Neighbors, Elected Officials, and Preservationists Protest Demolition of Nine Landmarked Meatpacking District Houses
Last Thursday, Village Preservation was joined by Borough President Gale Brewer, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, the Historic Districts Council, Save Chelsea, Save Gansevoort, a representative of State Senator Brad Hoylman, and Third Council District Democratic Nominee Erik Bottcher for a demonstration and press conference condemning the city and a developer tearing down most of nine city, state, and federal landmarked 1840s houses at 14th Street and 9th Avenue in the Meatpacking District. The city and developer claim that the houses posed an imminent threat of collapse, which was only “discovered” as they prepared the buildings for partial demolition and large-scale alteration to build an office tower behind them. Neither the city nor the developer have produced convincing proof of these conditions or the unfeasibility of alternative methods for securing the buildings, while there has been much evidence to undermine this claim.
See coverage of the demonstration at the Village Sun, Channel 5 News, Untapped Cities, and Patch. Watch full video of the demonstration here and see pictures here.
Since we first learned of the impending demolition in early October, we have called upon the city to halt all demolition and meet with us to discuss the situation and conditions; Borough President Brewer, State Senator Hoylman, and Assemblymember Glick made a similar request to city officials last week. At the rally, City Council nominee Erik Bottcher communicated that the Department of Buildings agreed to such a meeting; however, as we go to press, no such meeting has been scheduled, and the demolition continues.
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