More UWS Upzoning: 808 Columbus Eyes 29 Stories

1.

Is the supply of silly, jealous losers really so unlimited in Manhattan? That neighborhood NEEDS more upscale residents. Desperately.

2.

Larry - can't agree more.

I really don't get it: why would they be against this new modern addition to their neighborhood? Wouldn't it increase their apartment values and add additional stores and business to the area? Why are they always protesting.

Sometimes it feels like this is not the capital of the free world, but some kind of socialist town where there democratic reforms are just beginning...

3.

I couldn't agree more. That particular area is especially bad since it consists almost solely of those stand-alone residential towers surrounded by pesticide-laden "green space" no one ever uses. The area is scary dead at night and needs some buildings with commerical space in the bottom.

Many people in that area want the UWS to have the same building restrictions that they do in the Village, yet they also want the commerical rents, and the cost of living to stay frozen in time. What they don't seem to get is that a) the area doesn't look anything like the Village and b) looking like the Village means astronomical real estate costs, far beyond the reach of anyone but the movie stars who have the Village pretty sewed up.

4.

I have lived on the west side between 87th and 96th streets for 23 years. Have always enjoyed the quiet, affordable (for manhattan) neighborhood with ready access to riverside and central parks. I love the fact that non-residents have no real reason to visit the area, which gives it almost a suburban feel amongst beautiful old apartment houses and brownstones. The resistance to real estate development of any kind seems to define the area. I find it amusing, but rarely agree with the critics.

5.

Yeah, I think that's one of the few places I have no reservation supporting a big tower like that. Now if the development would only encourage adding back some of the streets...

6.

Yes, putting back the streets would be a very good start. Those UWS superblocks did absolutely nothing to help the neighborhood. I know that developments like Lincoln Towers and CPW Towers (nice euphemism for the old Park West Village) are pawned off as luxury buildings, but let's face it: living in those Corbusian nightmares must be like living in the projects.

And if I may make a modest proposal: Bloomberg should demolish all the NYCHA megablock projects in Manhattan immediately, put back the streets, and sell off the parcels one by one with a stipulation requiring a percentage of low-mid income units for SALE.

7.

lets see a pic of this 29 story building

8.

That area is not "beautiful" by ANY stretch of the imagination. Old and grimy does not equal beautiful. And I wasn't aware that "suburban" is used to describe litter-strewn sidewalks and poorly maintained housing stock.

9.

While I certainly don't have a problem with this development myself, as someone who lived in Park West Village for more than a decade I am hardly surprised by the reaction. First of all, the three neighboring buildings of PWV are all rent-stabilized (as compared to the condos of CPW Towers across the street) so tenants are far more concerned about getting forced out of their apartments than they are about property values.

Second, many of those residents enjoy drop-dead CPW views that are likely to be impacted by this new building - or completely eliminated for residents of 792, the northernmost building.

Thirdly, many residents of the complex - and the neighborhood - are elderly and highly adverse to change. I remember when the building tried to replace the antiquated intercom system with one that would work through phone lines; they even came up with a system that would work with rotary phones. After people complained with nebulous issues around tying up the phone, not knowing how to use the system and worries about increasing phone bills(!) they ultimately caved and put in new intercoms.

Even across the street in the condos, some of the older residents complained that a lobby renovation was "too fancy" and that they didn't feel like they belonged there any more! Add in the more rational concerns about crowds, difficulty in finding parking, etc. and the level of opposition is not surprising, even if it is totally inappropriate given that the entire area is quite low in landmark-worthy construction and the original layouts certainly offer room to expand.

10.

relax Larry,
I was referring to the neighborhoods I have lived in between 87th and 96th streets. I currently live on Riverside at 94th Street in a luxury building with views of the Hudson, near SROs and also beautiful prewar apartment buildings. Park West Village was redeveloped from a slum, and is not particularly attractive in its current state--one reason to embrace development--but it is on Central Park. But hey, Lincoln Towers has always been bleak, but permitted the development of adjacent Lincoln Center.

11.

I've always believed that, at the age of 65, people should be retired from Manhattan.

12.

There's an important distinction emerging here: The area above 96th Street and centering around Columbus & CPW is not aesthetically pleasing by any stretch; the mid-20th century buildings have not aged well and there is little street life around there. Something should be done to improve the landscape, whether it's restoring the original streets, or more practically, encouraging more shops, etc. However, building a 29-story building is not necessarily going to help. People who live in those types of buildings tend not to contribute to their neighborhoods and have more of a "fortress" mentality. They come and go in cabs and don't give back to the neighborhood.

It's a tough area to improve but with responsible planning, it can have some of the vitality enjoyed by other parts of the UWS...

13.

Another welcome addition to the neighborhood. I live on 96th and Columbus. I never walk North because there's just nothing there. No restaurants, no shops, and pretty desolate at night. Any new development is to be welcomed. It will improve the neighborhood. When will the protesters realize that New York would look like Topeka if every development were blocked by the "community"?

14.

The key is responsible, contextual development. The average height of buildings in that area is 15-20 stories. A new building should be in keeping with its surroundings and not stick out like a soar thumb. That's what has hurt Yorkville so much in the last decade...

15.

#6:

I think a lot of people want that and would support it, except for the logisitical impossibility of forcing all those people out and potentially finding them places to live in the interim.

16.

Boggo -- I used to live in PWV, and there *were* several stores on Columbus between 97th and 100th, including a diner, a decent Indian place, not to mention C-Town. I wonder what stores will go in there after Extell is done -- probably bank branches and pharmacies. Just what we needed (not).

17.

You people are all out of touch with the neighborhood. This is a disaster. The owner of the buildings has been harassing the rent stabilized tenants (myself included) to get us to move so they can up the rents to market. I'm a middle income working person. I oppose the development. Most of the residents of the neighborhood do as well. You should all be ashamed.

18.

I live at 99th and Amsterdam, and there is a very urban and vital street life above 96th street on up - with many people on the streets. It is not the shithole several of you are referring to, but thanks for your objective assesment of a few small patches that you have extrapolated to characterize the entire area. And I'm sure that the hassle of all of you in luxury buildings would have to deal with if forced to move would be bearable - not easy, perhaps - but at the least financially viable. Good for you, but not everyone can afford a move. But again, thanks for the suggestion that all the nycha projects be eliminated - sounds like a convenient plan to spruce up the hood. ?! Heck, let's just ship all the poor people upstate...

19.

I'm all for development. I grew up on 96th/St. Columbus, when Key West and the Westmont were mere empty lots. Been there, done that. If people want to come from elsewhere and pay exhorbitant amounts of money for real estate, what do I care? Go crazy!

20.

If you ask me, they should ship all the poor people upstate where they can actually afford to live in a free market economy. Or, if they'd rather live in their socialist dream world, maybe try Sweden or even retire to Cuba! All the rent stabilized low-lifes who make a living off court settlements against landlords, complain about their peeling lead paint or take jealous vengence on the young getting-by-ok-couple-next-door by their anonymous complaints to DHS, DOB, ETC, should actually worry about getting a future before getting even. This area (yes I am a resident) is filled with black and hispanic AND white trash who really have no place living in the most expensive city in the US. So, I might suggest that you put your energy into your own standard of living before taking the time to bring someone else down to your subterranean level.

21.

That has to be one of the most racist things I've heard in a while Buckingham Malice. I can't disagree with your comments about poor people being "shipped upstate." Just because people aren't yuppies doesn't mean they should be exiled from the neighborhood.

My family has lived on 96th street since the early 70s since it was affordable, safe and not far from most places in Manhattan (being that it's pretty much smack in the middle of the island).

While I do want more commercial space on Columbus, I don't want it to end up being a bank, a whole foods market and a CVS. I'm tired of seeing the neighborhood get taken over by big businesses and yuppies who don't give back to the community.

22.

#22 - Whole Foods gives back plenty to the community (5% of profits). Maybe you should do some research before you make such simplistic generalizations.

23.

I agree with most of Buckingham Malice's post (#20). I used to live in NYC but had to leave it in the 90s when prices became exhorbitant. I can't wait for rent control/stabilization to disappear and finally be able to afford to move back to the city.

About Whole Foods: it is desperately needed in that nabe - the nearest decent supermarkets are the two Fairways at 132nd and 74th
(unless you prefer to shop in bodegas and Gristedes). More banks and Duane Reades are definitely not needed though.

24.

I'm a relatively new resident of PWV, along with my husband and young boy. Our apartment (condo) looks directly out on the new development. I'm not sure what everyone means when they say that people like us don't support the neighborhood. What do you mean by that? We visit the local playgrounds, shop in the local supermarkets, borrow from the local library, eat in the local restaurants. What more do you want from us?

I have to admit that I'm a little bit excited by the prospect of a Whole Foods going in there, but I'll believe it when I see it. The fact is that a lot of residents in the area are low and middle income and don't need a Whole Foods. They need C-town back. In any case, I wholly support the project and look forward to the changes. Change is good. Sure, the diner is missed, but I think they're coming back, as will other shops and restaurants. I agree that we don't need another Duane Reade or CVS, though.

And, by the way, if you live in PWV for long enough you come to love the buildings, even if they are a bit dowdy. Access to the park can't be beat.

25.

My parents were original tenants of 400 PWV; we later moved further down Columbus to CPT and I have been living in a condo in 382 for over a decade. I thoroughly support the development. Yes, the two affordable restaurants will be missed, but good riddance to that C-Town, a supermarket where they made people check bags for years because of theft, and the hideous 99 Cent store that replaced the beloved Woolworth's of my youth. Whole Foods can only help improve the neighborhood.

26.

Many of you who have posted here should be ashamed of yourselves for demeaning those of us who have lived in this neighborhood for many years and especially those of you who have posted racist comments. You might forget that your own ancestors were immigrants here, once upon a time. I have lived in this neighborhood since I was a high school student and am totally against this development, it is destroying this relatively quiet part of the area. You ignore the enormous impact the noisy, dirty construction is having on us, the noise, starting at 6:45 a.m., is horrendous and has destroyed our quality of life here. It has already gone on for months and will probably go on for the next year. Now they are starting work on another monster development right across the street on the East side of Columbus, which will make it even more unbearable here. And after the construction is done, the echoes off of all the walls in this corridor from all of the truck traffic on Columbus will probably be terrible as well, but no one seems to have thought of that. The Whole Foods will add to the already heavy truck traffic and we certainly don't need more chain drug stores (Ivan Pharmacy, the only independent drug store in the area, has already had to relocate because of high rents) or expensive boutiques. We had a nice diner there before, as well as a nice Indian restaurant, surrounded by nice trees, many of which they have ripped out. And many tenants here, besides having to put up with this horrendous construction noise and dirt, will totally lose any views they had of anything except a blank wall of apartments. The Community Board should have stopped this development before it got going. Many of you don't seem to understand that this is a neighborhood with real people who live here, not a playground for the wealthy who already have the choice of thousands of expensive apartments all over the City.