[NYguy]

These people are just stupid.


https://w42st.com/post/community-boa...e-casino-plan/

Community Board Challenges Hudson Yards Shift: From Residential Dream to Office-Casino Plan


by Dashiell Allen
March 4, 2024

Manhattan Community Board 4 (MCB4) says it is “mystified” at a bid by Related Companies, the developer behind Hudson Yards, to modify its plan for the Western Rail Yards to include building offices and a possible casino instead of creating a primarily residential district.

The new proposal is a far cry from the plan agreed upon in 2009 by MCB4, Related and the City of New York, for six buildings containing 5,762 housing units on the Western Rail Yards (W30th to W33rd St bw 11/12th Ave). The new proposal would include 1,507 units, 324 of which would be subsidized-affordable, and the Community Board is none too pleased by the change.

A letter from MCB4 asks Related Companies and the City: “Why should communities around the City of New York work with the real estate industry and the City government to respond and agree to zoning changes with detailed site plans and Points of Agreement when such plans and agreements can be discarded at later date?”

The board “cannot support the proposed project’s drastic shift from residential to commercial use designed around casino use,” the letter states emphatically.

While Rosen stated Related would remain committed to its agreements — including building a school — MCB4 member Josephine Ishmon pointed out at last night’s MCB4 Full Board meeting, the smaller number of residential units “greatly will impact whether we get a school or not,” since there would potentially be less children living in the area. “What I don’t want is that the School Construction Authority says ‘oh no you’re not getting a school, we can’t fill the seats’ … and then what happens to the space?” she asked.

Community Board 4 is also concerned that Related’s proposal does not take into account the increased traffic to the west side that a casino and hotel would bring from patrons entering and leaving. The board’s letter considers that the open space in the proposal would be lodged between the towers, and is not “fully integrated” into “a full site plan.” Other concerns include the possible effects on small businesses in the neighborhood, and that the buildings could block views from the Hudson River to the Empire State Building.

Executives from The High Line have also written to say that they would like to see “the preservation of key sight lines” from their park and “a space free from buildings that unnecessarily encroach and overwhelm it.”