Protestors demand housing, not hotels 11th street continued from p. 1
been flushed out of the building’s rent-regulated apartments. “This demonstrates the disinterest of the mayor’s promise for an equitable New York, as all of these affordable apartments will be lost, and its tenants injuriously removed with short notice,” said Kelly Carroll, director of advocacy and community outreach for the Historic Districts Council. It is unknown how or when the apartments were vacated. However, state Senator Brad Hoylman, the lone elected official at the rally, vowed to have the Department of Housing and Preservation look into what happened to the tenants. “It raises red flags for those of us who care about affordable housing,” he said. Hoylman also pointed out the mayor appointed Lichtenstein to the Economic Development Corporation’s Board of Directors — which the senator said puts the developer in “a unique position to do the right thing.” Community groups tried to block the demolition by asking the Landmarks Preservation Commission (L.P.C.) to consider making the block a historic district. A letter sent to the commission in June — signed by the G.V.S.H.P., the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, the East Village Community Coalition and the Historic Districts Council — noted the L.P.C. considered the buildings landmark-eligible after conducting a 2008 analysis for a cityapproved rezoning. However, the L.P.C. failed to calendar the request, which would have postponed the demolition of the 19th-century Beaux Arts structures. “They did nothing. For two months, we waited for a response from the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The city’s agency, the mayor’s agency, charged with preserving our city, our history, our neighborhoods,” Berman said.
Photo by Alex Ellefson
State Senator Brad Hoylman vowed to look into what happened to the rent-regulated tenants.
Both the Mayor’s Office and the L.P.C. did not respond to a request for comment about taking action to block the demolition. Berman said the only thing that has changed since the L.P.C. once considered the buildings landmark-eligible is the ownership of the property. He urged the demonstrators to send a message to the mayor asking for them to be preserved. “You can send the mayor an email directly right now saying: I want you to preserve these buildings, stop being a hypocrite, live up to your promise, preserve our neighborhood, preserve our history,” he said.
Photo by Tequila Minsky
Photo by Tequila Minsky
The Lighstone Group wants to replace the Beaux Ar ts buildings with a trendy hotel.
Preser vationists want the city to designate the buildings as a historic district.
TheVillager.com
August 25, 2016
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