Speak Up at the Hudson Sq. Rezoning Public Meeting Tonight!
We hope you can join us for tonight’s critical public hearing on the proposed Hudson Square rezoning at 6:30 pm at the Fire Museum, 278 Spring Street (Varick/Hudson Streets), 3rd floor. This meeting will focus on the zoning impacts of the plan.
It’s critical that we have a strong turnout tonight (we’ll be ready with our trusty stickers and info sheets), but even more important is that we literally make our voice heard to the community board and elected officials who will be represented there.
Signing up at the meeting to speak — even if it’s just one sentence about the need to bring down the height limits so we don’t turn Hudson Square into Midtown and that landmarking of the South Village MUST accompany the rezoning — will go a remarkably long way in showing the decision-makers the community’s real sentiment about the proposed plan. Remember, this isn’t the Broadway stage and you’re not expected to give a flawless, soaring performance or to have memorized the entire NYC Zoning Handbook cover to cover. The board wants to know what you and your neighbors genuinely think of the proposal and its potential impacts — the more succinct and heartfelt your remarks, the better!
Following this community board process, the rezoning will be be voted upon by the Borough President, the City Planning Commission, and the City Council, the latter two of which will decide if it is adopted, amended, or rejected.
While GVSHP and community groups agree that a rezoning of the area is needed, the proposal as it is now allows for incredibly buildings (as big as the Trump SoHo condo-hotel) and offers no protections for the neighboring proposed-but-not-yet-enacted South Village Historic District, which will experience an increase in development pressure if the rezoning passes. Therefore we are urging the Community Board, the Borough President, the City Planning Commission, and the City Council to substantially lower the proposed height and bulk limits in the rezoning, and to ONLY allow it to move ahead IF accompanied by designation of the proposed South Village Historic District.
Please come AND SPEAK at the meeting tonight and please write to City officials who will vote on the plan and urge them to lower the height limits, and only approve the plan if landmark designation for the South Village also moves ahead.