The city’s Economic Development Corporation has announced they’ve selected the developer for a broadly opposed, roughly 600-ft.-tall tower on publicly owned land at Little West 12th and West Streets in the Meatpacking District. The City has chosen to ignore overwhelming public input calling for the elimination of all super-luxury units from the tower and reducing its height by 50-75%. The City’s announcement claims the tower will be “up to 55% affordable” — which means it may be significantly less — and carefully avoids specifying what “affordable” means (under city rules, housing can require double the median income for NYC and still be categorized as “affordable”). The proposed tower would be one of the densest developments ever built in NYC. 

Under current rules, this development will require a rezoning process that includes City Council review and approval, which means the City Councilmember representing the area (currently Erik Bottcher) will play an important role in determining what does or doesn’t get approved. If Ballot Questions 2-4 pass, the City Council could be cut out of the process.

It’s critical that the Councilmember for the district stand firm in demanding no super-luxury housing on this public land, a scale compatible with its surroundings, and true affordability.

TO HELP: