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East Village Won't Get 9th Street Dorm - Yet
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 19, 2005
Modified Nov 18, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 19, 2005
Modified Nov 18, 2008
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A developer's plan to turn that school at 605 East 9th street into a dorm has fallen through as the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals voted against his plan. The Department of Buildings had rejected Gregg Singer's attempts to get a permit to turn the 5-story school into a 19-story dorm multiple times, causing him to go to Board of Standards and Appeals. While community groups are relieved there won't be 19 floors of students, Singer says the "decision sets a very dangerous precedent for the city — one in which future bidders on city properties will need to take into account before they bid. That is, that the city may sell you a site with a determined restriction only to attempt to change its zoning use after the fact. This amounts to an illegal taking of property.” Dude, you're dealing with New York City: The game changes all the time - you just didn't have a friend at City Hall!
Singer didn't have a deal with any specific university, though NYU would be a likely candidate as they love buying property, and may still try to build a dorm there. The Washington Square News also has this great quote from a NYU junior: “[NYU] is making all of the local dorms for freshman and sophomores. It would be cool to have more space locally in general so we don’t have to live in Water Street or 26th Street.” Well, that's what you get for going to a school without a campus.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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