April 9 - 22, 2014
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Church to Residents: Air Rights Sale Not a Done Deal Continued from page 1 will have literally stolen from the neighbors on their block,” said Halsey, referring to the fact that the rest of block’s buildings — as with most of the surrounding neighborhood — rise no higher than six stories. Also joining the residents at that April 6 rally were State Senator Brad Hoylman, State Assemblymember Dick Gottfried and City Councilmember Corey Johnson, all of whom strongly called on Einhorn and the church to scale back the development in order to make it fit with the context of the rest of the block. “Just because it’s as of right, doesn’t mean it is right,” said Hoylman. “It’s not right for [Einhorn] to block the light and air of so many of their neighbors, it’s not right for them to change the character of this historic neighborhood, and it’s not right that the French Evangelical Church is trying to get the top dollar for a development that’s going to ruin the neighborhood.” Following much of the criticism already heaped upon its stark, stone and glass design, Johnson declared that the new building will “mutilate and scar” the block. “And we are not going to sit by and allow that to happen,” he told the crowd. “The people who have lived here, who have made Chelsea what it is and who have made 16th Street what it is, are more important than glass luxury condos going up on a beautiful residential block.” Einhorn declined to comment in response to the rally. For all their effort, the fact remains that the protesting residents and electeds only wield the authority of a moral argument when it comes to battling against the developer. Since Einhorn’s plans fully comply with zoning laws — and their air rights purchase was approved by the city last December — if they decide not to negotiate, there is only one way in which the developer could legally be forced to scale back those plans. That path would involve a major ruling, not by city officials, but by the Presbytery of New York City — the French Evangelical Church’s governing body — which must approve the sale of any church-owned property. The Presbytery already signed off on the sale of the previous building at 124 West 16th Street, back before it took place in 2012 — but the same approval has not yet been granted for the sale of the air rights over the church, according to publicly available Presbytery records. In fact, Daniel Nicolas, a board trustee for the church, admitted to Chelsea Now in a March 31 phone interview that he and his board “haven’t had a conversation yet with the Presbytery about the air rights.” He then claimed his board was “under the impression” that the Presbytery doesn’t have to approve sales of air rights, and said he is currently seeking “clarification” on that issue. In a later interview, Nicolas declined to comment on the April 6 rally. He also declined to comment on the fact that he provided false and misleading information
Courtesy of David Howell Design
A rendering of 124 W. 16th St., currently expected to be completed by 2016.
about this issue — possibly with the intent of reframing the debate around Presbytery approval of the air rights — to a reporter for another publication. As part of a March 28 article, Nicolas told a Bloomberg News reporter that the air rights sale took place in 2014, and the initial agreement between Einhorn and the church, which led to that sale, also took place within the past several months. (The Bloomberg reporter later confirmed that it was Nicolas who made those claims.) In fact, as this newspaper has previously reported, and as is shown in city records, both the sale of 124 West 16th Street and the sale of the air rights took place in 2012. So it’s unclear why there were apparently no air rights-related conversations between the church and the Presbytery during that two-year period, and it’s equally unclear why Nicolas is now trying to claim that the air rights sale didn’t even take place in 2012. Many 16th Street residents have accused he and his church board of being disingenuous, for that and numerous other reasons, but Nicolas has not shed any further light on the matter. In any case, the Presbytery will likely decide whether or not to approve the air rights sale at its mid-April board meeting, according to the Reverend Robert FoltzMorrison, the group’s executive presbyter. Foltz-Morrison has declined to comment in detail on the issue, saying that he still needs to review both the history of the plans and the current situation, but told Chelsea Now that he may be ready to make a decision after that meeting. He added that a decision may have to be held off until the following month’s meeting, depending on that review process. However, it’s also unclear what would happen, legally speaking, if the Presbytery were to deny the air rights sale, since that sale has already taken place in the eyes of city officials. At the very least, it would likely give the protesting West 16th Street residents at least some legal leverage in a fight to void
that sale. And if the sale were to be voided, Einhorn, lacking those air rights, would have to stick with a six-story condo building, rather than building up to 11 stories. Meanwhile, the residents have no intention of stopping their battle, as they hope to either convince Einhorn to have some mercy or the Presbytery to take a stand
against the deal. “We are not giving up,” said Jen Ollman, a block resident who helped put together the April 6 rally. “We’re trying to set a precedent not only for 16th Street and not only for Chelsea, but for the entire city. We must save our city from this kind of development, because we’re all neighbors here.”