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April 7, 2008
A Call for a Moratorium on AY Demolitions
Brownstoner.com
In the wake of news that Atlantic Yards plans are stalled, the Dean Street Block Association (6th Avenue to Vanderbilt section) is asking the state to immediately halt demolitions on buildings in the project's footprint. The group sent a letter (copy on jump) to Governor Paterson and ESDC head Avi Schick requesting a temporary moratorium on the destruction of buildings on the project site, particularly those that are being torn down for the second phase of Atlantic Yards. At present, the Ward Bakery building is being demolished, and the group's letter says the "building is eligible for listing on the State and National Register of Historic Places." The occupied townhouses in the photo at left, above, are also slated to come down. The concluding paragraph of the letter notes, "Please implement a moratorium on demolition until such time that the communities surrounding Atlantic Yards can be assured that rational decisions are being made to protect the area from the blight associated by dormant sites, over-scaled inefficiently situated construction staging, and surface parking lots." This does indeed sound "rational." What sense does it make to tear down buildings—especially one as treasured as Ward Bakery—for a development that may never happen?
link (features the full text of the letter)
Atlantic Yards Report, Block association calls for a moratorium on AY demolitions
Posted by eric at April 7, 2008 1:51 PM