spend “autumns” in New York and that the 29-day rule bugged me, she began by suggesting that I could move to another unit for a week, for which I’d be charged the lowest possible rate (while my own room is possibly being rented out at a regular rate—profit!), then triumphantly switch back for another 29 days. I wasn’t sold. Then Sandra suggested a loophole. “If you buy in your name, the use is limited to you, your spouse, and your closest relative. But if you buy in the name of a corporation, you can check in and out colleagues, employees, clients…”
This is EXACTLY the kind of potential dodge around the supposed "prohibitions" against illegal uses in the city's "restrictive declaration" with Trump that GVSHP, the SoHo Alliance, and others have cited from the beginning, though many in government continue to defend the "restrictive declaration," and the City continues to fight in court to protect the Trump project.  GVSHP is working with the SoHo Alliance to ensure that this further evidence is considered before a decision is expected in the legal challenge in early May.
 
Andrew Berman, Executive Director
Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
212/475-9585 x38
232 East 11th Street
New York, NY 10003

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm


PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

March 26, 2008
www.gvshp.org

Dear friend,

I wanted to let you know that yet another Stop-Work order has been issued to the Trump SoHo Condo-Hotel which GVSHP and the SoHo Alliance, among many others, have been fighting. In the wake of the fatal East Side crane collapse earlier this month, the City inspected the Trump SoHo crane and reportedly found cracks in the slab attaching the crane to the building and a non-working beacon light. Earlier this year there was a fatal accident at the site and a non-lethal accident involving glass windows from the building being shattered by loose construction equipment and raining down more than 20 stories to the street below. In both cases stop-work orders were issued and eventually lifted by the City. A decision in the legal challenge against the Trump SoHo Condo Hotel filed by the SoHo Alliance and supported by GVSHP is not expected until May.

Sincerely,


Andrew Berman, Executive Director
Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
212/475-9585 x38
232 East 11th Street
New York, NY 10003

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm.
PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

March 10, 2008
www.gvshp.org

Dear friend,

As you may have heard, there were serious accidents over the weekend at the construction sites for the Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel' and the Superior Ink development -- two projects GVSHP has a long history with. 
 
GVSHP has received an increasing number of reports of unsafe construction work, and of course just a few weeks ago there was a fatal accident at the Trump site.  If you see what you believe to be unsafe construction practices or conditions on any site, you can call 311 to report it, and call 911 if you see anything which you believe is an emergency.  If you do report unsafe conditions, we strongly recommend you get a complaint number so you can be sure your complaint has been logged and the city's response can be tracked. 
 
For more information about the construction accidents and the potential consequences, see http://www.nysun.com/article/72588 and http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/03/10/2008-03-10_new_accident_stops_work_at_trump_soho_to.html.
 
Andrew Berman, Executive Director
Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
212/475-9585 x38
232 East 11th Street
New York, NY 10003
    
To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm
 

Click on images to enlarge.

   

       

(above) Pictures from yesterday's press conference.  

PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

February 28, 2008
www.gvshp.org

Dear friend,
 
Yesterday, more than 75 people converged on the Board of Standards and Appeals for the hearing on the challenge of the city's approval of the permits for Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel.' 
 
Joining the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and the SoHo Alliance in challenging the approval were: City Council Zoning Subcommittee Chair Tony Avella, the Municipal Art Society, the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation, the New York Industrial Retention Network, the Garment Center Industrial Development Corporation, the East Williamsburg Industrial Development Corporation, the Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation, the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center, the Chelsea Council of Block Associations, the Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood Association, the Tribeca Community Association, the Greenwich Village Community Task Force, Community Boards 1, 2, and 5 (Manhattan), and dozens of neighborhood residents. 
 
We thank everyone who attended or submitted testimony for their strong support. 
 
GVSHP, the SoHo Alliance, and the many supporters of this challenge all argued that the permits issued by the City for the Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel' violate zoning rules and thus should be overturned.  The only speakers in support for the city's approval were the lawyers for the city's Department of Buildings and the lawyers for the developer.
 
The Board is giving each side time to submit further evidence, and is not expected to make a decision before early May.  We will keep you posted of the progress in this case.
 
If you have not already, please send the Board a letter supporting the appeal and urging the overturning of the Trump permits; go to www.gvshp.org/trumplet.htm for sample letters.
 
Thank you.
 
Andrew Berman, Executive Director
Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
212/475-9585 x38
232 East 11th Street
New York, NY 10003
    
To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm
PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

February 20, 2008
www.gvshp.org

COME SUPPORT THE LEGAL CHALLENGE AGAINST
THE TRUMP SOHO ‘CONDO-HOTEL’
Wednesday, February 27, at 10 am
NYC Board of Standards and Appeals
40 Rector Street, 6th floor, room E
between Washington and West Streets

(Take the 1 or the R/W to Rector Street, or the 4,5 to Wall Street

– bring photo ID to enter building)

The first hearing of the legal challenge against the city’s approval of the Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel,' now under construction at Spring and Varick Streets, will take place on Wednesday, February 27th at 10 am  This is a CRITICALLY IMPORTANT HEARING, and I strongly urge you to attend and support the effort to overturn approval of this ‘condo-hotel’ project.

While the City has done everything in its power to stall this challenge, filed by our friends at the SoHo Alliance, it is now finally getting its day in court.  As you know, GVSHP, the SoHo Alliance, and a host of organizations from across the city have fought this project from the very beginning, contending that the ‘condo-hotel’ use violates zoning restrictions for this and other neighborhoods (unfortunately the size and height of the building are legal under the current zoning – a situation we are also trying to change, through separate means -- see www.gvshp.org/documents/HudsonSqRzngBurdenlet607.pdf). 

Success in this legal challenge has the potential not only to affect this project, but to prevent similar projects from getting built in areas with similar zoning.  This is the first ‘condo-hotel’ the city has ever allowed in zoning districts that prohibit residences or residential hotels, and so allowing the project to go forward – or stopping it – will set a far-reaching precedent.  Areas with similar zoning that will be affected by the outcome of this case include the Far West Village below Morton Street, the Meatpacking District, and much of Hudson Square, SoHo, NoHo, Tribeca, the Flatiron, West Chelsea, western Hell’s Kitchen, and areas of Brooklyn and Queens (see www.gvshp.org/TrumpCB2zoning.htm#map).

Here’s what you can do to support this effort and FIGHT THE TRUMP PROJECT:

  • Send a letter to the BSA supporting the appeal and urging that the city's approval of the Trump project be overturned -- go to www.gvshp.org/trumplet.htm for a sample letter you can use. 
  • Come to the hearing on the 27th at 10 am to show support, and use the letter at www.gvshp.org/trumplet.htm as the basis for your own testimony at the hearing on the 27th.  Bring 10 copies with you to submit, and limit your testimony to three minutes (the maximum allowed). 
  • Spread the word!  Pass this along to friends and neighbors, or post in your building

Please try to stick to the talking points in the sample letter; raising other issues (such as traffic, height of the building, construction safety, etc.), which are not under the jurisdiction of the BSA, will not help the cause.

To find out the latest news or more information about the Trump fight, see updates below, or call us at 212/475-9585.

We hope to see you on the 27th. 

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm


PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

January 28, 2008
www.gvshp.org

Following the deadly construction accident at the Trump SoHo Condo-Hotel earlier this month, the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals has FINALLY scheduled the hearing on the legal appeal of the city's approval of this project.  That hearing is currently scheduled for Wednesday, February 27th at 10 am.  PLEASE HOLD THAT DATE ON YOUR CALENDAR, AND AS SOON AS WE HAVE MORE DETAILS WE WILL LET YOU KNOW.  We will need a big turnout to tell the City this decision was WRONG and to demand the approvals be rescinded!  (for more information, see updates below)

To  join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm.   

Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

January 15, 2008
www.gvshp.org

Fatal Collapse at Trump SoHo Condo-Hotel

By now you have no doubt heard the tragic news of the fatal accident yesterday at the construction site for the Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel' at 246 Spring Street at Varick Street (see http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=77496, http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/scaffold-collapse-at-trump-soho-tower-kills-1/, http://wcbstv.com/local/scaffold.collapse.trump.2.629412.html, http://video.wnbc.com/player/?id=205016.  We were very saddened to hear that one worker lost his life and others were seriously injured, and our thoughts go out to the victims and their families and loved ones.
 
This is a tragedy that never needed to happen.  GVSHP and a long list of community and business groups from across the city contended from the beginning that this project illegally violated zoning laws, and should never have been granted building permits by the City.  The City continually stood behind this project and allowed it to proceed, even after it was revealed that the developers openly advertised the project as containing illegal residential uses (http://gvshp.org/trump.htm#27Feb07), after 150-year old bones from the graveyard of an abolitionist church were found on the site (http://gvshp.org/trump.htm#13Dec06), after a key member of the development team was found to have a hidden criminal record (www.gvshp.org/trump.htm#27Dec07), after numerous demonstrations by hundreds of neighbors (http://gvshp.org/trump.htm#20Sep07), and after numerous complaints by neighbors about the speed and sloppiness of construction at the site.
 
The most recent complaints about hasty work came as a legal challenge against the City's approval had been filed by our partners in fighting this project, the SoHo Alliance (http://www.sohoalliance.org/).  The challenge must first be heard by the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA), a legal body appointed by the Mayor to review appeals of decisions by City agencies.  While work on the Trump project has moved at a lightning pace, months after the filing of the appeal the BSA has stonewalled and still not set a date for the hearing.  Before this, the city's Department of Buildings similarly stonewalled and refused to release the required paperwork to allow a legal challenge to move ahead.
 
We are working with the SoHo Alliance to get a hearing date set as soon as possible, and we will alert the public as to how they can participate as soon as possible.  While we are grateful that following this tragedy construction on the site has temporarily been put on hold, we will continue to fight to see the permits for this project overturned.

 

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

December 27 , 2007
www.gvshp.org

A recent investigation by the New York Times uncovered the criminal record of a member of the team behind the "Trump SoHo Condo-Hotel."  The City ultimately negotiated a "restrictive declaration" with these developers to supposedly 'ensure' the legality of this project -- a project which GVSHP and many others claim is in fact illegal. 

To  join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm.   

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

October 12, 2007
www.gvshp.org

THE TRUTH ABOUT TRUMP 

Three recent articles shed some very interesting light on the Trump SoHo 'condo-hotel' project:
So why [a condo-hotel, and] not a straight luxury hotel? "It's a financing mechanism," said Schwarz, who added that financing is tough to come by...Hotel rooms will always be in high demand, said Schwarz, "but you can't rely on the $1,200 a night rates. Even with a very high-end luxury hotel like this, where rates are going to stay high, you have to convince a lender. That's the most important thing; otherwise, the deal doesn't get done." (see the full article at www.therealdeal.net/issues/October_2007/1191450566.php).  
Various city officials, in refusing to agree with contentions that the Trump project should not be allowed because it in effect violated the zoning, contended, among other things, that the building could just get built as a 'straight' transient hotel anyway, which is allowed by the zoning.  But Schwarz's own words show the developers felt they could only finance the project if it was allowed as a condo-hotel.

To  join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm.     

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

September 20, 2007
www.gvshp.org

TRUMP SOHO CONDO-HOTEL "LAUNCH PARTY" GREETED BY SCORES OF DEMONSTRATORS
*Protest of 'Illegal' Development Picked Up By Media Around the World
*Write to the Mayor Protesting City Support for Trump Project
 
Trump "Launch Party" Greeted by Scores Of Demonstrators:  Yesterday, scores of protestors joined the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, the SoHo Alliance, Community Board #2, and City Council Zoning Committee Chair Tony Avella outside the launch party for the Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel' (see www.gvshp.org/trump.htm#PRPhotos and http://jeffglanczstudio.com/gallery/Trump_Protest_9_07/ for photos and press release).  In spite of a massive police presence and threats to arrest any protestor who stayed within view of the entrance to the Trump event, demonstrators got the message out that this development is wrong, it violates the law, and the City is wrong to allow it and to spend taxpayer dollars in court to defend it.  At the press conference, the SoHo Alliance (www.sohoalliance.org) announced their intention to bring the City to court to overturn its approval of the Trump project, and GVSHP called upon the City Planning Commission and the City Council to finally move forward with a long-overdue and much needed rezoning of this area to prevent further overdevelopment.
 
Thank you to all who participated -- the message was heard far and wide, including coverage by :
and many others.  Thank you also to those elected officials and community, business, and civic groups who have stood with us in opposing this project and the City's approval of it (see www.gvshp.org/trump.htm#supporters for list).  Because of the City's unwillingness to enforce the law fairly and equally in this case, the outcome will now likely be decided in the courts.
 
HOW TO HELP: 
 
To  join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm.     

Photo

(Above Left) New York City Council Zoning Subcommittee Chair Tony Avella (D - District 19) and (Above Right) Andrew Berman, Executive Director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation speak to a crowd of demonstrators in front of the site of the Trump SoHo "Condo-Hotel" at 246 Spring Street in Manhattan.

Please contact gvshp [at] gvshp.org for higher-resolution copies of all photos on this page.

Photo   Photo

Photo   Photo

Photo

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release                                              September 18, 2007
Contact:  Andrew Berman, Executive Director, Greenwich Village Society
For Historic Preservation  917-533-1767 or
Sean Sweeney, Director, SoHo Alliance  212-460-8844

COMMUNITY GROUPS, ELECTED OFFICIALS CALL TRUMP SOHO ‘CONDO-HOTEL’ AN ILLEGAL SHAM THAT VIOLATES LOCAL & FEDERAL LAWS,

SLAM CITY FOR VOWING TO DEFEND PROJECT IN COURT;

LAWSUIT CHALLENGING CITY APPROVAL ANNOUNCED

 

 

Manhattan -- The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), the SoHo Alliance, Community Board #2, dozens of downtown community groups, and City Council Zoning Chair Tony Avella gathered today to denounce the Trump SoHo Condo-Hotel under construction at 246 Spring Street as an illegal sham which violates city zoning regulations and federal securities exchange requirements, and announced a lawsuit intended to overturn the city’s approval of the project.  Those gathered also condemned the City for its steadfast support for the project, which will now include using taxpayer dollars to go to court to defend Trump (click here and here for correspondences from the City rejecting neighbors’ attempts to resolve the legal questions without litigation).  Dozens of community and business groups and elected officials from across the City (see list below) have called upon the Mayor and city agencies not to approve plans for the Trump project because it violates zoning regulations by – for the first-time ever – allowing ‘condo-hotels’ in districts where residences are prohibited. 

“First the City bends the rules to let Trump build.  Now they’re going to spend taxpayer dollars to defend his project in court.  The City’s double-standard in this case is mind-boggling and unconscionable,” stated GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman.  "I wonder how the taxpayers will feel when they learn that the City is footing Trump's legal bill?," said SoHo Alliance Director Sean Sweeney

By an agreement between the City and the developer, individuals will be allowed to buy units at the Trump SoHo ‘Condo-Hotel’ and legally live in them for up to 120 days a year, which opponents argue already violates the prohibition on residential uses. But opponents also argue that even the 120-day limit is virtually unenforceable and meaningless, and some owners will live in units year-round as they do in condo-hotels throughout the country (click here for copy of 'restrictive declaration').  In light of the City’s refusal to resolve these issues, the SoHo Alliance announced its intention to sue the City to overturn the approval of the project.

By the City’s own admission, the agreement signed with the Trump developers limiting owners to stays of 120 days per year is “strictly voluntary,” while the City claims the Department of Buildings will have the resources and the ability to monitor all units at the Trump condo-hotel to ensure that owners do not stay more than the legally allowable time. 

“The Department of Buildings has enough trouble keeping buildings from falling down – we’re expected to believe that they will monitor all 400-plus units at Trump’s condo to guarantee that its jet-set residents don’t stay more than the legally allowable number of days?  The agreement they have with the City supposedly ensuring the legality of this project has more holes in it than swiss cheese,” said GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman.

Community groups also slammed the project as woefully out of scale and character with the neighborhood, and likely to exacerbate the stifling gridlock at the nearby Holland Tunnel entrance.  Had the project been forced to go through a zoning change approval process, as advocates claim the law requires, concerns about the size, scale, and impact of the project could have been addressed.  "Trump's Colossus will tower over Lower Manhattan as a monument to one man's ego, and the scandal is that the City permitting this to happen," said Sweeney.

Protestors also criticized the city for its failure to follow up on promises to rezone the area to prohibit such out-of-scale development, as well as to close the supposed “loophole” in the zoning which the City claimed forced them to allow the Trump project.  “The City wants to have it both ways – they claim their hands are tied with the Trump project under current zoning, and yet they have not moved an inch to change it. The City Planning Commission and the City Council need to move forward as soon as possible on promises to rezone this area to address out of control development,” stated GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman. 

“A condo hotel in an M-zone is luxury housing camouflaged as a transient hotel. By allowing the condo hotel to proceed at 246 Spring Street, the city is complicit in allowing developers to exploit a zoning loophole--at the expense of a fuller public review of a change in use, and ultimately, potentially, at the expense of well-paying manufacturing jobs,” said Eve Baron of the Municipal Art Society, one of dozens of groups citywide which opposed the Trump project.

For further information on the Trump SoHo Condo-Hotel and community efforts to stop it, see www.gvshp.org/trump.htm.  

-end-

 

Elected Officials, Community Groups, Business Groups, Planning Organizations, and Community Boards Opposing Approval of the Trump SoHo Condo-Hotel

(list in formation, as of September 19, 2007)

City Council Zoning Subcommittee Chair Tony Avella

State Senator Martin Connor

State Senator Liz Kruger

State Senator Velmanette Montgomery

City Councilmember Gale Brewer

City Councilmember Miguel Martinez

Assemblymember Deborah Glick

Assemblymember Richard Gottfried

Assemblymember Daniel O’Donnell

Municipal Art Society

Pratt Center for Community Development

Zoning for Jobs Coalition

New York Industrial Retention Network

Pratt Center for Community Development

Garment Industry Development Corporation

Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

Housing Conservation Coordinators

Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation

Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation

Harlem Community Development Corporation

Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center

Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association

Community Board #1, Brooklyn (Williamsburg/Greenpoint)

Community Board 1, Manhattan (Tribeca, Seaport, Financial District)

Community Board 2, Manhattan (Greenwich Village, SoHo, Little Italy, NoHo)

Community Board 4, Manhattan (Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen)

Community Board 5, Manhattan (Midtown, Garment Center, Flatiron)

SoHo Alliance

SoHo Arts Council

Friends of Hudson Square

Tribeca Community Association

Sullivan-Thompson Coalition

Williamsburg-Greenpoint Waterfront Alliance

Charlton Street Block Association

Greenwich Village Block Associations

VanDam Street Block Association

Carmine Street Block Association

Chelsea Council of Block Associations

 

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

September 12 , 2007
www.gvshp.org

DEMONSTRATE AGAINST THE TRUMP SOHO 'CONDO-HOTEL'

at its "LAUNCH PARTY"
WED., SEPT. 19th at 10:15 am
246 Spring Street, btw. Varick & 6th Ave.
*Impending legal challenge greatly strengthened by recent  inconsistencies in City 's statements on project 
 
 
Anti-Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel' Demonstration next Wed., Sept. 19 at 10:15 am:    Please join the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, the SoHo Alliance, and neighborhood, business, and civic groups as we demonstrate against the planned Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel.'  Our demonstration will take place outside the project's "launch party," to be held at the site, 246 Spring Street, btw. Varick and 6th Avenue.   
 
While the City has approved the gigantic 45-story tower, a potential legal challenge is gathering steam.  Recent inconsistencies by the City, which now says the "restrictive declaration" signed by Trump to prevent illegal residential uses in the building is purely "voluntary," makes the City's case look pretty shaky.  Sadly, the City continues to stubbornly insist upon defending its decision to approve this project.  A court challenge will mean the City will use taxpayer dollars to defend Trump and his development partners, while average citizens and community groups will have to dig deep to cover considerable legal fees to get the City to treat Trump and Co. the same way under the law as everyone else.
 
HOW TO HELP: 
  • COME TO THE DEMONSTRATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19th at 10:15 am at 246 Spring Street, btw. Varick and 6th Avenue.
  • BRING SIGNS AND POSTERS TO THE DEMONSTRATION SHOWING YOUR OUTRAGE OVER THE PROJECT!
  • SPREAD THE WORD --  pass this e-mail along, and go to www.gvshp.org/documents/Trump9-19-07demoflyer.pdf for a flyer you can distribute to your neighbors and pass along.   
 
For more information on the effort to fight the Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel,' see below.
 
To  join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm.    

PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

August 27, 2007
www.gvshp.org

END-of-SUMMER PROGRESS REPORT ON:
TRUMP 'CONDO-HOTEL'

Papers have been filed with the New York City Department of Buildings challenging the legality of the permits granted by the City for construction of the 45-story Trump 'Condo-Hotel' at Spring and Varick Streets.  GVSHP is working closely with the SoHo Alliance and other community groups as the challenge to this outrageous and illegal development moves into the legal arena.   For more background, see below; for more information on the papers, see www.thevillager.com/villager_225/tryingtotrumptrump.html.

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

June 21, 2007
www.gvshp.org

PUSHING FOR REZONING OF HUDSON SQUARE TO PREVENT MORE 'TRUMP'-STYLE DEVELOPMENT

PUSHING FOR REZONING HUDSON SQUARE:   GVSHP and other neighborhood groups have long been pushing to change the zoning for Hudson Square, the area west of Sixth Avenue from roughly Houston to Spring Streets, where Donald Trump plans to build his 45-story 'condo-hotel.' The City's recent decision to allow condo-hotel development in manufacturing zones like these makes the need for a rezoning all the more urgent, and GVSHP had been told that the City was willing to consider a rezoning of the area to prohibit further out-of-scale development.  GVSHP and scores of our members have written to the City urging that a rezoning take place as soon as possible, and other community groups have also been pushing for the same. 

That is why a recent letter from City Planning Chair Amanda Burden stating that she believes that the current zoning for the area allowing 45-story towers "reflects the consensus of the community board, local civic groups, and elected officials," and indicating that the City has no interest in changing the zoning, was so disturbing and perplexing.  GVSHP immediately responded by telling Planning Chair Burden that zoning which allows this type of development does not reflect the consensus of the community, and certainly not of GVSHP, and that we want the zoning changed as soon as possible.  We have also urged our elected officials to do the same.  

The Department of City Planning needs to hear loud and clear that more 'Trump'-style development in this area is totally unacceptable, and the zoning must be changed right away.

HOW TO HELP:

WRITE TO CITY PLANNING CHAIR AMANDA BURDEN AND URGE HER TO CHANGE THE ZONING WHICH ALLOWS 45-STORY TOWERS IN HUDSON SQUARE RIGHT AWAY --  CLICK HERE for a sample letter you can use.  

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

May 9, 2007
www.gvshp.org

CITY APPROVES 45-STORY TRUMP SOHO 'CONDO-HOTEL' GVSHP and Community Groups Vow to Continue Fight, Call for Long Overdue Zoning Changes to Prevent  More Such  Developments

City Approves 45-story Trump SoHo Condo-Hotel:  GVSHP uncovered and revealed yesterday that the City approved plans for construction of the planned 45-story Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel,' finalizing their decision, which GVSHP first reported in November, to allow this project to be built.  GVSHP and a broad coalition of community, planning, and business groups and elected officials and literally thousands of New Yorkers argued that the planned development would violate the zoning for the area and therefore cannot be permitted by the City.  Zoning restrictions for the area do not allow residential or residential hotel development, which is in essence what a 'condo-hotel' is; GVSHP and elected officials such as Borough President Stringer caught the developers advertising the planned development as a "residence" with "living spaces" on numerous occasions, and yet the City approved plans for the development regardless.   

See coverage of the city's approval in Metro NY, AM NY, New York magazine, the Daily News, and Crains NY.  

GVSHP also uncovered a copy of the voluntary "restrictive declaration" the developer has filed with the City to supposedly ensure compliance with the law; however, our reading of the document is that it will provide no meaningful protections against abuse of the law, and is no substitute for the City enforcing the law as written and preventing this development from moving ahead.  

With this decision by the City, among the few recourses left to stop the project is to file a lawsuit based upon the City not enforcing its own laws.  GVSHP is working with a coalition of neighbors and other concerned citizens to explore just such an option.  If you are interested in financially supporting such an effort, please reply to this e-mail.  GVSHP also continues to pursue other issues regarding the propriety of the development's 'condo-hotel' plan.  

Beyond allowing this totally inappropriate 45-story development, the City's decision swings open the doors to similar types of previously prohibited development in any area with similar zoning, such as the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea, northern Tribeca, NoHo, SoHo, western Hell's Kitchen, the Flatiron, the Garment Center, etc. (CLICK HERE for map).  Additionally, the Hudson Square neighborhood in which the Trump development will be located continues to allow 45-story buildings.  GVSHP has consistently urged city officials to close this supposed "loophole" in the zoning against Trump-Condo-Hotel-type developments, and to change the zoning for Hudson Square to prevent 45-story buildings of any sort (CLICK HERE and HERE).  GVSHP is continuing to push hard for zoning changes to protect our neighborhoods from further similar developments.  

CLICK HERE for a press release on the City's decision.

 

HOW TO HELP:

 

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Protest Against Trump SoHo Condo-Hotel, 4/4/07

Andrew Berman leads protest of Trump condo-hotel

GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman leading Sunday's protest.

protesters hold signs at protest against proposed condo-hotel in SoHo

Assemblymember Deborah Glick, Councilmember Tony Avella, and GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman at protest

Assemblymember Deborah Glick, Councilmember Tony Avella, and GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman speak to the crowd protesting the proposed Trump condo-hotel.

a protester holds a sign at protest against proposed Trump condo-hotel in SoHoprotesters rally against proposed condo-hotel in SoHo

protesters at rally against proposed Trump hotelprotester holds a sign at protest against proposed condo-hotel in SoHo

protester holds a sign at protest against proposed condo-hotel in SoHo

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release                                                                 March 4, 2007

Contact: Andrew Berman, Exec. Dir., G.V.S.H.P.                        917-533-1767       

       

HUNDREDS RALLY TO CALL UPON CITY TO BLOCK

CONSTRUCTION OF TRUMP SOHO CONDO-HOTEL

Developers’ Ads Show Project Would Violate Zoning By Including Illegal Residential Uses;  Huge Project Would Overwhelm Neighborhood; Approval By City Would

Undermine Public Approval Process

Manhattan – Hundreds of residents, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, and City Council Zoning Subcommittee Chair Tony Avella joined the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, the SoHo Alliance, and more than a dozen community groups (complete list below) for a press conference and demonstration at the site of the planned SoHo Condo-Hotel at Spring and Varick Streets.  Those gathered called upon the City to refuse construction permits for the planned development based upon zoning violations and inclusion of illegal residential uses.  Demonstration organizer Andrew Berman of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation showed the long history and recent examples of Trump and his development partners advertising the project as a “residence,” even though the zoning clearly prohibits residential use and the City has claimed that the project would not be residential (CLICK HERE for images.)

If approved, the Trump SoHo Condo Hotel would be the city’s very first condo-hotel in a manufacturing zone, where residential development is prohibited, and opponents claim it will result in all manufacturing zones citywide being opened to residential development for the first time ever (see attached map of affected areas).  It would also be the tallest building between Midtown and the Financial District and directly adjacent to the Holland Tunnel entrance, a concern which several speakers also addressed.

The City has refused to rule that a condo-hotel would violate the manufacturing zone’s prohibitions on residential and residential hotel development.  Instead, they have been negotiating the terms of a voluntary “restrictive declaration” with Trump and partners Bayrock/Saypir, which would allow owners of the units in the development to live in them 3-5 months per year.  However, demonstration organizers claim that is still a clear violation of the manufacturing zoning regulations, which only allow “transient hotels,’ defined as having rooms that are “rented on a daily basis” and are used “primarily for transient occupancy.”  In a 2004 case against another condo-hotel in a manufacturing district which GVSHP fought against, the City ruled that in transient hotels in manufacturing zones “units must not be subject to sale, lease, or other arrangements under which they would not be available for transient occupancy.  This interpretation is final.”   Furthermore, in light of the difficulty in enforcing such a ‘voluntary’ agreement, and the developers’ consistent advertisement of the condo-hotel as a place of permanent “residence,”demonstrators say that owners will end up living there for well over the permitted 3-5 months per year, and possibly year-round.

“The City has got to come to grips with reality – Trump’s condo-hotel will have illegal residential uses, and it will violate the zoning,” said GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman.  “If it walks like a duck and it talks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. Thousands of people across the country live in condo-hotels part-time or full-time.  Trump and partners from the beginning have said this is a place where people will leave part of the year or year round.  And every time you turn around, their ads or their websites are touting this as a ‘residence.’  How much more evidence does the City need?” added Berman.

Berman and others also questioned why the City seemed intent on finding a way to make this enormous development legal when it is so clearly wrong for this location.  “A 45-story condo-hotel is the last thing Spring and Varick Streets need.  This is a mostly low-rise, largely historic neighborhood; we don’t need 45 stories of Trump pseudo-glitz,” said Berman.  “As it is, traffic is regularly snarled to a standstill at the Holland Tunnel entrance next to this site.  Imagine what will happen when the Trump Condo-Hotel opens – traffic will come to a permanent halt,” he added.

Instead of trying to disguise the Trump Condo-Hotel as a legal transient hotel, demonstrators said the City is required by law not to issue the building permits necessary for construction.  If the developers wanted to build the project they would then have to apply for a zoning change, a public approval process which requires an environmental review and allows the public a say in whether the approvals are granted or modified, which could address community concerns about size or height, for instance.  By contrast, if the City were to rule the project in compliance with the zoning, as they have indicated they would, the City would entirely eliminate the public review process for this or any other condo-hotel in a manufacturing zone, in effect allowing as-of-right high-rise luxury residential development for the first time ever in manufacturing zones – a prospect developers have long salivated over and community groups have long fought against.

“I hope the Bloomberg Administration will see what is so obvious to everyone else in this case – this is a residence which would violate the zoning, and therefore should not be allowed.  The City must not eliminate the public’s right to have a say in major land use decisions by greenlighting this project with a closed-door decision,” stated Berman.

Several dozen elected officials, community and business groups from across the city have urged the Mayor not to issue permits for the Trump project because it would violate zoning rules (see below for complete list).

Today’s demonstration was sponsored by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, SoHo Alliance, Friends of Hudson Square, Tribeca Community Association, Housing Conservation Coordinators, Pratt Center for Community Development, Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation, the Sullivan Thompson Coalition, the Charlton Street Block Association, the VanDam Street Block Association, the Carmine Street Block Association, and the South Village Landmarking Alliance.

For more information and further background, see www.gvshp.org/trump.htm.

-end-

Elected Officials, Community Groups, Business Groups, Planning Organizations, and Community Boards Which Oppose the City Issuing Permits for the Trump Project

(list in formation, as of March 4, 2007)

 

State Senator Martin Connor

State Senator Tom Duane

State Senator Liz Kruger

State Senator Velmanette Montgomery

City Council Zoning Subcommittee Chair Tony Avella

City Councilmember Gale Brewer

City Councilmember Miguel Martinez

Assemblymember Deborah Glick

Assemblymember Richard Gottfried

Assemblymember Daniel O’Donnel

Municipal Art Society

Pratt Center for Community Development

Zoning for Jobs Coalition

New York Industrial Retention Network

Pratt Center for Community Development

Garment Industry Development Corporation

Housing Conservation Coordinators

Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation

Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation

Harlem Community Development Corporation

GMDC

Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association

Community Board #1, Brooklyn (Williamsburg/Greenpoint)

Community Board 1, Manhattan (Tribeca, Seaport, Financial District)

Community Board 2, Manhattan (Greenwich Village, SoHo, Little Italy, NoHo)

Community Board 4, Manhattan (Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen)

Community Board 5, Manhattan (Midtown, Garment Center, Flatiron)

SoHo Alliance

SoHo Arts Council

Friends of Hudson Square

Tribeca Community Association

Sullivan-Thompson Coalition

Williamsburg-Greenpoint Waterfront Alliance

Charlton Street Block Association

Greenwich Village Block Associations

VanDam Street Block Association

Carmine Street Block Association

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________

PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

February 27, 2007
www.gvshp.org

 TRUMP CAUGHT YET AGAIN!    

  *Latest  Ads Refer to 'Residences,' in Spite of Zoning Restrictions and Assurances by City Officials to the Contrary

JOIN US:  DEMONSTRATION THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 4, at 1 pm

*Call Upon the City to Finally Stop the Trump Plan

*Spread the Word!

Trump Caught Yet Again!: GVSHP has found the developers of the planned Trump SoHo Condo-Hotel yet again advertising their development as a 'residence' with 'living spaces,' in spite of explicit zoning restrictions prohibiting such a use, and repeated assurances from the City that this development would not violate the zoning for the area. GVSHP and a slew of community groups have contended from the beginning that this development violates the zoning and therefore should not be given building permits; city officials have thus far disagreed, saying condo-hotels such as this are legal in this area. Trump and partners have been caught more than a half dozen times advertising their project as a residence (see below), and each time city officials have offered assurances that the problem has been solved and the offending ads have been removed. See GVSHP's letter to Mayor Bloomberg on the matter as well as our letter to local elected officials. To see the advertisement referring to the development's "residences," CLICK HERE www.gvshp.org/documents/NYMag022607.pdf, and CLICK HERE to see the description of the development's "living spaces" on the developer's website.

Were the City to agree with our contention that the Trump Condo-Hotel violates the zoning for this area, Trump and partners would be forced to seek a zoning change in order to move ahead with their project as planned.  Through this public approval process, the development could be blocked, or could be changed to fit the neighborhood context and address the community's concerns about its size and scale.  However, if the City allows this project to move ahead, not only would this totally inappropriate tower go up as planned, but similar high-rise luxury residential development would be allowed for the first time ever in every light manufacturing zone in New York City, including parts of the West Village, SoHo, the Meatpacking District, SoHo, NoHo, West Chelsea, the Flatiron, western Hell's Kitchen, the Garment Center, and Brooklyn and Queens (see map HERE). 

Demonstrate Against the Trump Condo-Hotel this Sunday, March 4, at 1 pm:    In light of the terrible threat this development poses, GVSHP and several other community organizations will be holding a demonstration this Sunday, March 4, at 1 pm, in front of the development site at Varick and Spring Streets.  CLICK HERE for a flyer for the demonstration.

HOW TO HELP:

 

 

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

December 22, 2006
www.gvshp.org

TRUMP CAUGHT YET AGAIN!

GVSHP Receives E-Mail Solicitation for Trump SoHo Condo-Hotel ‘Residences’

CITY PARTIALLY LIFTS STOP-WORK ORDER ON TRUMP SITE

Trump Allowed to Get Around Requirements for Assessing Archaeological Significance of Historic Graveyard Found on Site 

Trump Caught Again:  On Wednesday, GVSHP received an e-mail solicitation from a realtor seeking to sell units in the planned 45-story Trump SoHo ‘Condo-Hotel’ at 246 Spring Street; the solicitation, in response to GVSHP signing up for buyer information about the project several weeks ago, said that “residents” will be able to enjoy “fully serviced luxurious five star living.”  Of course it is illegal to develop residential or residential hotel uses at this site, and GVSHP and a citywide coalition of community groups, business groups, and elected officials have been arguing that the City should not issue permits for this development because it would violate the zoning.  This is the fourth time in two weeks that advertisements for “residences” at the planned Trump project have been found.  After prior instances uncovered by GVSHP and Borough President Scott Stringer, Trump and his development partners claimed these were “mistakes” that had been “corrected.”  Apparently not.  See coverage of this in the December 22 Metro NY. 

 

GVSHP immediately sent the damning solicitation to City officials and again urged that no permits be issued for the project because it violates the zoning (CLICK HERE for letter).  Trump has excavation but not building permits, though the City has thus far said that they do not see any zoning conflicts between a ‘condo-hotel’ – where people own units and stay in them for extended periods of time – and the prohibitions against residences and residential hotels in this or any other zoning district.  

 

Regardless of whether or not these ads are “corrected” or removed, GVSHP continues to urge the City not to allow any condo-hotel in districts where the development of residences and residential hotels are not allowed.  To do so would suddenly allow a very lucrative and previously prohibited type of high-rise development in any neighborhood zoned for ‘light manufacturing,’ which includes parts of the Far West Village, Hudson Square, the Meatpacking District, Tribeca, SoHo, NoHo, West Chelsea, the Flatiron, the Garment Center, western Hell’s Kitchen, and other areas (see map HERE).  GVSHP continues to contend that the ONLY way such uses can be legal is if the developer seeks and gets approval for a zoning change.  A zoning change requires public hearings, assessment of environmental impacts, and an opportunity for the public to shape and tailor development to fit what is appropriate for a neighborhood, or to reject it altogether.  The current plan completely sidesteps this legally required public process.

 

Trump Stop-Work Order Partially Lifted:  GVSHP praised the City last week for issuing a stop-work order at the Trump site following the discovery of more than 100 year old human remains which were disturbed and unearthed during excavation for the development.  However, we also urged that in evaluating the archaeological discovery, the City require that State and City environmental protocols be followed, the same ones which would have been mandated if this project had been required to seek a zoning change, as GVSHP and many others have said it should.  Following these environmental protocols would have likely prevented the excavation work which disturbed and unearthed the burial ground.  However, once the remains were found, the protocols would have also required a full evaluation of the origins and significance of the site and, if warranted, formulating an appropriate plan for either preserving the burial ground on-site or for relocating it off-site. 

 

Unfortunately the City refused to do this, again claiming that this was an “as-of-right” project and therefore did not need to abide by these regulations, and partially lifted the stop-work order, allowing excavation to again resume (CLICK HERE for letter).  According to information attained by GVSHP and shared with the City, the graveyard on the site appears to either be attached to a 19th century abolitionist Presbyterian church, noteworthy at the time for its work with African-American anti-slavery groups (CLICK HERE for history), or might pre-date the church as far back as the era of freed slave or Native American settlement of the area.  Without any information about a full evaluation of the site’s significance, the City appeared satisfied that the developers would simply contact the Presbyterian Church to ask if them to take the remains, identify who they originally belonged to, and track down their ancestors to see if they wished to take possession of them.  GVSHP sent a letter of protest condemning this decision (CLICK HERE for letter).

 

Click HERE and HERE for articles in the The New York Sun, The Villager, and downtown express.

HOW TO HELP:

 

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

December 13, 2006
www.gvshp.org

 

WORK HALTED AT TRUMP SITE FOLLOWING DISCOVERY OF HUMAN REMAINS

GVSHP Asks For Independent Investigation of Possible Burial Ground and Its Significance

Information Sent to City About Abolitionist Church Formerly on Site

MORE SMOKING GUNS ON TRUMP PLAN TO VIOLATE ZONING

City’s Tourism Bureau, Trump Realtors Tout Project as ‘Residences,’

in Spite of Zoning Restrictions

GVSHP Raises Possible Violations of Condo Regs With State AG Office

 

Human Remains Found:  Human remains, possibly from 15-20 bodies, were uncovered early this week during excavation at the Trump condo-hotel site at 246 Spring Street.  The remains reportedly appear to be over 100 years old.  The Department of Buildings has halted the excavation work on the site (Trump currently has permits to excavate, but not build, on the site).  For further details, see an article in the New York Post and the New York Sun. 

 

GVSHP immediately asked City agencies not to allow any further work “until the source and origin of the remains have been independently identified and their significance fully evaluated by proper authorities” (CLICK HERE for full letter).  Given the age of the remains, they are likely part of a burial ground for the Spring Street Presbyterian Church, a staunchly abolitionist church built in 1811 on the site and almost burned to the ground in 1834 by an angry mob opposed to their abolitionist work.  The church was demolished in 1963, and appears to have been one of the city’s few early churches to serve both an African-American and European-American constituency.  If the remains pre-date that time period, they may have been associated with one of several prominent families or institutions which owned land in the area in the 18th century, or with the freed black slave settlement which occupied much of the area during the Dutch and early English colonial period.  GVSHP is seeking to ensure that a full and independent evaluation is done and the remains are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.  We have provided the City with historic information about the abolitionist church which stood on this site and the work it performed to help argue for the possible significance of this discovery (CLICK HERE for documents sent to the City).

 

More Smoking Guns on Trump Plans to Violate Zoning:  Following last week’s discovery by Borough President Scott Stringer that Trump was advertising his new development on his website as a residence (which would violate the law), it has now come to light that the City’s own official Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, NYC and Co., has been promoting Trump’s planned 45-story condo-hotel development at 246 Spring Street as a place for buyers to live ‘year-round’ (CLICK HERE).  Trump and NYC and Co. both removed the materials from their websites only after they were brought to light.   But GVSHP has also found several on-line advertisements for sales of condo units at the Trump development which continue to refer to them as “residences,” even though residential use and residential development are prohibited by the zoning at this location.  The City has said they will allow this development to move ahead because it is not “a residence” (CLICK HERE).  GVSHP wrote to Mayor Bloomberg and city officials calling to their attention the “growing incontrovertible evidence that the planned Trump ‘condo-hotel’ at 246 Spring Street in Manhattan will in fact be used as a residence, in violation of zoning restrictions,” and urging them “not to allow this project to move ahead” (CLICK HERE for letter).  For further details, seee article in the New York Metro.

 

Additionally, GVSHP has written to the NY State Attorney General’s Office, regarding their review of Trump’s condominium plan for his hotel, which they must approve (CLICK HERE for letter).   According to an article in the Journal of the Urban Land Institute, if residential uses are restricted at a condo-hotel, it may not be able to qualify under federal law as a condominium.  This would support our argument that Trump’s plan by its very nature violates zoning regulations and contradict the City’s argument that they can “ensure” that Trump’s condo-units are not used as residences.  At the very least, it may lead to some difficulty in Trump getting his condo-plan approved at the State level.

 

HOW TO HELP:

 

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

December 6, 2006
www.gvshp.org

Trump Caught Advertising His ‘Condo-Hotel’ to Prospective Buyers as a “Primary Residence” or “Secondary Residence;”

Web Posting Shows What GVSHP and Other Opponents Have Contended All Along – Trump’s Condo-Hotel Would Violate Zoning and Should Not Be Allowed

Trump Lies and Violates Zoning:  GVSHP became aware today that the website for Donald Trump’s planned 45-story condo-hotel at Spring and Varick Streets has been soliciting prospective buyers by asking if they plan to use their condo unit as a “primary residence,” a “secondary residence,” or an ‘investment property.”  Problem is, residences are explicitly prohibited under the zoning for this site, and as GVSHP and countless opponents of this project have stated to the City, this condo-hotel would violate the zoning and therefore should not be permitted.  GVSHP sent a letter to the City today regarding this “smoking gun” showing Trump’s true intentions with this development, and again calling upon the City NOT to allow this project to move forward (CLICK HERE for letter).  GVSHP first became aware of this webpage through Borough President Stringer, Congressman Nadler, State Senator Duane, and Assemblymember Glick, who also wrote to the city, and the developer, expressing their concerns and objections (CLICK HERE); we thank them for their vigilance.

 

Trump’s web advertisement clearly shows what we and so many others have been contending all along – that a condo-hotel inherently violates the zoning for this district.  This neighborhood’s manufacturing zoning, like the zoning for many areas of New York (CLICK HERE for zoning map), prohibits development of “residences” and “residential hotels,” though it does allow “transient hotels.”  Transient hotels are defined as, and are generally understood to be, hotels where units are “rented on a daily basis” and used “primarily for transient occupancy.” 

 

The City has been negotiating a “restrictive declaration” with Trump in order to “ensure” that his condo-hotel would conform to these zoning restrictions.  But the agreement the City has been discussing with Trump would allow owners to live in their units for as much as 100-150 days per year, which we have always contended was a ‘secondary residence,’ not a transient hotel.  Trump’s webpage would seem to indicate that he thinks so too.

For more information on Trump’s “smoking gun” webpage, CLICK HERE and HERE. CLICK HERE for a December 7th article in the New York Sun.

 

For sample letters to let the City know your opposition to Trump’s project, and to allowing condo-hotels which violate the law, CLICK HERE.  

 

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

November 27, 2006
www.gvshp.org

NEXT STEPS AFTER CITY’S OUTRAGEOUS DECISION ON TRUMP CONDO-HOTEL

*GVSHP to confer with neighbors and concerned community organizations downtown and across the city which are affected by decision

*City proposes ‘Restrictive Declaration’ for development

 

City Says ‘Yes’ to Trump Condo-Hotel:  Before Thanksgiving GVSHP received confirmation from the Department of Buildings and local elected officials that the City had decided to approve a 45-story condo-hotel at a site at 246 Spring Street at Varick Street being developed by Donald Trump and partners. While the permits have not yet been issued, the City has made clear that they believe Trump is right and literally thousands of New Yorkers and scores of business, community, and planning groups from across the City are wrong, and they will allow this and other condo-hotels to be built, for the first-time ever, in manufacturing zones across New York City (CLICK HERE for map). This decision will not only allow this mega-development to be built in violation of zoning restrictions, but will allow other similar developments to be built in areas where such developments have never gone before.  The only thing the City appears to be waiting on is Trump signing a voluntary “restrictive declaration” for the site (see below).

 

The response from the public to news of this decision by the City has been overwhelming, and as outraged as ours.  Many have asked “what can we do?” 

 

HOW TO HELP:

 

 

Although the City has indicated that they are 100% committed to this decision, you can let them know just how wrong, harmful, and outrageous you think it is.

 

GVSHP will be conferring with neighbors of the planned Trump development, and local and citywide community and business groups elected officials who have joined us in opposing this decision about next steps; all options are being reviewed, including legal ones. 

 

Restrictive Declaration Proposed: The City is currently seeking to get Trump and partners to enter a voluntary “restrictive declaration” to supposedly limit how the condo-hotel could operate and “ensure” that it follows zoning restrictions for a transient hotel (transient hotels are allowed by the zoning at this location, while residences and residential hotels are not; we contend that condo-hotels are not transient hotels, but are residential hotels or residences).  GVSHP is very concerned that such an agreement will be difficult to enforce and compliance will be difficult to monitor; that it will be used by the City to try to shield their decision from legal challenge; that it will not apply to any of the future condo-hotel developments which this decision will also allow; and that it cannot substitute for appropriate enforcement of the zoning code, as this agreement would allow clear violations of the zoning.  For example, the restrictive declaration currently being contemplated will allow condo owners to occupy their units for 100-150 days per year; that is a second home, not a transient hotel.  We are concerned that the restrictive declaration is being used by the City as a fig leaf to try cover up this terrible decision, without providing the real protections the zoning is supposed to.

 

If the City cannot be convinced or compelled to enforce the current zoning code to prevent these kinds of developments in neighborhoods where they are supposed to be prohibited, GVSHP is urging that the zoning be changed right away to clearly and explicitly do so.  GVSHP has asked for both explicit prohibitions against this type of development in manufacturing zones where they are supposed to be prohibited, and for zoning changes to reduce the size and height of any kind of development (whether or not it is a condo-hotel) in the zoning districts around the planned Trump development.

 

See the letter to Council Speaker Christine Quinn outlining our concerns about the restrictive declaration and urging that these zoning changes be made if the City follows through on its pledge to support Trump’s plan (CLICK HERE for letter).

 

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

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PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

November 15, 2006
www.gvshp.org

CITY TO APPROVE TRUMP CONDO-HOTEL:

Closed-Door Decision Threatens to Undo Zoning Protections,

Could Make Sweeping Changes to Landscape of Neighborhoods Across the City

Without Any Public Hearing or Approval Process

 

Breaking News:  GVSHP was shocked to learn today that the City has agreed to approve permits for a 45-story condo-hotel to be built by Donald Trump and his development partners.  GVSHP led a coalition of neighborhood and business groups and elected officials from across the city who urged the Mayor NOT to approve this condo-hotel because they believed, like us, that such a condo-hotel violates zoning rules for manufacturing zones, and to allow this development would undo zoning protections across the City (CLICK HERE for letters from supporters).  Anticipating the possibility of such a decision, GVSHP wrote the City earlier in the week urging them again not to issue permits for this development (CLICK HERE for letter).

 

GVSHP condemns this action as a closed-door accommodation to Donald Trump which will undo zoning protections for many neighborhoods, especially those in Lower Manhattan and on the West Side where manufacturing zoning is supposed to prohibit such development.  With this decision, the City has granted Trump what amounts to a change in zoning regulations which will not only allow him to develop high-rise condo-hotels in manufacturing districts where they were supposed to be prohibited, but will allow ANY DEVELOPER TO DO THE SAME.  This decision was made without any of the public hearings, public votes, or environmental reviews which such a decision should require; instead, the City simply opted to interpret the zoning regulations to say that the Trump condo-hotel is a “transient hotel” and not a residence or a residential hotel, the equivalent of shoving a 45-story square peg into a round hole.

 

The City appears to be justifying its position in two ways:

We disagree strongly with both assertions.  Many zoning and planning experts (along with countless neighborhood and business groups) have agreed with our position that the zoning text as written clearly did not imagine allowing what Trump is planning in manufacturing zones.  A restrictive declaration is of questionable efficacy and enforceability, and the terms of the restrictive declaration we understand the City is currently considering does not contain many of the most critical elements that would distinguish a “transient hotel” from a residence or residential hotel.  For instance, we understand that the City would allow condo-hotel unit owners to take their units “off market” for significant periods of time so that they could reside in their units, rather than renting them out to overnight guests.  This would seem to blatantly contradict the common sense definition of a “transient hotel,” as well as the current legal definition, which says that rooms are “rented on a daily basis” and are used “primarily for transient occupancy.” 

 

The City has had ample opportunity to change the zoning text over that period of time if they did not believe that the current language in the text afforded the protections it was intended and understood to.  Condo-hotels have existed in non-manufacturing zones (where they are legal) in New York City for over eight years.  That is why GVSHP has consistently urged the City if it DOES NOT believe that the current text is clear enough in prohibiting condo-hotels in manufacturing zones where they do not belong to CHANGE THE ZONING TEXT TO DO SO.  The City has thus far made no such commitments.  We will continue to push them on this point; without the City enforcing such restrictions, it is quite likely we will see more such high-rise vacation homes for the jet-set proliferating under the guise of “transient hotels” in other similar manufacturing zones such, as SoHo, NoHo, the Meatpacking District, the Far West Village south of Barrow Street, and parts of West Chelsea, the Flatiron District, the Garment Center, western Hell’s Kitchen, Tribeca, and Brooklyn and Queens (CLICK HERE for map).

 

GVSHP has also asked the City to consider zoning changes for the manufacturing zones west of Sixth Avenue and south of Barrow Street to prevent this type of high-rise from being built in the future (see zones with the prefix “M” on map HERE).   While GVSHP continues to argue that “condo-hotels” should not be allowed in this area, the City has made clear that the current zoning does allow 45-story buildings (the M1-5 zone, north of Houston Street, allows smaller buildings).  This is a ludicrous size of development for an area with buildings of no more than 15 or so stories, with a neighborhood of buildings only 6 stories or less just a block away.  Whether or not they are condo-hotels, we do not believe that development of this size should be allowed in this area AT ALL. 

 

The Trump condo-hotel, if built, would be the tallest building between Midtown and the Financial District.

 

GVSHP will provide further information as it becomes available.

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

PRESERVATION UPDATE

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

November 7, 2006
www.gvshp.org

BROOKLYN JOINS FIGHT AGAINST TRUMP CONDO-HOTEL

Trump Condo-Hotel Fight: GVSHP continues to garner support from communities throughout the five boroughs in opposition to Donald Trump’s 45-story condo-hotel plan for Spring and Varick Streets. GVSHP has been leading this fight not only because Trump’s plan would be so wrong for this location, but because if successful, it would destroy zoning protections for all similar manufacturing zones throughout New York City, including the Far West Village south of Barrow Street, Hudson Square, the Meatpacking District, SoHo, NoHo, Tribeca, Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, Williamsburg/Greenpoint, Gowanus, etc. (Click here for map).


Click here for an article that ran in Brooklyn’s Courier Life chain about how communities in that borough are joining us in fighting this horrible proposal. Click here for a Chelsea Now article and here for a Downtown Express article about how Tribeca and Chelsea would be affected if this development were approved.


Click here for the latest letters of support from elected officials and community groups around the city, including one from Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, warning the City that allowing Trump’s condo-hotel would have a damaging effect upon Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen, and undermine commitments regarding the creation of affordable housing in those neighborhoods.

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

October 12 , 2006

www.gvshp.org

TRUMP CONDO-HOTEL DECISION EXPECTED SOON;

OPPOSITION GROWS, BUT SIGNALS FROM CITY ARE CAUSE FOR CONCERN

Trump Condo-Hotel Decision Expected Soon:  A decision from the City on whether or not to allow ‘condo-hotels’ in manufacturing zones, such as the proposal by Donald Trump and partners for a 45-story ‘condo-hotel’ at Spring and Varick Streets, is expected soon.  The decision will determine whether or not neighborhoods throughout Lower Manhattan and much of the five boroughs will be opened up to a new breed of high-rise development which will change neighborhood character, force out existing jobs and businesses, and undermine commitments by the City to communities regarding housing and manufacturing development and preservation.  A growing coalition of elected officials, Community Boards, and business and community groups from across the City have come out against this plan (CLICK HERE for their support letters.)  Special thanks to Assemblymember Glick, Congressman Nadler, and State Senator Duane for writing their fellow elected officials across the City urging them to stand with us. 

But after a series of meetings GVSHP had with city agencies about the proposal, the City does not appear to fully grasp the negative impacts allowing such developments would have, nor to recognize how profoundly this decision could affect the landscape of neighborhoods across the City (CLICK HERE for letter).  In the final days before a decision is made, GVSHP is waging a no-holds-barred campaign across the city to make communities aware of the impact this plan would have on them, and to mobilize them in opposition. 

HOW TO HELP:

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

October 6, 2006

Dear Friend,

 

The City’s decision whether to allow high-rise condo-hotels into manufacturing zones may come any day now.  People, businesses, and elected officials from across the city have urged the City NOT to approve this harmful plan, but it’s CRITICAL that we spread the word over the next several days and get our friends and neighbors to write to City officials NOW. 

 

GVSHP has created flyers for some of the many neighborhoods that will be profoundly affected by this decision.  Please just click on the flyer or your neighborhood name below for a downloadable version you can print out, post, distribute, or send along to friends and neighbors. 

 

WE HAVE ONE CHANCE TO GET THE CITY TO DO THE RIGHT THING AND PROTECT OUR NEIGHBORHOODS – let’s make sure we use it!

Sincerely,

signature

Andrew Berman

West Village ♦ SoHo ♦ NoHo ♦ Hudson Square ♦ Chelsea ♦ Hell’s Kitchen ♦ Tribeca ♦ Williamsburg/Greenpoint

West Village FlyerSoHo Flyer NoHo Flyer Hudson Square Flyer

 

Chelsea Flyer Hell's Kitchen Tribeca FlyerWilliamsburg/Greenpoint Flyer

 

ATTENTION RESIDENTS and BUSINESSES in the WEST VILLAGE, SOHO, NOHO, MEATPACKING DISTRICT, HUDSON SQUARE, TRIBECA, WEST CHELSEA, HELL’S KITCHEN, and WILLIAMSBURG/GREENPOINT:

Expected City Ruling on ‘Condo-Hotels’ in Coming Weeks May Change Your Neighborhood Forever

September 27, 2006

Dear friend,

As early as October, the City is expected to rule on whether or not ‘condo-hotels’ – developments where individuals buy apartments they live in part-time or year-round and rent out the remainder of the year – will be allowed for the first time EVER in manufacturing zones such as those in your neighborhood (CLICK HERE for map).  IF CONDO HOTELS ARE ALLOWED, IT MAY WELL CHANGE THE FACE OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD FOREVER.

Zoning prohibits new residential development in manufacturing zones, but allows development of transient hotels, which has generally been understood to mean places where rooms rent on a daily basis and people stay no more than 30 days.  However, Donald Trump and partners are seeking a ruling from the City that ‘condo-hotels,’ where people own units and live there for much or all of the year, are actually transient hotels and NOT residences, and therefore SHOULD be allowed in these manufacturing zones.  Condo-hotel developments in manufacturing zones will almost undoubtedly take the form of tall, setback towers, and because land prices are generally lower in manufacturing zones, condo-hotel development would no doubt strongly gravitate there if allowed.  Condo-hotel developments have been EXPLODING around the country, and developers have been looking to break into the New York market.  THUS IF THE CITY RULES IN TRUMP’S FAVOR, THESE NEIGHBORHOODS COULD SEE A HUGE WAVE OF CONDO-HOTEL DEVELOPMENT.

This will have several effects:

  1. It will encourage high-rise development of luxury residential and hotel units in these areas.
  2. It will help push out area businesses, which are supposed to be protected by zoning from competition from residential development, thereby changing the character of these neighborhoods
  3. It will circumvent the possibility of these communities considering zoning changes to only allow residential development which is appropriate for the area in terms of height, size, and location
  4. It will undermine hard-fought-for provisions to encourage the creation of affordable housing in recently rezoned neighborhoods like West Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, and Williamsburg/Greenpoint, by opening up new areas of these neighborhoods to luxury housing development without the agreed-to affordable housing incentives attached.

THE CITY MAY RULE ON THIS MATTER SOON.  THEREFORE I ASK YOU TO DO THE FOLLOWING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE:

 

 

To see which elected officials and community and business groups from across the City are supporting this cause, CLICK HERE.

Thank you for yoru help, and for caring about your neighborhood.  I am hopeful we can get the City to do the right thing and protect our neighborhoods from this sort of inappropriate development.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

September 12 , 2006

www.gvshp.org

 

TRUMP BATTLE UPDATE – NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS, FOR NOW

Trump Battle Update:  No news is good news, as the City has still not issued Trump and his development partners any building permits for their planned 45-story ‘condo-hotel’ at Spring and Varick Streets.  GVSHP has charged that the proposed development, which would be the first ‘condo-hotel’ in a manufacturing zone in New York (which prohibits residential uses) would violate the zoning for the area. However, the City has yet to either issue a clear statement that the original plan, which the developers described as “more pied-a-terre than short-stay hotel…every unit will be sold to buyers who might live there year-round, time-to-time, or seasonally,” would have violated the law.  Nor has the City yet developed the clear set of guidelines we urged be adopted for this new breed of ‘condo-hotels’ to ensure that they are not used as “trojan horses” for introducing illegal high-rise development into our neighborhoods.

 

There are some positive developments, however.  The Department of Buildings has finally agreed to meet with GVSHP and elected officials and other concerned groups to discuss the issue, something we have long asked for.  Additionally, GVSHP continues to receive strong support in our fight against this plan from residents and community groups in other neighborhoods with similar zoning that would find themselves suddenly vulnerable to this type of new, illegal, high-rise ‘condo-hotel’ development if the Trump plan were approved, such as the Far West Village south of Morton Street, Tribeca, Noho, SoHo, Hudson Square, West Chelsea, western Hell’s Kitchen, the Garment District, the Flatiron District, and industrial areas of Brooklyn and Queens (CLICK HERE for map.)  Finally, State Senator Tom Duane, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, and Assemblymember Deborah Glick have all not only written to the City in opposition to the project, but have written to their fellow elected officials across the city urging them to oppose this project as well. 

 

GVSHP continues to push the City not to issue permits for the currently planned development and to develop strict guidelines to prevent Trojan horse ‘condo-hotels’ from sneaking in illegal uses where the zoning prohibits them.

HOW TO HELP:

WRITE TO CITY OFFICIALS NOW  letting them know your opposition to the Trump plan and to the possibility of similar projects being approved in other neighborhoods. CLICK HERE for a sample letter you can use.

 

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

August 11 , 2006

www.gvshp.org

*KEEPING THE PRESSURE ON CITY AND TRUMP OVER 45-STORY CONDO-HOTEL PLAN

Trump 45-Story Condo-Hotel Plan:  GVSHP and allies opposing Donald Trump’s plan for a 45-story “condo-hotel” at Spring and Varick Streets continue to keep the pressure on the City to make the right decision and refuse building permits for this project.  See the latest Village Voice piece on the effort. 

The good news:  after several months, the City has still not issued Trump any permits for building.  The not-so-good news:  the City is yet to acknowledge that Trump’s plan would be an illegal violation of the area’s zoning, or to come up with a clear set of guidelines to prevent this new breed of “condo-hotels” from violating the zoning for areas which prohibit residential development, such as the site in question.  Meanwhile, Trump and his partners continue to insist that they will build the project.   The City continues to insist that only transient hotel uses will be allowed on this site, as required by law, and has rejected one set of permit applications by Trump on the basis of the inclusion of kitchens in the units in the plans.

However, GVSHP has pointed out to the City that excluding the kitchens is not sufficient to make this development legal (CLICK HERE for latest GVSHP letter at), citing an article in today’s New York Times about condo-hotels which shows that buyers do use their hotel units as residences, and that the hotel’s full-service accommodations allow them to live there full-time without cooking facilities.  And the City has thus far refused to meet with GVSHP and its allies to discuss this project, though they have clearly met with the developer.

GVSHP would like to thank State Senator Tom Duane, City Council Zoning Subcommittee Chair Tony Avella, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, Community Boards 2, 4, and 5 in Manhattan, and the many business, industrial, and community groups from throughout the City who have stood with us in opposition to this illegal plan (CLICK HERE for letters of support).

HOW TO HELP:

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

July 14, 2006

www.gvshp.org

*OPPOSITION GROWS TO TRUMP’S 45-STORY “TROJAN HORSE” HOTEL

 

Trump ‘Condo-Hotel’ Opposition Grows:  More than 125 people turned out last night to show opposition to Donald Trump’s proposed 45-story ‘condo-hotel’ at Spring and Varick Streets at a public hearing requested by GVSHP at Community Board #2’s Zoning Committee.  At the hearing, GVSHP submitted evidence substantiating why Trump’s scheme would be an illegal circumvention of the law, and how it would not only strip away zoning protections against new residential development in its immediate vicinity, but would open the door to similar illegal development in manufacturing zones throughout our neighborhoods (such as the Meatpacking District, SoHo, NoHo, and the Far West Village south of Morton Street) and throughout the City (CLICK HERE for more information).  GVSHP also presented a growing list of elected officials and neighborhood and business groups from across the city who have joined in urging the City NOT to grant Trump permits for his development, calling it a violation of the law.  Supporters include City Council Zoning Subcommittee Chair Tony Avella of Queens, State Senator Tom Duane, the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation, the NY Industrial Retention Network, the Pratt Center for Community Development, and many others (CLICK HERE for letters).

 

Thus far, the City has refrained from issuing permits to Trump, noting that the presence of kitchenettes in his plans indicates residential use, which is illegal in this manufacturing zone.  This is a positive sign, but GVSHP has urged the City NOT to issue permits for the development EVEN IF THE KITHCENETTES ARE REMOVED.  GVSHP has contended that the very concept of the “condo-hotel” is a violation of the zoning and should not be allowed (CLICK HERE).  After initially approving a similar building in 2003 which also violated the zoning, GVSHP and a similar citywide coalition was able to get the City to reject those permits and stop that project. 

 

However, in an effort not to simply allow a 45-story development that is a legal hotel, GVSHP also asked the Community Board to carefully examine all other elements of Trump’s plans to see if there were any other violations of the law.  GVSHP also asked the Community Board to consider proposing zoning changes for the area, as the current zoning does allow high-rise commercial developments with almost no height restrictions. 

 

The Community Board’s Zoning Committee passed a unanimous resolution calling upon the City to reject Trump’s permit applications based upon their zoning violations, and communicating to the City the community’s opposition to the project.  The hearing generated considerable favorable media coverage about the controversy, including on NY 1, in Metro NY, and in the NY Observer.

HOW TO HELP:

 

 

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

July 5, 2006

www.gvshp.org

*HEARING on TRUMP 45-STORY “TROJAN HORSE” HOTEL VARIANCE

SCHEDULED FOR JULY 13

Trump ‘Condo-Hotel’ Hearing on July 13:  On July 13, Community Board #2’s Zoning Committee will hold a public hearing on Donald Trump’s plan for a 45-story ‘condo-hotel’ at Spring and Varick Streets.

 

GVSHP has been fighting Trump’s 45-story condo-hotel plan, and requested the Community Board hold this hearing.  Lax zoning for the area and the purchase of “air rights” may allow Trump to build as large and tall as he has planned.  However, the zoning does NOT allow any kind of residential development in this area, and while Trump is calling the development a “hotel,” in reality it appears it will be largely residential.  GVSHP and a coalition of downtown groups have therefore urged the City NOT to issue Trump the permits he needs to build the structure (CLICK HERE), and we have been joined by City Council Zoning Subcommittee Chair Tony Avella and many others in this request (CLICK HERE).  The City has not yet issued Trump his permits.   

 

If Trump’s current plans are approved by the City, not only will the new development have an enormous impact upon downtown, but it will for the first time EVER give developers a way to get around the law and build residential high-rises without any public approval in manufacturing zones where they are currently prohibited, such as NoHo, SoHo, and much of Hudson Square, the Meatpacking District, and the Far West Village south of Morton Street.  It is therefore CRITICAL that we have a big turnout at the CB 2 Zoning Committee to let the City know residents OPPOSE the Trump “condo-hotel” plan.

HOW TO HELP:

 

CLICK HERE for New York Post article, 6/25/06

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

PRESERVATION ALERT

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

June 21, 2006

www.gvshp.org

*FIGHTING TRUMP PLAN FOR 45-STORY “TROJAN HORSE” HOTEL

 

Trump Plan for 45-Story “Trojan Horse Hotel”:  In early June, Donald Trump announced on The Apprentice plans to build an enormous “condo-hotel” on a parking lot at Varick and Spring Streets, to be managed by the winner of his reality TV show.  By accumulating development rights from neighboring sites, Trump would take advantage of lax zoning in the area to build a dramatically out-of-scale 45-story building, by far the tallest in Lower Manhattan. 

 

But there’s a catch:  the plan would probably violate the zoning for the area.  Trump’s is a first-of-its-kind scheme for a “hotel” with units which would be sold to individuals who then could rent them as hotel rooms, or could simply keep them as residences for themselves.  But this sounds suspiciously similar to a scheme for a 450 ft. tall hotel/residence in the Meatpacking District which a coalition of groups led by GVSHP defeated in 2004 because it allowed residential development in a district where the zoning prohibited it (CLICK HERE for more information).  In that case, after a protracted campaign by GVSHP and other groups, the City overturned an initial ruling allowing the building, affirming with its ‘final ruling’ that in zoning districts where residential development is barred, it doesn’t matter if you call it a ‘hotel’ or not (CLICK HERE).  Interestingly, Trump’s plan is reportedly designed by Handel Architects, who were also involved in the design of the 2004 Meatpacking District tower scheme.

 

The zoning for Trump’s site carries the same restrictions against residential development as the one in the Meatpacking District.  GVSHP is very concerned about the size and scale of the proposed Trump building and its impact upon the surrounding neighborhood, but also about the way in which the tower would violate zoning regulations which we fought so hard to protect.  If this scheme is allowed, similar mega-high-rises would for the first time be allowed as-of-right (without any public review or approval required) in areas like NoHo, SoHo, the Far West Village south of Barrow Street, and parts of Tribeca which have similar zoning, among other places.  GVSHP has been joined by several downtown groups in writing to the Mayor and City officials urging that no permits be issued for the development based upon these conflicts with the area’s zoning (CLICK HERE for letter). 

HOW TO HELP:

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, CLICK HERE.