NOHO NEWS March 08

NoHo III Needs your help at the City Planning Commission by June 26th and at City Council on July 2
Please fax and send your letter...urge your household members and neighbors to do the same.
The Community Task Force on NYU Development - All information, proposals, meetings are posted at www.communitynyc.org
CB#2 adds new Board Members and Committee Assignments - View and Download here
Crime Scene/Lounge – In addition to lacking a Cert of Occupancy and a valid Public Assembly Permit and having changed their Method of Operation, Crime Scene has absorbed the former promoters of Manahatta and now calls their establishment "Lounge.". We have made inquiries at the SLA for their oversight. There is an SLA hearing on July 8
Mercat – at 45 Bond St. has signed a Community Agreement as a condition of application to the SLA for a full license.
NoHo/Bowery Partnership – The Exploratory Committee is reviewing a plan to initiate the nonprofit street cleaning service on Bleecker and Bond Sts, east of the NoHo BID area to the Bowery and along Bowery to Great Jones. Tax deductible donations will be sought for this service that will be provided from 8 am to 4 pm Monday thru Sunday. They are seeking your pledges by July 15th. Inquiries
8-10 Bond St Property – Owner still plans a hotel for this site and an initial BSA application may be heard at CB#2 in June. There have been a few downscaled options added to the preliminary plan. See Annct
41-43 Bond St demolition is completed. Plans for the new building have been submitted to LPC for preliminary opinion and have been modified to reduce the height, eliminate the underground parking and remove the balconies at the rear. The new plans were reviewed by a special committee of NoHo property owners on Thursday, April 24th and were heard and approved by the Full Board of CB2 Manhattan on June 19th, 2008.
53-55 Bond St – We understand the owner of these lots intends to develop and is opposing Landmarks. These parcels are NOT included in the NoHo III Designation.

More property development news below.....
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OTHER HEADLINES

402-408 Lafayette St Proposed Hotel

There's a new Blog in Town -- www.streetsblog.org . Stay up to date on what's happening on bike lanes, street closures and general traffic control.

OTHER TID BITS

Keeping the Mixed Use Nature of NoHo. With all our new high-end condos and rare authentic AIR lofts, the nightlife industry is very hot to join us in even greater numbers. Most residents and property owners feel we have done more than our fair share in absorbing over-density of liquor licensed establishments, especially when it directly affects our now rather expensive NoHo investments.	Bowery and Lafayette Corridor Liquor License Locations. Download Full Map
Evolution

Bond St. - North Side	Bond St. - South Side

See NoHoManhattan Blog for Late-Breaking News and NoHo Media Coverage
Our New Guest Editor is Brent Buell

NoHo Residents Investigating Formation of a Non-Profit NoHo/Bowery Partnership. Ongoing Update. An exploratory committee has been formed of residents, property and business owners in NoHo, to introduce NoHo to the Association of Community Employment Programs for the Homeless (A.C.E.) and their local initiatives, the SoHo Partnership and the TriBeCa Partnership.

As NoHo evolves toward a more vibrant live/work and arts based community the Committee has two concerns:
That the effort we put into to keeping our neighborhood contextual and vibrant can be apparent on well-kept streets and sidewalks.
That we do not forget our long established reputation for supporting programs that improve the prospects for those less fortunate.

With that in mind, they are working toward a collaboration with A.C.E. in forming a not-for-profit, the NoHo/Bowery Partnership, that would, by donations, provide street cleaning and other sidewalk maintenance services seven days a week from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, 362 days a year. The initial sweep areas would include Bleecker, Bond Streets east of Lafayette and The Bowery, and both sides, from Houston to Great Jones St. A NoHo/Bowery Partnership would be under the A.C.E. umbrella and managed by their experienced staff.

The area West of the the East side of Lafayette St. is maintained by the NoHo BID.

What's Going Up....
regularly updated details on Properties in Development in NoHo

8-10 Bond St. The application for an as-of-right hotel at this location which was heard at CB#2 Manhattan's Zoning Committee in October is still on hold. The design was reviewed at the Landmarks Preservation Committee Jan 8 and again in March 08. You can read Bradley Hope's October article in the NY Sun: NY Sun - NoHo Spotlighted in the Trend for Entertainment Hotels . UPDATE: See the current property sale annct.

22 Bond St/23 Great Jones St. (Block 530, Lot 19) -- this through lot, currently a two-story building is rumored to be an as-of-right 14 story hotel. DOB job filings however indicate that it is to be a nine-story building with hotel use from the fourth to the ninth floors. Job Description: Vertical extension to existing 2 story building ( cellar, 1st & 2nd). Add 3rd thru 9th floors to be used as hotel suites. Change of use on 2nd floor to Joint Living & work quarter. Obtain new CO. According to DOB records the plan was disapproved in February.. You have all probably noted, however, that the cellar on the Great Jones St side has been excavated and re-shored. When and if we discover anything more on this we will post it.

25 Bond

100 running feet of granite sidewalk is now complete and a reception was held in February to celebrate it. There is no doubt that Goldman Properties has taken contextual to heart and new heights.

32-40 Bond St. - for about a "minute" here's the view of 32-40 Bond St. from a Bleecker rooftop. The set-back terrace just got its trees. We understand there are still units for sale on these floors and for some ground-floor duplexes.

On the left is the east side of 35-39 Bond St., soon to be covered by the new buildings at 43 Bond. Note the demolition at 41-43 Bond is now completed.

41-43 Bond St. - Phase Two will be a review of plans for the new building, which is designed in 20th Century manufacturing style to compliment other landmarked buildings on the block. These plans have been by CB#2 Landmarks and the full Board. The Zoning Committee will hear their Board of Standards and Appeals application for a change of use to residential probably this fall.

Photo of Jan 9: Scaffolding covered in blue netting to contain dust belongs to 41-43 Bond St. East of that, at 45 Bond, illegal scaffolding and construction to build a 3-story addition

45 Bond St. - Just in time! Two new stories - NO make that THREE STORIES -- NO, maybe FOUR stories - have been added before NoHo III is landed. A bit aesthetically challenged, and still claiming to be a commercial office building, Mr. Weiss has somehow eluded LPC and DOB and the Loft Board's scrutiny.....now isn't that amazing!

46-48 Bond St.: Architect Deborah Berke, (this is her first residential condo project) explains: The façade of 48 Bond is an elegant composition of slabs of granite and sheets of glass. The scale of the material is unusually large, contributing to its abstract and bold quality. The stone and glass play off each other and accentuate their contrasting textures.

Full Coverage at Curbed.com (Photo from Curbed http://curbed.com/2007_9_48bond.jpg )

March 23, 2008 - Latest Press Release

Edison Parking to Develop Five Lots at Lafayette and Great Jones. On Dec. 21st. over 30 NoHo residents and property owners met with Jerry Gottesman, Owner, Edison Properties. Mr. Gottesman, who also owns Manhattan Mini Storage and the Hippodrome, as well as the just developed Ludlow, purchased the adjacent 30 Great Jones St. property in September and quickly began its demolition.

Edison is NOT opposing landmarking of NoHo III, but would like to change NoHo Zoning.

More meetings are anticipated between Edison and NoHo property owners.

East 4th St. Water Tunnel Construction - This project which began last year will be here for awhile. We understand that the major blasting has subsided. For those who fear for the safety of The Merchant's House and Skidmore House, the Borough President's office is actively engaged in monitoring, with the ever watchful eye of Pi Gardner, Exec. Director of the Merchants House.

When it is finished, we expect that this will become a park. The DEP has, however, transferred the air rights back to the owners of the property -- the Goldman Family -- who have in turn leased this property and the Skidmore House and the parking lot to Atlantic Development for 70 years. See the Skidmore House entry for more. (Photo: Adam Woodward). Senator Tom Duane has convened several meetings, with CB#2 member Toby Bergman present, along with Pi Gardner of the Merchants House, Stan Ries and Zella Jones of the NoHo NA, John Fout of Councilmember Mendez staff and Gregory Bender of Assemblymember Deborah Glick's staff to get the particulars on where this park stands in present plans.

372 Lafayette St. - UPDATE: We understand that this lot has been purchased by the 8-12 Bond St Hotel group in order to expand the hotel further. BUT a plan about to hit CB#2 for the 8-10 Bond St property does NOT show the additional northern lot. Stay Tuned! See CityRealty.com coverage.

363 Lafayette @ Great Jones- (SE Corner - former Jones Diner) - UPDATE: This location may be filing for an as-of-right Office Building.

PAST INFO: The Attorney and the applicant made a presentation to NoHo in May, 2006. Though a confusing design (at best), the proposed six-story building will preserve many of the lot line windows in contiguous buildings. The applicant will be seeking a variance for residential and groundfloor retail and may be amenable to a restriction on bars or restaurants. The 20 Bond St. Co-Op is still negotiating with the developer for a more compatible design. The billboard erected inside the fencing at this location is, unfortunately, legal !

Parking Lot & Skidmore House at East 4th and Bowery- The parking lot has been cleared, the scaffolding is up, and construction has begun.

402-408 Lafayette -(Crunch Gym Building) in the NoHo I landmark district has made several applications to landmarks for renovations to groundfloor entrances on Lafayette and on Broadway as well as a rooftop addition and a request for a 74-711 action for a change of use, which would be for a Hotel. The Landmarks application is currently on hold at Landmarks.

Wondering what's going on on the South Side of Houston between Mulberry and Mott? The picture is the surface at 290 Mulberry, but catch the tumor building about to happen next door ! Get an eye-full here from Curbed.com

The All New CBGB's....sorry, meant John Varvatos boutique. Lots of coverage at Curbed.com

Day Life/Nightlife ...

The Lafayette St and Bowery corridors are oversaturated with Liquor Licenses. In addition to the potential for negatively affecting quality of life for the many residents, it also affects the competitive health of licensed establishments and businesses that have shown compatibility with our neighborhood. We continue to advocate for the neighborhood on these applications and have thus far prevailed in a number of covenants attached to SLA applications signed by interested NoHo residents and property owners.

SLA Task Force Report, Dec 06

Padavan Law/500 ft Rule Explained

Getting Around...

Houston St. Construction - Construction on the Houston St. road bed is now in full Phase II, meaning it is in the NoHo portion of Houston St. Most of the roadbed work will be done from 7 AM to 6 PM, Monday through Friday. But NoHo can expect weekend night work also regularly.

All known service interruptions will be posted on area buildings. Anyone who is or knows someone, disabled should notify Karen Flores (212-337-3594), the Community Construction Liaison, so she can take special measures to protect their needs and safety during construction. To subscribe to a daily community construction update go to www.houston.outreachny.com . (Photo: Adam Woodward).

The SoHo Journal Politics Blog covers the issues behind the issues. Beware!

Don't forget to visit NoHo Arts & Culture listing over 60 artists and art-supporting institutions in our neighborhood.

If you have additional suggestions, are an artist living in NoHo, have any professional photography of our neighborhood, or slides of your artwork, please forward them.

Don't forget to use the Activist Links page

You can also visit NoHo at i-neighborhoods.org - look for NoHo Manhattan. I-neighbors is run by a team of faculty and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). I-neighbors was designed to encourage neighborhood participation and to help people form local social ties.

Managing Editor
Zella Jones
Citizen

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