Reply With QuoteSaw it in web cam, great link antinimby..........thanks
great link
Saw it in web cam, great link antinimby..........thanks
Construction of the Link condominium continues. 9 January 2006.
Hell's Kitchen Chic
I have a friend who lives in the block directly across the street to the north. The Link will certainly diminish the light into those low rise buildings.
alas....
At the risk of giving too much personal information, TheLink will obliterate my sunlight and you will probably see a lot of posts from me about this going forward (it's about time that there's a hell's kitchen correspondent here).Originally Posted by lofter1
For better or worse this neighborhood had always fought the "logical" westward surge with strict zoning thanks to its successful fight against a world's tallest building at 50th and 8th (now the World Financial Plaza) -- which is not to be confused with the self-inflicted fight against a world's tallest at the Hearst Tower at 8th and 56th (circa 1920s).
I collected a brick souvenir from the original glory days 50th Street Madison Square Garden at 50th and Eighth (which is not to be confused with the original Madison Square at 23rd) before the restrained World Financial Center was built.
In any event I could always find a place to park my car for under $200/month pre-Link. Now it's impossible. Each new Hell's Kitchen tower merely ups the ante.
Come the revolution...
Despite negative comments about HJ's in this thread, I had always urged folks from fly over land to visit HJ because it offered enormous rooms with great views for under $100. Now with Hilton/Hampton Inns those same rooms go for $300/night.
For the record here's a view that's about to disappear of the Hearst Tower and Time Warner (both Hell's Kitchen interlopers) that's about to disappear (the crap in the foreground is construction on TheLink)
Last edited by americasroof; January 29th, 2006 at 02:09 AM.
I feel your pain Americasroof, my apartment's view is directly over some walkups nearby that I realize will eventually, sooner rather than later, be torn down for some huge featureless apartment house.
Luckily I have some space between me and the wouldbe apartment building but I would still lose a very significant amount of light and the value of my apartment would probably go down a bit.
Why do I stay then? Because it is so damn hard to find the same amount of space I have now in another building in my neighborhood for a sane fee. Beyond my view I love my building, my apartment and my neighborhood and that's what is keeping me put. That isn't to say I still dread the day that I will wake up to construction cranes.
I just realized that the majority of The Link's beautiful Westward view of the Hudson will be short lived for all but the highest floor inhabitants. Although two 24 story buildings stretching two complete blocks from 51st to 53rd block a good chuck of the view, I think The Mosaic project will do wonders to improve the far West neighborhood.....
Previously known as Clinton Green, The Mosaic project is between 10th and 11th avenues.
Mosaic Downtown, a 24-story tower, will rise midblock between 51st and 52nd streets. The other slightly larger 24-story building known as Mosaic Uptown will rise on 10th Avenue's western block-front from 52nd to 53rd street.
When completed in the fall of 2007, the buildings will host 627 rental apartments and six loft condominiums built over two theaters, an accessory garage and street retail.
Last edited by Peteynyc1; February 13th, 2006 at 09:44 PM.
progress
The Link is now up to about floor 16 and is beginning to rise above the hotel next door. You can start to see it decently in that webcam:
http://www.wirednewyork.com/webcam2/default.htm
Anyone know who manages the cam? Can it be adjusted slightly right to see the projects progress a little better?
Previously known as Clinton Green, The Mosaic project is between 10th and 11th avenues.
Mosaic Downtown, a 24-story tower, will rise midblock between 51st and 52nd streets. The other slightly larger 24-story building known as Mosaic Uptown will rise on 10th Avenue's western block-front from 52nd to 53rd street.
When completed in the fall of 2007, the buildings will host 627 rental apartments and six loft condominiums built over two theaters, an accessory garage and street retail.
thats pretty funny because i looked at one of these units and was assured that there was no more building going up west of 8th ave because of teh zoning. did something change lately?
I feel bad for the people in the above photo of the construction whos windows and will be blocked out.
That zoning that your helpful (but not entirely honest) Marketing Major was referring to only goes to about 10th Avenue -- west of that it's a whole different story.
Welcome to the world of Real Estate. You will discover that EVERYTHING in Real Estate has a disclaimer, which ultimately allows agents to lie to your face. Read all the materials - you'll find disclaimers. Even the square footage they quote you should be checked. You'd be surprised how easily a 945 Square Foot apartment becomes 1000 square feet, because it is more "marketable" - then they add the disclaimer.
You can look at a building like the Atelier on 42nd at West Street. That will be marketed and sold with people saying, "gee, I don't think you have to worry about any more development on this block." But the developer owns the adjoining parcels and, once that building is sold out, he'll put up a building that will destroy the same views he sold you on.
It's called "buyer beware."
But how do air rights exactly work? For example, the air rights of the famous Ho-Jo's were transferred or Sold to The Link so they could build higher in the protected district. Does that mean that the Ho-Jo's can now never build higher, protecting the immediate view of those above it facing East? Can air right ever be "bought back"?
Once an "air right" is transferred and used it can't be bought back.
Air rights transfers are controlled by very arcane language, but since you asked ...
Related info below from City Planning (CPC) with some of the pages from the Zoning Resolution ( http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/zone/art08c01.pdf ) attached below (go to link and then, at the listing on the left, click on "81-70 Special Regulations for Theatre Subdistrict" for the full mind-numbing experience):
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release #11-01
January 26, 2001
CONTACT:
Public Affairs Officer -- (212) 720-3471
Lorna Goodman (Law Department) -- (212) 788-0999
THEATER DISTRICT ZONING REGULATIONS PROVIDING FOR AS-OF-RIGHT
TRANSFER OF THEATER AIR RIGHTS ARE UPHELD BY APPELLATE DIVISION
City Planning Chairman Joseph B. Rose and Corporation Counsel Michael Hess today announced that the Appellate Division, First Department, in a unanimous decision, has upheld the validity of the 1998 Theater Subdistrict zoning regulations which preserve the Citys theater industry. The zoning permits the sale of air rights from the Broadway theaters to sites within the Theater Subdistrict, located between 40th and 57th Streets and Sixth and Eighth Avenues. The transfer of air rights provides funds to physically preserve theaters; assures their continued use as legitimate theaters; and creates funds to invest in the increased audiences and the industrys growth. The decision allows the City to move forward with implementation of this important initiative to ensure the preservation and continued vitality of Broadways historic theaters.
Broadway theater is one of the most significant economic and cultural institutions in New York City. The industry generates in excess of two billion dollars a year and directly accounts for some 250,000 full- and part-time jobs. The concentration of over 40 Broadway theaters makes the Theater District one of the most well-known areas in the world. New York City has long recognized that the preservation of the Broadway theaters is crucial to the Citys economic and cultural vitality strength of the district and to the theater industry. The Theater Subdistrict Amendments, proposed by the Department of City Planning and adopted by the City Planning Commission and City Council in 1998, reflect the Citys most significant act to preserve the Broadway theaters in the face of an active real estate market.
Joseph B. Rose, Chairman of the City Planning Commission and Director of the City Planning Department, stated, The unanimous ruling is a triumph for the future of the Broadway theaters, the authority of the democratic process, and the integrity of our land use and environmental review procedures. The means New York City will not have to choose between economic growth and the preservation of irreplaceable cultural and economic resources. The right of the City Planning Commission and the City Council to act in the public interest has been affirmed, and reason and the rule of law have been restored to the environmental review process.
The key feature of the 1998 amendments is a preservation mechanism which allows the 25 Broadway theaters with excess development rights to transfer these rights to development sites in the Theater Subdistrict on an as-of-right basis; that is, without need for further discretionary government review. The sale of development rights must be in exchange for a covenant ensuring the operational soundness of the theater and its continued use as a legitimate theater, as well as a contribution to a Theater Subdistrict Fund for the promotion of theater use and preservation. Theaters that transfer their development rights would no longer be allowed to convert them to non-theater uses. Projects receiving transferred theater development rights could be increased in size by 20 percent.
Michael Hess, Corporation Counsel, said, I am pleased with this wonderful decision. It upholds the Department of City Plannings environmental review process and recognizes that the Citys zoning power can be used to preserve our vital theater industry.
Last edited by lofter1; February 22nd, 2006 at 09:38 AM.
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