The Department of City Planning will host its first public meeting on the tower planned for Greenwich and Jay inside Independence Plaza tomorrow, Thursday, June 24, from 2 to 5p. The meeting will be remote and live streamed; check here for instructions day-of on how to participate. You can submit written comments until July 6 via email to 26DCP143M_DL@planning.nyc.gov.

The Independence Plaza Modification Project is seeking a modification of the original Large-Scale Residential Development approved in the early 1970s. The developers — Vornado Realty Trust and Stellar Management — do not have to go through the city’s land use review process because the original plans allowed for a tower, but they do have to submit an Environmental Impact Statement that analyzes the impact a development will have on the environment. And environment means everything — natural environment, built environment, as well as quality of life for local residents. The EIS then must find ways to mitigate that impact.

The EIS will analyze impacts on things like air quality, transportation resources, neighborhood character, open space, shadows, emissions, noise and more.

A review of the project at Community Board 1, which the applicants did not attend, showed that the proposal still calls for four buildings: one 1090-foot, 72-story tower and three podium-like buildings that are 125-feet tall. The diagrams below show the footprint for two different options. The buildings would have 922 new residential units.

As it stands now, construction will begin in 2028 and finish in 2032.

More TK after the meeting.