On August 13 at 6:30 pm, Community Board 2’s Land Use Committee will hold a hearing on a zoning variance application to allow construction of a 176-ft.-tall tower at 51 Little West 12th Street in the Meatpacking District, just west of the High Line. The variance is seeking permission to build larger than very generous current zoning rules allow and to include residential uses that are prohibited under existing zoning.

The application for the variance, which claims a “hardship” whereby the developer says a more modestly sized commercial building that could be constructed here would not produce a “reasonable [financial] return” due to “unique” circumstances including the site being on landfill, the lot being small, and proximity to the Standard Hotel. The application also cites the city’s proposed 600-ft.-tall residential tower across the street as precedent and context for the proposed development.

The claims of hardship and unique conditions are specious, and if approved, would set a damaging precedent for further variances and development in this area in the future. 

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