Quid pro quo in Hell’s Kitchen as project OK’d

A rendering of the proposed development (center) on 11th Ave. in Hell’s Kitchen

By Diane Vacca

After grappling with a number of thorny issues Monday night, Community Board 4’s Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen Land Use Committee agreed to the amended plan for Clinton Park, the Z-shaped Enrique Norten-designed development proposed for 11th Ave. between 53rd and 54th Sts. in Hell’s Kitchen.

In getting the developer to agree with the board’s requests, the committee succeeded in realizing two of its principal goals—reducing the building’s density (its height and overall size) and minimizing the impact of the ground-floor commercial tenant on residents and neighbors—but had to settle for fewer affordable units in the process. Whether the board will achieve its long-term goal of limiting 11th Ave. to mainly residential use is uncertain.

By far the most difficult issues dealt with at the three-hour meeting were affordable housing and zoning. Developers that include affordable units in their projects are entitled to an inclusionary housing bonus to increase their total square footage, which allowed developer Two Trees Management to propose a building larger than the zoning would otherwise permit. The committee has consistently objected to the density of the project, and at its last meeting with Two Trees on Nov. 12, the committee requested that the building height be reduced. Accordingly, the developer has offered to remove one floor, reducing the building by 42,000 square feet comprising 55 units, of which 11 would have been affordable and 40 market-rate.

Although the committee regretted the loss of 11 affordable units, it accepted the tradeoff because of the potential harm to the community that would result from the precedent set by allowing greater density. The committee voted to accept the size revision of the building, which results in a total of 845 units, of which 169 are affordable and 676 market-rate. However, the committee still lobbied hard for the inclusion of more affordable units, with the developer responding he would consider the option and get back to the board at a later date.

In the Clinton Special District, where the Clinton Park project is located, the developer’s inclusionary housing bonus is calculated based on the building’s entire square footage, which includes both residential and commercial. The committee wrangled with Two Trees over the developer’s desire to remove the commercial space from the calculation, insisting that the bonus be calculated using the the building’s total square footage, which would allow for more affordable units to be added.

The zoning discussion regarding some variances for the project presented no problem, such as granting a special permit to allow the health club and residential units to be on the same floor. But whether the building should be classified commercial or residential, and how to obviate intrusions by uses such as hotels into a predominantly residential area, posed a much greater challenge. Two Trees paid a huge sum for the land and therefore had to incorporate a substantial commercial tenant to make the project viable—thus incurring a likely commercial, not residential, zoning designation. The committee will ask for a residential designation with a ground-floor commercial overlay at the site, but the board is strongly committed to rezoning 11th Ave. for residential use. So in theory, agreeing to a commercial zoning designation for the project will rob the committee of bargaining power when ruling on future development in the area. Reluctantly accepting this unpleasant reality, the committee decided to press hard for everything else on its wish list and defend its zoning decisions and variances with language that specifies these exceptions apply only to this specific project.

The committee also had several concerns with the large Mercedes-Benz auto dealership that will occupy the entire 11th Ave. front and wrap around to the side streets.

First of these is the traffic that it will generate at peak hours when cars line up for service in the morning and exit in the afternoon. Mercedes-Benz anticipated this potential problem by designing a circular ramp and 50 parking spaces to efficiently accommodate cars that arrive simultaneously for service in the morning, and prevent double-parking or queuing up on the streets. Cars may enter and exit from both 53rd and 54th Sts., thus eliminating the necessity to circle around the block on one-way streets. The committee decided to negotiate issues of pedestrian safety, location of stop signs, etc., directly with Mercedes-Benz.

Signage for the dealership, particularly the illuminated signs on 53rd and 54th Sts., provided another stumbling block. The committee wanted assurance that light wouldn’t shine directly into apartments across the street. Mercedes-Benz had provided renderings of its space and signage, as the committee had requested at the last meeting. The signs on the side streets appear perpendicular to the building, and consequently cast their light toward the avenues, not across the street. The committee approved the request for a zoning variance that will permit a large sign facing the park on 11th Ave. Although the sign is larger than the zoning allows, its size seemed moderate in proportion to the building, and had the added advantage of being the only one on the block.

Committee members also took issue with the exhaust fumes emitted by the facility. They were relieved that no bodywork, with its attendant noxious paint fumes, would be performed on site, and were satisfied that the vents would not direct exhaust to flow into residential units or onto pedestrians.

“The service bay is insanely clean,” said Two Trees principal Jed Walentas. “They have a thing called service tourism, where they actually have a little glass thing where they bring you down to watch your car get fixed.” As for accessory parking, the developer readily committed to allow no hourly and only monthly parking.

Several architectural issues were additionally raised, such as the composition of the sheathing material for the building. The gray, synthetic composite, which some compared to limestone, will be uniform in color, despite its variegated appearance in the renderings. Where grilles or louvers usually cover in-the-wall air-conditioning units, the composite will be perforated but still contextual with the rest of the building, appearing only slighty darker. In an attempt to mitigate the monolithic mass of the façade, the architect distributed the windows non-linearly. Still, some of the committee were not satisfied, and the alignment of the windows is yet to be determined.

Responding to the board’s request, Two Trees had intended to incorporate a supermarket on the ground floor and charge the store a lower rent so that it could offer high-quality merchandise at unusually low prices. At this point, however, for various reasons, the 16,000 square feet allotted for the market has been reduced to 5,500, which all agreed is insufficient space for such a store. Instead, the developer will underwrite a substantially below-market rent to support whatever nonprofit or cultural entity will be chosen among the many whose survival depends on inhabiting such a space.

In dealing with issues of open space, committee chairperson Anna Levin wanted to identify areas of the park that need enhancement. Walentas assured her that the park is a “huge part of the reason we saw value in the site. We’re obviously going to be someone who cares enormously how that park looks and feels and functions to make sure that it’s well maintained.”

His father, David Walentas, added, “We think that’s our front lawn. We’re going to take care of it whether you want us to or not.”

The committee also wanted guarantees that Two Trees would plant trees on the street and install tree guards, especially in areas adjacent to vehicle entrances that need extra protection. “You have to come down and see my tree guards—they’re tank-proof,” interjected the senior Walentas.

School capacity, which all agreed is a general advocacy matter, is another issue tied to the development. As Levin explained, in addition to the number of school seats that will be required if all the other projects currently in the pipeline materialize, Clinton Park will produce a need for 108 new seats. She saw this as an opportunity to ask the city to double the size of PS 51 on W. 45th St., and maintain it as strictly an elementary school, i.e., adding classrooms without adding grades, as the School Construction Authority is proposing.

The committee will now present its recommendations to the full board for a vote at its next meeting on Dec. 3.