The New York City Planning Commission voted Wednesday in favor of a proposal to rezone Hudson Square to allow for a more mixed-use neighborhood with larger buildings, according to reports.
Several local preservationists were adamantly against the plan, but Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer gave his conditional support in November with concessions from landlord Trinity Real Estate, which initially proposed the rezoning.
Trinity aims to build new apartments in the area that, in the past, was primarily commercial. Before Stringer limited the towers' height to 290 feet, the goal was 320 feet, according to The Real Deal.
Trinity Church, which owns 40 percent of the property in the rezoning area, applied for the changes, originally asking for building heights of 320 feet along wide streets and 185 feet along narrow streets. The approved plan calls for slightly shorter buildings, capping the height at 290 feet.
In a statement, Andrew Berman, the executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, called on City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to either reject the rezoning or approve it in conjunction with the creation of a nearby historic district, known as the South Village Historic District. Berman has expressed concerns that increased development in Hudson Square would threaten the character of the low-rise South Village.
"[Quinn] will determine if this beloved, endangered New York neighborhood receives the protections it needs, or if its ongoing destruction will be accelerated by an enormous rezoning on its doorstep," Berman said.
