Petition Against South Slope Hotel Expansion
IMBY reports that neighbors have created a petition to “deny the non-contextual expansion of Grand Prospect Hall,” the site on Prospect between 5th and 6th avenues where a developer wants to create an 11-story hotel plus parking additions. A sample of the petition, which can be found here: “The proposed expansion will increase the current…
IMBY reports that neighbors have created a petition to “deny the non-contextual expansion of Grand Prospect Hall,” the site on Prospect between 5th and 6th avenues where a developer wants to create an 11-story hotel plus parking additions. A sample of the petition, which can be found here: “The proposed expansion will increase the current GPH [Grand Prospect Hotel] to a size that is completely out of context with the rest of the neighborhood. In 2005 this neighborhood was re-zoned to R6B zoning which caps building heights at 40 feet at the street wall and 50 feet after a setback. GPH’s proposal, as it stands, will have a building with a height of at least 110 feet, nearly three times the height and five times the bulk allowable by law. In addition, GPH claims that there will be benefits to the community, primarily in the addition of 400 parking spots that will be available some of the time, (when they are not being used by GPH), to the local community. This claim is unsubstantiated, and is not viewed as a benefit by many in the community. We feel that the benefit of occasional parking will be more than outweighed by the downside of having such an enormous structure in a quiet residential neighborhood.”
Restless Natives Petition to Deny the Non-Contextual Expansion of Grand Prospect Hall [IMBY]
Prospect Ave Hotel Opponents Will Not Go Gently [Brownstoner]
Opposition to Prospect Hotel Mounting [Brownstoner] GMAP
Renderings, Details Revealed for Prospect Hotel [Brownstoner]
Photo from Property Shark.
Schwartz,
I agree the current GPH plans look like crap, they probably should throw the parking underground, bring the height down, come up with a better way to deal with deliveries than making 16th street a loading zone again for tractor trailers. The days of the vacuum bag company are long gone. But I won’t hold GPH accountable for what others have done poorly and NYC in general should fix since they sponsored it. I also don’t think constraining them to R6B without any consideration is fair either. The petition and tone is “Shut the scumbags down”.
As for loneranger, eqauting me to a pot smoking, ponzi scheming, whatever else he was inferring, well, that just is what it is.
Loneranger,
Now that’s progress. I am no longer part of a Ponzi schemer, smoking weed, or “as” ignorant. I now just need to find better use of my time and be careful not to run into you before lunch less I be eaten alive.
As for knowledge or wisdom, I hear that comes with age. But as to the lesson, I’ll be honest, it came direct from Dictionary.com. I couldn’t possibly be that succint in my explanation to you.
You are right, I don’t know you, but I do know what you wrote and that spoke for itself. I was told once earlier in my life, “If want to know who a person is, then wait until they open their mouth”. Sorry if you took my satire for education, it was not my intent to attempt to do so.
Have a nice life.
I live behind GPH and I must tell you…As it is, the way they run this place is so inhumane to their neighbors that we can not open our windows during the summer due to the stench of the open rotten garbage conditions, not to mention rats and mice coming into our properties and HUGE HUGE flies.
I can not even imagine what a hotel and 24/7 restaurant service will do to us- not to mention the fumes from the garage. They turn on the newly built exhaust vent from the kitchen, that makes the sounds of a helicopter…and they forget to turn it off most of the times…so it runs overnight which it doesn’t sounds like a lullaby for our families to sleep with. The big trucks from their events block our traffic on 16th sometimes for 1/2 hour, Trying to get in from the service driveway,causing beeping and screaming on a regular basis, imagine the multiply by 4 times the events they will have.
Mentioning the garage: they are selling this project as 400 parking spaces for the neighborhood. Their own website advertises they can hold up to 7000 people at once in this place,so the parking will be conditional ONLY IF they don’t have events going on…which will be…NEVER, GOT IT!
In order to have this project, they need to change three, yes 3 variances (I’m not an engineer so I don’t know how this are called):
1- Commercial
2- Height
3- and finally the need to alter the allowance (or whatever is called) to build all the way in the backyard almost touching our properties.
This project will start/set a precendent for OTHER developers to start going as high as this project, and I really wish that is NOT next to your property or land-blocking air, sun and views.
What really matters is for all of you to think why should someone be allowed, only for their personal gain, to change/alter/the laws, at a sacrifice to a residential area. One that is already negatively affected by GPH at its current medium scale?
I really don’t wish any of you to be in our position, I’m not a NIMBY and I agree with progress and gentrification for the community, but if that will be the case.
To close my post, I would like to remind everyone that Lander was the chairman on the 5th Ave Committee when they took away the public city parking on 5th Ave and 16th Street collecting signatures under the pretenses that this project on 5th ave and 16th was for low income housing. They forgot to mention to us that it was going to be halfway house for drug addicts and a population with mental illness. What kills me is not the project, but how they are trying to deceive everyone. Now Lander is one of the cheerleaders for this project; why? because the neighborhood need parking?
AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
ou812,
I will leave you with this:
You may know a thing or 2 about what you say; And I can almost find some common ground with you, but your biggest flaw is that you have no idea of what I do or what I know.
Anything that you profess to be teaching me, I could better explain and in better detail to a 5 year old.
I eat people like you for breakfast and spit them out before lunch.
So please save your lessons for someone who might be able to actually learn something from your knowledge (That which I will give you credit for).
You are obviously not as ignorant as some but not wiser than others.
You are welcome for the sparing but do us all a favor and find something better to do with you time.
You have much to offer and can do better.
Loneranger,
I need to leave one more for you. I just can’t resist. But you make it too easy. At least AJ conveniently and politelty ignores points counter to his POV, but you apparently need an education in real estate 101.
Floor-Area Ratio (FAR)
the arithmetic relationship of the total square feet of a building to the square footage of the land area. The floor-area ratio is often limited by the zoning code and may have an important influence on the land value.
Formula:floor-area ratio = building area/land area
Since developers didn’t care about your existing structure in the first place (Except for maybe one wall they need to keep standing to classify it as a “Reno” assuming your dump is something worth keeping), the value of your property to them is directly proportionate to the Buildable SQF. As the Zoning changed, so did the FAR, so did the value of your property to a developer. And of course that went into a downward direction with the rezoning.
There ends your lesson. Put that into your pipe and smoke it! Also, since you bought into a R6 Zone in the first place and didn’t do YOUR research upfront, perhaps you should reconsider what you should or should not beleive. You come across as the perfect sheep to be “MADEOFFED”. Old Charlie pales in comparison to Bernie.
ou812,
I have to agree with you on your assessment that you’d take this project over all the condo’s that have contributed zilch to the community while costing the City many millions in lost taxes etc.
But – The problem with your argument is that you can’t undo the damage that is done. The GPH should have done this years ago. Not now that the damage has already been done by these poorly built over-developments.
I think the general feeling (shared by most) is that the GPH should be allowed to do something with that property but what they are proposing has gone way over the top and needs to be scaled back and awful lot before the benefits are worth the cost to the community.
By the way I was looking but didn’t see anything at the point of her head. What that has to do with this issue is beyond comprehension
Loneranger,
Look no further than the point on your head!
Ok. I have stated this before but for your reference:
Having hotel accomodations nearby is an overall benefit. Especially when it comes to visting relatives.
New permanent jobs (parking attendants, chamber maids, Front desk, Consierge, Cooks, Waiters, Bell Hops, Mainatenance Staff, Management, etc. (these would need to be multipe of each position) is definately a benefit to the community. Especially in these times. Where do you think the pool of workers will come from?
Addiitonal tourism dollars being spent locally at local businesses including restuarants and shops is another benefit. When you stay in a Hotel, do you eat 3 squares a day at the Hotel? Do you souvenier shop? Sorry, but I want my favorite eating spots to thrive and stick around. Maybe it’s just me being selfish.
Additional Tax Revenue in the form of Hotel Tax (It’s seperate and steep), payroll tax, income tax, parking fee tax, new property tax (I would hope no abatament is given), plus the tax collected on additional revenue from new business to local shops.
Would you care to tell me which if any of the recent new condo developments can actually even come close. They all get 529’s, don’t add any property tax revenue, but do tax our resources. They generate very few permanent jobs. Don’t bother, it’s none of them. That’s why I would support this project over anything else that’s been done.
I do not beleive the parking will be a local benefit with the exception that thier cars will be off the street.
You can argue about scale and make sure nothing horrific is built. But not conceding something here or stopping it dead is unreasonable. The drawings were awfull. GPH needs to do a much better job and be held to it. As far as the infrastucture (Sewer, utilities, etc.) I don’t fault GPH for what the City of NY is neglecting and should address regardless. They approved all the development and care not to address infrastructure. You venom is aimed at the wrong entity on that one.
So, NO, the project benefits more than just GPH. Yes they make more money. That’s is what good businesses do. I have been here when the buildings were boarded up, shops empty, and it was scary to walk around (day or night). I support a thriving and growing community. This benefits more than just GPH contrary to what you beleive. You are shortsighted there.
I agree, R6B overall is a good thing. And spot rezoning should allow for making one off decisions like this which I would support (Assuming they come to the table with a better plan).
“Why don’t YOU tell me about the positive impacts such a project could have for “The Community”
That is kind of the point. One business, one business plan, not benefiting any other portion of the community than GPH.
And you know what, we agree totally on 4th Ave. A concession I wish the community did not offer, but that’s the City.
Ultimately we can argue semantics and rhetoric, but this projects only benefits one entity, GPH. You cannot argue that.
But do not deny one thing, it was a good ideal to have south of 15th St. (mostly) rezoned R6B on the side blocks, that includes the more recent Sunset Park Rezoning (and I hear rumors on 8th Ave). Some contextual rezoning is a reward.
In the end, I’ll bet we are both closer on the the end of the urban planning (or lack there of) side of the stick.