Neighbors of the South Street Seaport voiced opposition at a Community Board 1 meeting Tuesday over the Howard Hughes Corporation’s 50-story condominium-and-hotel tower project set to rise next to Pier 17. A task force, formed as a compromise among residents and local leaders, is currently in talks with Howard Hughes Corporation and city officials over the project.
“I think CB1 is clearly on board, as in to say our Seaport group, (that) we do not want the tower,” Community Board member Paul Hovitz, who is not on the task force, told Curbed. “That tower would be a stake in the heart of the Seaport. And I’m trusting that that is not going to be bargained off for some fugazy affordable housing.”
The Seaport Working Group is expected to closely examine the project’s impact on the surrounding area. The process will take place simultaneously with a mandatory environmental review, and could serve as a guide for future development sites around the Williamsburg Bridge.
Chris Curry, Howard Hughes’ senior executive vice president of development, has said he reached out to Mayor Bill de Blasio and expressed a plan to include affordable housing in the project, as previously reported. Construction is expected to start early next year. [Curbed] — Mark Maurer