CB4 Meeting on MTA site at W54th and Ninth

On September 21, 2009, three members of the West 55th Street Block Association met with various government representatives to discuss the proposed development site at what is now the MTA parking lot on West 54th and Ninth. The City has asked to put a 115-foot building here. CB4 has proposed a building with sections that are 85 feet and 99 feet tall. Here are the notes Christine Gorman took from that meeting.

WHO:
Carl Bevelhymer – West 55th Street Block Association
Christine Gorman – West 55th Street Block Association (also recorded these notes)
Lisa Pinto – West 55th Street Block Association
Danielle DeCerbo – City Council, Land Use
Seth Berliner – State Sen. Thomas Duane’s office
Elisa Gerantianos – Community Board 4, Hell’s Kitchen Land Use committee co-chair
Robert Benfatto – Community Board 4 office
Kate Seely-Kirk – City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s office
Joe Restuccia – Community Board 4, Housing committee co-chair
Greg Monte – NY Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal’s office (District 67)
Lindsey Allison – NY Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal’s office (District 67)

WHERE: Community Board 4 (CB4) offices, 330 W. 42nd St., 26th floor

A. OVERVIEW
Carl, Lisa and Christine met with the people listed above to express the West 55th Street Block Association’s many concerns regarding the MTA site at West 54th and Ninth specifically and the larger issue of the development at the Hudson Yards and in New York City generally. Joe Restuccia did most of the talking and outlined the history of the project and gave us some background on what the zoning rules for the Clinton special district allow and don’t allow. His bottom line: “If we had advocated for a park here [at W 54th and Ninth], we would have gotten a much taller building instead.”

Carl, Christine and Lisa talked about:
• Our support for affordable housing
• How our block felt blindsided by the decisions CB4 made over the summer
• The way our block is increasingly being surrounded by tall buildings
• The worrisome precedent CB4 set in agreeing to a taller building to replace the MTA parking lot at West 54 and Ninth
• The need for more affordable housing at Hudson Yards
• Our environmental concerns about the MTA site.

With respect to how much happened over the summer when people were away, Elisa Gerantianos said that a lot of that timing was out of CB4’s hands and that by having the meetings in June and July, they hoped to reach as many people as possible. She apologized that we felt blindsided by the timing. Joe Restuccia pointed out that most of the big decisions about what to do with the site were made in 2005, when the Block Association was in a more quiescent phase.

B. UPCOMING DATES WE NEED TO BE AWARE OF
Oct. 5: The City Planning Commission is having a review session on the Hudson Yards that may include decisions about the MTA site. We need to check with CB4 to make sure.
Oct. 19: The City Planning Commission votes on zoning issues.
Date TBD in November: City Council decides whether to have a hearing
Date TBD in December: City votes on City Planning Commission’s recommendations

C. OTHER INPUT WE CAN HAVE

CB4 wants to know if we have any suggestions on
• Whether to push for a supermarket on the ground floor of the new apartment
• The shape of the building – which will have one section that is taller in the mid-block than on the avenue

D. BACKGROUND ON CLINTON ZONING RULES
We didn’t get into the variations that are allowed in the perimeter areas vs. the heart of the Clinton Special District, but here are the basic rules on height limits to keep in mind, according to Joe.

On Ninth and Tenth Avenues:
85 feet – height allowance for buildings
115 feet – height allowed if granted a special permit

Mid-Block residential areas
66 feet -- height allowance for buildings
99 feet – height allowed if granted a special permit

As a city agency, the MTA by right does not have to follow zoning regulations. However, it is difficult for them to bypass the zoning regulations from a political point of view.

Affordable middle-income housing means income from around $50,000 or less per year (single person) to $103,000 (for a family of four)

E. BACKGROUND – TIMELINE
2004 Fall – a map of potential affordable housing sites in Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton area is drawn up
2005 – Proposal to build West Side stadium fails
2005 – New Memorandum of Understanding for West Side rail yards includes MTA (54th and Ninth) and DEP (48th and Tenth) sites for affordable housing.


F. WHAT HAPPENED THIS SUMMER
The City’s Housing Department asked for a special permit that would allow it to put a 115 ft building on the MTA site. CB4 voted in July to recommend a building that is 85 feet on the Avenue and 99 feet for the midblock portion. The vote was not unanimous: about two-thirds of the 40 members in attendance voted for the motion and one-third against.

[For more on the July meeting, see notes taken by Block Association members at http://www.west55ba.org/node/35; http://www.west55ba.org/node/36 and http://www.west55ba.org/node/37; also Chelsea Now: http://chelseanow.com/articles/2009/07/30/news/doc4a71ca79bb121597774730.txt]

Height issues. Joe explained that CB4 asked for the higher portion of the building to be in the midblock area –immediately adjacent to the MTA building that is already there – in order to preserve the low-rise character of Ninth Avenue. They looked at the height of the buildings at 340 W. 55 (the Sherwood) and 350 W 55 to make the determination.

Precedent. Joe says this is the first time that CB4 has agreed to back the issuing of a special permit in Clinton. There were two other times in the past (1990s?) that they voted and fought against applications for special permits.

Developer. He says that no developer has been chosen to build on the MTA site. That’s a whole other process.

Other issues. The things CB4 is fighting against:
• The City’s original desire to build to 115 feet
• The shape of the building – with all the height on the Ninth Avenue side
• MTA’s surprise request to ask for 30,000 sq. ft in the new building for their own purposes.

G. POLITICAL ACCOUNTABILITY

The 2005 Hudson Yards deal (including the minimal affordable housing makeup) was pushed by then Governor Eliot Spitzer and Mayor Mike Bloomberg. The memorandum of understanding was signed by Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff.

H. OTHER

Robert Benfatto said he would send us a .pdf of the map showing the neighborhood and available areas for affordable housing that Joe kept referring to.

The Windemere (corner of W 57 and Ninth) has been sold and the five remaining tenants have all agreed to settlements in consideration of the harassment they were subjected to for staying. The new developer has agreed to 20% permanent affordable housing but will probably ask to add floors to the top of the building as part of a hardship case. This is allowable even though the building is landmarked.