The sky is disappearing on the Lower East Side as the Mean Streets become one of Manhattan’s hottest neighborhoods. 

On the corner of Bowery and Second St., a massive residential building is nearing completion, resembling a jumble of giant cream-colored Legos. Further south on Bowery, another hulking residential tower is also preparing for its first inhabitants. And a five-minute walk east, near Essex St., the steel skeleton of a 15-story hotel dominates century-old five- and six-story brownstones.

Plans for an even larger tower on Houston and Ludlow are rallying neighborhood residents in opposition to the unprecedented wave of gentrification. Between Essex and Ludlow, flanked on three sides by gently decaying tenements and across from the famed Katz’s Delicatessan, sits a multi-tier parking lot. Owned by Edison Parking, the lot has been the focus of attention and lawsuits by Lower East Siders for almost three years. 

Since Edison first sought approval in 2000 for the construction of a 23-story luxury residential tower on the site, community groups and residents have been fighting tooth and nail to keep it from going up.

Their efforts paid off this past spring when the New York County Supreme Court, deciding on a lawsuit filed by Community Board 3 and resident groups, voided Edison’s application to the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA). The court, which sent the application back to the BSA for further review, determined that Edison’s paperwork had glaring omissions involving the environmental conditions and inclusion of the site in the newly designated Lower East Side Historic District. These various factors would have potentially killed the project.

Edison also failed to mention that the site included an environmentally hazardous electrical substation and 12 underground 550-gallon tanks from a former gas station demolished in 1977. The footprint of the tower would sit atop these tanks. There is no available documentation confirming the tanks were properly contained when the station was razed. This information, if included, would have required a full Environmental Impact Statement. 

Edison also misrepresented plans for an open-air plaza adjacent to the tower, which were key to fulfilling the zoning requirements for the site. The plaza would sit above the hazardous substation, and would feature a giant exhaust fan serving the F-line that runs beneath. If the BSA determined the plaza fulfilled the requirements for the site, Edison would have received "as-of-right" status to begin construction immediately. Further, according to informed sources, the plaza isn’t included in the building plans.
The BSA granted Edison nine variances to build a total of 23 stories. The site is only zoned for a 13-story residential building or a 19-story commercial building. Edison claimed that a smaller building would be unprofitable because the limited space reduces the tower’s footprint.

Residents opposed to the project worry that it will cause immediate and severe displacement of the existing communities in the area. Activist Susan Howard said, "If the Tower goes up, it will set a precedent for the development of other luxury high-rises in the district. The most devastating impact would be the displacement of local
small businesses and low income working families. The rents at the tower will start at $1900 for a studio, fueling rent gouging, tenant harassment and evictions. Unregulated tenants will suffer more, and section 8 and Mitchell Lama tenants will find their contacts are not renewed, as market rates rise."

At a Community Board 3 meeting on July 26, one Lower East Side resident wondered aloud, "if this project was posing such a hardship for Edison Parking, why would they bother to build it at all?"

It was at this meeting where the Board demanded Edison postpone bringing the renewed application before the BSA until October (it was scheduled to receive the new application on Aug. 7). The Board told Edison Executive Vice President Douglas Sarini and his attorney that if they did not agree, the board would vote against the project right immediately. In the next several days the board got their answer and the BSA hearing was put off until Sept. 18.

However the BSA has rarely come across a variance it didn’t like, and residents fear Edison’s application will be approved again. If that happens, the Community Board plans to once again sue Edison. To avoid this, community groups are redoubling their efforts to keep the application from being re-approved. At an Aug. 6 Community Board 3 full board meeting, they voted to assemble a task force to review all the specific conditions of the site and prepare a recommendation to present to the BSA on Sept. 18.

How to help:
The Lower Manhattan Anti-Displacement Coalition is asking concerned residents and groups for letters opposing the tower. It is also asking for testimonies at the public hearing scheduled for Sept. 18 at 10 a.m., 40 Rector St., 6th Floor.
Letters opposing the tower can be sent to: 
Board of Standards and Appeals
Re: BSA# 189-00-BZ
Chairman James Chin
40 Rector St., 6th Floor
New York, NY 10006