On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on plans for a 220 ft. tall, 228 ft. wide building on the northeast corner of Great Jones Street. Village Preservation called for changes to the design including reducing the bulk and height and modifying the facade to make it less monotonous and with more detail typical of nearby historic buildings, and the Commission noted receiving several hundred letters from Village Preservation members calling for the same. Assemblymember Deborah Glick and City Councilmember Harvey Epstein each submitted testimony raising strong objections to the design and scale of the project as well as it evading certain labor wage requirements, while Borough President Brad Hoylman called for changes to the design while strongly opposing any reduction in the height and scale of the proposed building.

The Commission did not discuss or make any decisions about the application, which will be placed on their calendar for further discussion in the near future. At that time a vote may occur, or an iterative process may begin that could involve the applicant making changes to the design and returning one or more times to the Commission before a decision is made. We will keep you posted as next steps in the process develop.