Since Village Preservation shared news on Friday about the city’s plans to build the tallest tower ever in Greenwich Village at 388 Hudson Street, without requirements for permanent affordability and ignoring feedback from the public, we’ve received an overwhelming response from the public supporting our efforts. Thank you to the nearly 1,000 of you have sent 5,000 letters to city officials and decision-makers demanding:

• The housing on this precious public land originally earmarked for a public park MUST be guaranteed permanently affordable. 
• The configuration of the planned development must be reconfigured to step back from JJ Walker Park, reducing shadows on the neighboring park and the Greenwich Village Historic District.
• The tower configuration should be eliminated, and a lower, bulkier building should step back from the height of neighboring City-as-School to that of the larger neighboring loft buildings, like the Printing House at 421 Hudson Street. This would still allow for significantly more than the originally committed 100 units of housing. 

In response, the City has tweeted information contradicting what was shared at their recent “Community Visioning” meeting and in writing with Village Preservation (but still not offering permanent guaranteed affordability) without any documentation, details, or substantiation to back up their new claims. And they and their allies have begun attacking on Twitter anyone who demands permanent affordability or calls for a different building configuration and lower height. 

Read more about the latest responses from the City as well as more background and context for the project in our op-ed in the Village Sun here. 

It’s clear that, left to their own devices, the City and other decision-makers will ignore this feedback from the public unless pushed to do otherwise. Therefore it’s CRITICAL that City officials continue to receive communications from you urging that these changes to the plan are made. 

This is an appropriate and welcome site for new affordable housing in our neighborhood. But it can’t be allowed to convert to luxury housing in the future, and it has to be designed to respect its context and minimize impacts on the neighboring park and historic district. 

TO HELP:

Please send letters to City officials; if you already have, please share the below link with friends, family, and neighbors, and ask them to do the same.