From The New York Times
May 6, 2001, Sunday
THE CITY WEEKLY DESK
NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: WEST VILLAGE; Foes of Tower Say It Would Be Thin Edge Of Rich Wedge
By DENNY LEE (NYT) 315 words
A plan to build a luxury high-rise near the Hudson River has upset residents of the West Village, who say the structure would cast a shadow over their neighborhood.
The site for the building is a vacant truck yard, which takes up an oversized block bounded by Washington, West, Leroy and Morton Streets.
The J. D. Carlisle Development Corporation bought the property last June for $23 million, and wants to build a residential tower of up to 17 stories with ground-floor retail stores and restaurants.
Opponents, who staged a protest outside the lot last month, say the tower would dwarf nearby buildings. They also say the complex will create a wall along the new waterfront park on the Hudson and threaten the survival of local manufacturers.
''I'll have people harassing me about my trucks day in and day out,'' said Lisa LaFrieda, owner of Pat LaFrieda Wholesale Meat, a 90-year-old meatpacking company at 601 Washington Street. ''They'll be pushing all the businesses out.''
Residents of the West Village Houses, a low-rise Mitchell-Lama development on Morton Street, which faces the site, say the construction of luxury units would tend to make it harder for middle-income people to live in the neighborhood.
Martin McLaughlin, a spokesman for Carlisle, said the developer would consider a smaller tower to address the concerns of city officials.
Because the site is zoned for light manufacturing, the developer needs to obtain a zoning variance to proceed with the high-rise.
At a hearing last week, the City Planning Commission issued a letter to the Board of Standards and Appeals, which decides on variance applications, saying that a residential building ''may be appropriate'' for the site. The board is expected to rule next month.
DENNY LEE
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Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company
