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In the News: World Trade Center Intersection to Reopen This Week
••• “When the chain-link fences are pushed aside this week, pedestrians will be able to cross the crossroads of Greenwich and Fulton Streets in Lower Manhattan.” —New York Times
••• A New York Times look at the changing restaurant scene in FiDi, Battery Park City, and Tribeca has two bits of news: (a) Racines NY will start serving lunch this summer (“an array of light options that are intended to woo salad-loving editors from Condé Nast and Refinery29”); and (b) “the BR Guest Hospitality restaurant group, whose portfolio includes Dos Caminos, Isabella’s, Blue Fin and Bill’s Bar & Burger,” is “looking aggressively.” An awful lot of emphasis is put on where Condé Nast employees eat. Obviously, it’s swell to have more people spending money in the area, but just possibly the company’s stature as a cultural and economic force is overstated…?
••• “The National Trust for Historic Preservation announced that the Seaport has made its America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list.” —DNAinfo
••• The Wall Street Journal on the 421-g tax abatement: “The 421-g abatement was created to solve a supply-and-demand problem and was enacted in 1995 to help make the Financial District more residential. Through it, developers received tax benefits for converting lower Manhattan commercial buildings into residential ones. In exchange, landlords were required to provide tenants with rent-stabilized leases, which limits the percentage by which landlords can increase tenants’ rent and makes it harder to force them out. There are at least 32 rental buildings, which have 5,560 apartments, that receive the 421-g tax abatement, according to an analysis of data from the New York City Department of Finance and the Independent Budget Office. Of those buildings, three buildings—just over 700 apartments—have stabilized leases, according to the buildings’ tax documents.” One couple brought it up with their landlord and got sued.
••• The spires stop 3 World Trade Center have been dropped from the design. —New York YIMBY
••• Matteo Boglione, who was the chef/owner of Il Matto (later renamed White & Church), “will will become the executive chef of Le Cirque in New York at the end of August.” —New York Times
••• “A woman was robbed at knifepoint at the corner of Broadway and Fulton streets after she left a bank where she had been using the ATM one evening last week.” —Tribeca Trib
••• “The Moinian Group is planning to erect a 28-story mixed-use residential building at 102 John,” replacing a five-story building. —Real Deal
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From the NYTimes Article: “Underground, an important north-south pedestrian corridor leading to and from the PATH terminal will open in mid-July, said Erica Dumas, a spokeswoman for the authority.” – this is great news for Path commuters.
50 murray’s new owners is one of the buildings not complying with the stabilized leases; rent increases have been 10%-30% for some residents!
So will traffic use Greenwich St, north and south or not? On Fulton east and west?
Opening the site to traffic was always a mistake – something I’ve been saying since ’04. One reason was because of vehicle borne terrorist attacks. Which post 9/11, every other plaza in the city made efforts to protect against, by closing access and proximity to traffic.
And Times Square, Herald Square, so on, were shutting out traffic to increase pedestrian access.
Yet Ground Zero our brilliant rebuilding officials invited it in. And then were shocked, shocked! When the NYPD shut down that traffic due to security measures.
And don’t forget – due to its design with its enormous, open “voids” – a bit of potential hazard after dark – the memorial is closed at 9 PM. This was something else I warned about before a shovel was put in the ground. So the vast majority of the site is in fact, shut off for a large part of the time – especially in the summer. The city may never sleep but a large portion of downtown is put to bed and out of access every night.
The length of Greenwich and Fulton Streets through the site – if they are not – should be closed to traffic and made exclusively pedestrian thoroughfares. Restoring traffic to it was always a stupid idea.