From The Villager
March 24, 2002, Sunday
THE CITY WEEKLY DESK
NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: MEATPACKING DISTRICT; They Miss the Smoke, But Not the Stacks
By DENNY LEE (NYT) 351 words
The Gansevoort Destructor is being destroyed, brick by brick.
For half a century, two soaring smokestacks have dominated the West Village waterfront at Pier 53. In their prime, the chimneys spewed smoke from 1,500 tons of burned trash each day, until they were decommissioned in the mid-1980's.
The Department of Sanitation started dismantling the 200-foot smokestacks last November, and today they stand at about 60 feet. Few are mourning their loss, but some residents could not help feeling sentimental.
''They were a prominent part of the visual landscape, but I'm not sure if they were beautiful,'' said Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.
Boaters said they were losing a compass. ''They were significant landmarks that helped me navigate,'' said John Doswell, part owner of the retired fireboat John J. Harvey, which is docked at Pier 63.
Officials at the Hudson River Park Trust, which is designing a park that will be built at the pier after it is vacated, complained that they and local residents were not informed of the demolition.
''The whole building is full of asbestos,'' said Arthur Schwartz, a member of Community Board 2, who said he learned of the demolition in The Villager, a neighborhood newspaper.
''They should notify the community about these things.''
But Jerry Dellacorte, a deputy sanitation commissioner, said proper procedures were followed.
''The smokestacks are decontaminated, washed, and swipe-tested. Everything is tested for heavy metals and asbestos,'' he added.
Built in 1953, the incinerator replaced a bustling food market, another sore point with some people.
''I have no heartfelt affection for the Gansevoort Destructor,'' said Regina Kellerman, author of ''The Architecture of the Greenwich Village Waterfront'' (New York University Press, 1989). ''It destroyed some wonderful architecture.'' DENNY LEE
