ALERT: KEEPING THE PRESSURE ON CITY AND TRUMP OVER 45-STORY CONDO-HOTEL PLAN
Trump 45-Story Condo-Hotel Plan
GVSHP and allies opposing Donald Trump’s plan for a 45 story “condo-hotel” at Spring and Varick Streets continue to keep the pressure on the City to make the right decision and refuse building permits for this project. See the latest Village Voice piece on the effort at www.villagevoice.com/news/0632,lombardi,74119,5.html.
The good news: after several months, the City has still not issued Trump any permits for building. The not-so-good news: the City is yet to acknowledge that Trump’s plan would be an illegal violation of the area’s zoning, or to come up with a clear set of guidelines to prevent this new breed of “condo-hotels” from violating the zoning for areas which prohibit residential development, such as the site in question. Meanwhile, Trump and his partners continue to insist that they will build the project. The City continues to insist that only transient hotel uses will be allowed on this site, as required by law, and has rejected one set of permit applications by Trump on the basis of the inclusion of kitchens in the units in the plans.
However, GVSHP has pointed out to the City that excluding the kitchens is not sufficient to make this development legal (see latest GVSHP letter at www.gvshp.org/documents/Trumpletter08_11_06.pdf ), citing an article in today’s New York Times about condo-hotels which shows that buyers do use their hotel units as residences, and that the hotel’s full-service accommodations allow them to live there full-time without cooking facilities (see www.nytimes.com/2006/08/11/realestate/11condos.html?_r=1&oref=slogin ). And the City has thus far refused to meet with GVSHP and its allies to discuss this project, though they have clearly met with the developer.
GVSHP would like to thank State Senator Tom Duane, City Council Zoning Subcommittee Chair Tony Avella, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, Community Boards 2, 4, and 5 in Manhattan, and the many business, industrial, and community groups from throughout the City who have stood with us in opposition to this illegal plan (see www.gvshp.org/documents/Trumplet_003.pdf for letters of support).
HOW TO HELP:
PLEASE SEND NEW LETTERS TO THE CITY urging them to reject Trump’s condo-hotel plan and formulate clear regulations to prohibit this kind of illegal use in manufacturing zones. Go to www.gvshp.org/trumplet.htm for a sample letter you can use.