Union Sq So. Hotel Special Permit Plan Does Nothing to Protect Greenwich Village & the East Village
Dear [Decision Maker],
The proposed special permit requirement for the area south of Union Square does absolutely nothing to protect the impacted neighborhoods of Greenwich Village and the East Village. Worse, it envisions the accelerated spread of 'Midtown South' and 'Silicon Alley' to the area by encouraging more office tower development there. It encourages the demolition of residential properties to make way for high end tech offices, and explicitly denies the historic significance of buildings in the area which should be landmarked and preserved, offering a green light for their demolition instead. The City should be offering real zoning protections for this area to protect it from out of scale and out of character development catalyzed by the 14th Street Tech Hub upzoning, reinforcing the low-to-mid-rise and predominantly residential nature of the area, and include landmark protections for the scores of historically significant buildings in this area. This plan does not even come close to delivering upon Councilmember Rivera's promise of comprehensive neighborhood protections as a condition of her support for the 14th Street Tech Hub, and seems more motivated by rewarding the Mayor's campaign donors in the hotel trade union and among large hotel developers (both of whom support this measure) than it does in truly addressing overdevelopment issues in this area.
Sincerely,[Your Name] [Your Address]
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