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History of Tribeca Buildings
City’s first meeting on Independence Plaza tower is Thursday
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.
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For experts, what is the realistic chance to shape the outcome for Tribeca residents? Most high leverage way to engage?
Also, what is Chris Marte position on this if he is the right govt rep?
How do we stop this? I live across the street we can not let this happen.
Just some random thoughts, but keep in mind that the opposition to the project is already HIGHLY ORGANIZED. Just figure out what is the best way for you to join the opposition. Utilize public pressure. The fact that the developers can bypass NYC standard ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) process, they are attempting a non-URURP modification, which obviously makes it tricky. I know CFDC is already involved, yes…as is the IPN Tenant Assoc. Difficult for neighborhood residents to figure out what to do, but contributing to the legal fund is one thing…and it’s crucial. Utilize public involvement to challenge the EAS (Environmental Assessment Statement.) Continue to attend and pack Community Board and Land Use Committee meetings. Flood the review board with public comments re: quality of life concerns. Focus on the measurable areas of impact re: the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement), such as the creation of shadows, the loss of open space, traffic [and air quality concerns, lack of appropriate parking concerns, etc. Keep supporting Council Member Marte. Challenge the ethics of the FAR (Floor Area Ratio) as it relates to offloading the 251 affordable units. Just get involved in any way you possibly can and stay aware of all timelines.
This isn’t meant to be callous, since I understand this is going to have big impacts on people who live in the complex or the vicinity, but this tower is as-of-right, correct? Not much to be done then. No one’s guaranteed their neighborhood won’t change and the potential for this to happen hasn’t exactly been kept secret.
Like the jail, the primary focus should be on making sure it’s the best possible version of it that can be since we’ll have to live with it.
Thanks, Pam, for reminding us all about this hearing. I attended and testified, as did Council member Chris Marte and Assembly member Deborah Glick, and there was overwhelming (unanimous for the time I was in attendance) opposition to this proposal. In my 36 years in the neighborhood, 18 of them on the community board, this, in my opinion, is the worst proposal we’ve seen. And that’s actually saying a lot. One would actually be hard-pressed to find a more inappropriate location for this proposed development. Sandwiched between, and up against our most vulnerable communities – the cherished and hard-won senior center at Independence Plaza, the also hard-won and only park we have in the neighborhood for our youngest children, the already challenged federal townhouses that are directly adjacent to the proposed demolition/construction site as well as the borderline number of rent-protected tenants at IPN (Vornado and Steller Management have systematically dismantled all but @100 affordable housing units the Mitchell Lama program put in place in the 70’s). The fact that this proposal has made it as far as public hearings reveals the gaping hole we have in our city legislation in what triggers a ULURP review. We need to all hold hands and push back on this hard and strong. Community Board One is not against development. But we are dead last in affordable housing in Manhattan, and to come to our community and propose a 72-story tower that offloads its affordable housing obligations to another neighborhood, and in this particular location, is shameful.
@Tricia Joyce: You spoke a bit too soon. I too testified, somewhat after you and many others. I spoke in support of the project.
Here’s how I began:
I have lived since 1994 on Duane Street near Greenwich Street. My kids attended PS 150 within Independence Plaza. My bedroom is less than 300 feet from the site of the proposed tower. Nevertheless, I support and look forward to its construction and its integration into the fabric of Tribeca.
My full statement (not lengthy) is here: http://www.komanoff.net/fossil/Komanoff_Independence_Plaza_25_June_2026.php
Komanoff,
I am not sure that your personal opinion would have changed Tricia’s thesis based upon her familiarity with the global issues as a longstanding community board member. I also question how you can claim that an extremely large glass tower is a good “climate solution” when they trap heat and are being discouraged in many jurisdictions for that reason. Just because we have mass transit in lower Manhattan and South Carolina doesn’t is not a reason to overcrowd lower Manhattan. It is a reason to improve mass transit in South Carolina.
In addition, your claim that having a bigger population will help local businesses sounds compelling, but it will also help the commercial landlords raise their rents even higher. When you read about the businesses closing, it is rarely because of weak demand, but rather due to rising costs.
While we all have valid opinions, and can pretty much all agree that housing is a priority, it doesn’t mean that we should accept compromised solutions. I am not sure what the answer is, but I don’t think this proposed monster tower is it.
Elizabeth —
Thanks for clicking through and reading my brief.
I’m sure you mean well. But sorry, not every opinion is equally valid. You may not like tall new towers but it’s counterfactual to brand them as energy gluttons, when NYC’s splendid energy codes (e.g., LL85, LL97) mandate super-stringent efficiency standards. These, along with shared walls, floors and ceilings, ensure order-of-magnitude lower per-home emissions for new homes here vs. the “default” of suburban/exurban drek. And no, South Carolina and other states aren’t going to rapidly adopt our transit, walking, cycling and proximity that make NYC the climate-greenest place in the USA. You may not like it, but climate care rests in no small part on helping cities grow.
Nor do I share your faith in Tricia’s attention to “global issues.” Do you recall her acquiescence in the Oct 2020 CB1 x-com vote that (temporarily) blocked the Whole Foods cargo-bike priority-parking program? It’s spelled N-I-M-B-Y.
But sure, let’s keep fretting about change, sitting on our hands, and letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. Meanwhile, our neighbors and kids and, yes, potential newcomers will stay priced out of Tribeca and NYC. (You do know, don’t you, that on current population trends, the 2032 Democratic presidential candidate could win all of the 2024 blue states + PA + MI + WI and still lose, because of shifts in electoral votes?)
Sorry to go global on you, but what happens in Tribeca doesn’t stay in Tribeca.
Hell yeah.