THETHE ANTHEMIONANTHEMION SUMMER 2018 NEWSLETTER

Will Greenwich Village hotels to 300 ft. tall office and condo towers. our candidate’s forum, and GVSHP has been More are in the pipeline, including a large office working closely with her to try to achieve these and East Village Become building planned for the old St. Denis Hotel site protections as part of any deal. ‘Midtown South’? at Broadway and 11th Street. The public approval process for the Tech Hub Tech Hub Will Transform Neighborhood, For more than three years, GVSHP has been rezoning began in February. After initially Unless Protections Are Included fighting to get zoning or landmark protections resisting doing so, GVSHP was able to persuade for this area to prevent the inappropriate both Community Board #3 and Borough GVSHP has been leading the campaign to development. Every elected official, both President Gale Brewer to condition their demand that the Mayor’s proposed 23-story community boards, and the affected support for the Tech Hub upon the inclusion “Tech Hub” at 120 East near 4th communities broadly support these measures of neighborhood protections. But the Mayor Avenue include zoning or landmark protections proposed by GVSHP. But the Mayor, who must continues to resist such measures. for the adjacent neighborhood along University approve any such changes, has adamantly Place, Broadway, 3rd and 4th Avenues. opposed them. The final vote on the Tech Hub will take place in We’re seeking to ensure it doesn’t accelerate the City Council, likely in August. It’s incumbent the process of oversized, out-of-character The Tech Hub And now the Mayor is proposing upon us to let Councilmember Rivera know how development plaguing the area. We’ve made his 14th Street Tech Hub project, which critical her pledge is to protecting the character some critical progress, but this summer the would clearly accelerate this process. Several of these neighborhoods, and that if she stands fate of these neighborhoods will be decided, developers and real estate media outlets have firm, the Mayor will have to provide the needed largely by one person: City Councilmember cited the potential new Tech Hub as spurring protections. To encourage her to do so, send Carlina Rivera. much of the new development in the area. her a letter at gvshp.org/carlina, and learn more about the effort at gvshp.org/tech. Background This section of Greenwich But there’s a catch: the Mayor needs the Village and the East Village between Union approval of the City Council Square and is unique among for the Tech Hub, since it these neighborhoods in that it has neither requires a zoning change. landmark protections nor adequate zoning During the 2017 campaign for protections. Nearly all of the rest of these two City Council, GVSHP called on neighborhoods has one or both. Combine that all candidates for the District with the fact that the expanding tech industry 2 seat to pledge to condition has identified this area as the latest beachhead any City Council support for for “Silicon Alley”—the concentration of tech the Tech Hub upon GVSHP’s firms for years located north of 14th Street proposed protections for the around Union Square and the Flatiron District— surrounding neighborhoods. and we are seeing an explosion of out-of- Carlina Rivera did so both character development here, from 300+ room in her questionnaire and at GVSHP members turned out in force at public hearings to demand the

1 Mayor’s Tech Hub include neighborhood protections. Mayor, Real Estate the measure did not make it into the State Lifting the cap could have a profound effect Assembly’s version of the budget, generating upon all of City, including our Industry Seek OK For thousands of letters to state legislators. The neighborhoods. Some parts of the Village Supersized Buildings State Assembly did not include the measu