Anti-Extell Rally Planned This Morning to Oppose Gargantuan 56-Story Tower
This image has been archived or removed.
Chinatown and the Lower East Side are basically telling Extell to shove it.
Extell chief Gary Barnett sure knows how to generate controversy. His bridge-eclipsing market-rate monolith at 250 South Street has become a lightning-rod issue among locals, who claim the resultant rush of gentrification will destroy the waterfront community. It’s a two-tower development that offers luxury amenities to the 1% but a separate 13-story “poor door” facility for the low income population.
Despite the recent amendment to reduce overall height of 250 South Street from 71 to 56 stories (approximately 100 feet), advocacy groups, residents, and small businesses remain in opposition to the Extell phallus at the former Pathmark site. A rally is planned for this morning (11am) to call on Mayor de Blasio to “support community-based rezoning to protect the local neighborhood, and especially public housing, which is at risk of being privatized.”
The opposition gathering will happen at the corner of Cherry and Pike Streets. It’s hosted by Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), Chinatown Tenants Union, Chinese Staff and Workers Association (CSWA), CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities, Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES), Mujeres Y Hombres Luchadoras, National Mobilization Against Sweatshops (NMASS), and Community Development Project, Urban Justice Center.
The twin towers of Extell are still in the pile-driving phase of development. Both are slated for a 2018 completion.
Recent Stories
SLA Suspends Rochelle’s on Chrystie Street for COVID Violations
Another Lower East Side bar was caught flouting state COVID-19 related regulations earlier this month. The state’s multi-agency task force busted Rochelle’s (aka Leave Rochelle out of It) after an inspection on October 9, Governor Cuomo’s office announced late Friday. Investigators observed seven patrons standing and mingling inside 19 Stanton Street without face masks. The […]
Tombstone Secured for Homeless Man Beaten to Death on the Bowery Last Year
Earlier this month marked one year since four homeless men were murdered while asleep on the Bowery. Since the anniversary, a fundraising campaign to secure a tombstone for one of the victims was successful. Chuen Kwok had fallen on hard times after the passing of his partner. He eventually found refuge living on the streets […]
The Shadow of Rezoning Looming over SoHo and NoHo
The battle lines are drawn. As Mayor de Blasio embarks on a last-minute gambit to rezone the historic districts of SoHo and NoHo before his term ends, a coalition of community groups and activists are preparing for a battle to prevent the city from pitching the proposal in the name of affordable housing under the […]
Drunk Driver Struck Man on Moped at Bowery and Delancey
A man is in critical condition after an SUV, operated by a driver police believe was intoxicated, struck his moped at Bowery and Delancey Street early Wednesday morning. Police said the Toyota RAV4 turned onto Delancey from the Bowery at around 2:00am, where it struck the 38-year-old on the moped. Paramedics rushed the victim to […]
The Chic COVID Test in Little Italy that Costs $300
In a clash between the Pre-Covid New York CIty and the new, abnormal, meet Rapid Test NYC. This new endeavor brings boutique COVID-19 testing to Little Italy, with its no-wait rapid swab testing at 232 Elizabeth Street. No lines and a posh waiting room await the discerning citizen looking for immediate results. The interior has […]
