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City Deals Trump Winning Hand to Build in Soho
By
Jen Chung
Published May 9, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 9, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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We guess the power of Donald Trump can thwart even ghosts of people buried in the lot where he wants to build a yooge condo-hotel. Trump's Soho project was finally approved by the city yesterday afternoon. The Daily Intelligencer calls it the "last huff of Soho's industrial grit," and spoke to the Trump Soho critic, Andrew Berman of the Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation, who had fighting words: "This is a case of the city not enforcing its own laws, and that makes them vulnerable to a lawsuit."
The laws in question are the ones that allow Trump to build a 41-floor tower: The building is not residential, but "transient," where people can buy units in the building, but can only use their for 120 days a year (and not more than 26 days consecutively). Still, people think the building's approval is an egregious example of taking advantage of a loophole that allows transient hotels to avoid public review.
However, one business manager nearby tells am New York, "Bring it on. This area is crap. It's a bunch of old, run-down buildings and parking lots. People just wrap themselves around the concept of historical preservation. But here it's a parking lot opposite another parking lot."
When you go to the Trump Soho website, it clearly states, "The proposed condominium units may not be used for residential occupancy. They may only be used for transient occupancy and for no other purpose."
Tagged
andrew berman
Daily Intelligencer
donald trump
greenwich
greenwich village
Greenwich Village Society
Historical Preservation
hotels
laws
lawsuit
new york
parking
people
real estate
soho
the city
The Daily Intelligencer
trump
Trump Soho
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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