The future of West Chelsea and the preservation of the High Line will come before the public at a Department of City Planning hearing on July 20 at the O’Henry Learning Center auditorium, 333 W. 17th St.
The 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. forum, sponsored also by the Community Board 4 Chelsea Preservation and Planning Committee, will cover the city’s proposal to rezone the manufacturing district between 10th and 11th Aves. from 16th to 30th Sts. to encourage residential development and preserve the art gallery uses that have become an important factor in the area.
Chelsea activists have been urging City Planning to make specific provisions for affordable housing in a proposed Special West Chelsea District.
The city’s West Chelsea land-use scenario unveiled last September calls for high-rise residential buildings along the avenues and a special art gallery-friendly manufacturing zone in the middle of the district. The city also wants to foster low-rise development adjacent to the High Line, the disused, 1.5-mile railroad viaduct west of 10th Ave., which is to be transformed into an elevated park. Owners of property near the High Line would be allowed to sell their development rights and transfer them to the high-rise zones.
