[NYguy]

https://w42st.com/post/western-rail-...ousing-pledge/

Western Rail Yards Plan Faces Scrutiny at City Council Hearing Despite Developer’s Last-Minute Housing Pledge





by Dashiell Allen
4/29/2025

Despite the unanimous vote of the local Community board against the proposal, supporters from across New York City attended the hearing to advocate for the project — particularly the casino and its benefits. More than 70 members of the public signed up to testify in-person at the hearing, both in favor and against the plan.

Among the proponents was Winston Majed, executive director of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, who emphasized, “This is exactly the kind of development that the greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce is excited to see come to Manhattan. The plan ensures neighborhoods get a stake, workers get a shot through 1,000s of new jobs, and families get a future.”

Jake Dixon, a Chelsea resident and owner of Dixon’s Farmstand Meats butcher shop and restaurant in Chelsea Market, also supported the proposal, arguing it would attract new customers to the neighborhood.

“It would be a huge missed opportunity to let this project land elsewhere, especially when the alternative is that this would remain an undeveloped rail yard,” he said.

Frank Clark, director of government relations at the New York Building Congress testified, “This project will serve as a blueprint for forward-thinking development shaped by public need. It will also help us achieve our combined goal of fostering a more prosperous and resilient future for the building and construction industry and its workers.”

Other speakers remained unconvinced. Sally Greenspan, former president of the Council of Chelsea Block Associations, welcomed the additional housing — but expressed doubt about the revised proposal. “I don’t know what this new plan really looks like,” she said, noting that while Related announced a commitment to build up to 4,000 units, it is unclear what the minimum number would be.

Paul Devlin, co-chair of Manhattan Community Board 4’s (MCB4) Clinton-Hell’s Kitchen Land Use Committee also wasn’t convinced by Related’s last-minute revisions.

“This proposal brought forward to us three days ago should have started years ago,” he contended, arguing that the process is being rushed forward in order for Related to submit a casino application by the State Gaming Commission’s deadline. “If Mr. Blau is correct in saying that this has nothing to do with the casino, then [Related would] be happy to withdraw this application today and continue to work with the community, to build a project on this prime land that would work for all of us.”

MCB4 member Joe Restuccia echoed those concerns, stating, “We need a plan, not a press release three days before a public hearing.”

Friends of the High Line executive director Alan van Capelle, a vocal critic of Related’s proposal, warned that the park “would become windier and darker, and the Hallmark sensation of floating within the city would be lost. View corridors would be blocked by an unprecedented 200 foot high building podium.”

He described the addition of more housing in the proposal as an “unvetted public financing scheme brought at the 11th hour and 59 minutes,” and criticized the financial burden being shifted to taxpayers.

“They are asking the city to absorb the financial risk of their casino-based project, and taxpayers should not be rolling the dice on this scheme,” he said.

The additional housing would be financed through a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) tax break program, which Related used when building the existing eastern portion of Hudson Yards.

“Importantly, this plan for additional housing and PILOT funding works with or without the gaming resort,” Related CEO Jeff Blau said, “and your decision on this application is intended to set up the site for long-term development, regardless of the future decision by the state gaming commission.”

.....Blau responded that the revenue from the originally proposed commercial tower would have matched what the PILOT would generate, and that the change was made in response to community requests for more housing.

The City Council has not yet scheduled a vote on Related’s proposal, which is expected to happen before the late June deadline for casino license applications.