The Neighborhood:
Chelsea, the Village, and
the Meat District
Chelsea, the Village, and
the Meat District
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Pier 57, at the west end of 15th Street, is
eventually going to be developed. I'm on the
subcommittee of the Hudson River Park Trust
Advisory Council that is looking at the three
proposals that have come in, all involving
hundreds of millions of dollars in improvements.
Go to the HRPT website and take a look,
although they are all pretty detailed. There was a
public hearing on the proposals on Lincoln's
birthday. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE
COMMENTS. I have already heard from a couple
of you and plan to write a letter endorsing the
YOUNG WOO proposal.
Congratulations to former 15th-Street neighbor
Liza Monroy, whose first novel, Mexican High,
recently received great reviews.
Walkscore.com, which rates neighborhoods
across the country for their walkability, gives
Chelsea a score of 99 out of 100, putting us tenth
among the 117 New York neighborhoods named.
I'm on the Transportation Committee of
Community Board 4, so please let me know of
any problems or suggestions about our streets. In
particular, we are interested in feedback on how
the new bike lane along Ninth Avenue is working.
DOT was pretty high-handed in creating it,
enraging many residents and businesses, but we
are trying to come up with parking rules that work
for both groups.
The triangle just north of 14th Street in the middle
of Ninth Avenue is a temporary arrangement. If
you have ideas or suggestions about what the
permanent configuration should be, please let me
know. THERE WILL BE A PUBLIC MEETING
ABOUT THIS MINI-PARK THIS SPRING.
You may have noticed the men from the Chelsea
Improvement Project (now District) sweeping and
cleaning our block during the past year or so.
This is not quite a BID, but so far they seem to
have brought mostly good things with them.
Thank Larry and the other guys when you see
them. We want them to come down our block
often!
Their district includes the two blocks around
Chelsea Market and 111 Eighth Avenue, plus
Ninth Avenue down to 14th Street (since the
same fellow who partly owns 111 Eighth also
owns the Apple building), and the block west of
Ninth Avenue between 16th and 17th down to the
new Caledonia.
They are proposing several more improvements
to our neighborhood: curbcuts at the corners
made from Cambrian black granite, benches,
nicer bike racks than the ones DOT provides,
and three newsboxes which consolidate the many
plastic boxes that everyone seems to hate. I’m
trying to find out if any of these will be on our
block, but I don’t think so (except the curb cuts).
Our segment of the High Line is scheduled to
open this spring, reflecting tremendous progress.
There will be entrances at Gansevoort, 14th
Street, 16th, 18th, and 20th Streets. At least.
The Standard Hotel, the large building on
Washington Street straddling the High Line, is
now OPEN.
And yes, the Whitney is still committed to building
a large branch at Gansevoort and Washington,
although this will take years.
Bob Trentlyon, Al Butzel, and others have sued
the heliport at 30th Street, on the grounds that it
is illegal under the current legislation for the
Hudson River Park. According to the settlement,
sightseeing flights will be gradually reduced and
eliminated altogether by April 2010. Commercial,
government, and emergency flights are supposed
to cease by 2014. This will be a huge
improvement.