By Albert Amateau
To the relief and joy of Village preservationists, the City Council Landmarks Subcommittee voted unanimously on Tuesday to recommend approval of the Gansevoort Market Historic District.
Councilmember Simcha Felder, the subcommittee chairman who offered criticisms and posed questions about the district that seemed downright hostile at a Dec. 3 meeting, said on Dec. 9 that he now believed property owners who are opposed to the district would be able to develop their holdings.
“I recommend a yes vote,” Felder said, and the five-member subcommittee followed the leader.
Andrew Berman, director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, rejoiced along with Florent Morellet and Jo Hamilton, co-founders of Save Gansevoort Market, and a dozen other West Village preservationists.
Berman handed out dried beef snacks and “Save Gansevoort Market” buttons in celebration. “It’s preserved beef for preserving the Meat Market,” he said.
Berman said he was confident the historic district, designated by the Landmarks Commission in September by a unanimous vote and approved by the Department of City Planning a month later, would receive final approval from the City Council later this week.
But Richard and Cliff Meilman, members of the family that owns six buildings on the north side of 14th St. just within the northern limits of the district, were disappointed. The Meilmans were the most active property owners who opposed the designation and had urged the subcommittee last week to at least eliminate their buildings from the district.
Asked about their plans in the wake of the subcommittee vote to approve the designation of the entire district including their six buildings, Richard Meilman said, “We’re going to explore all options.” Cliff Meilman, Richard’s cousin, added that the family was not likely to pull out of property it has owned 70 years.
In response to a question about whether a lawsuit would challenge the expected City Council approval of the district, Deirdre Carlson, the Meilmans’ land-use attorney, stuck to the company line and said, “We’re keeping all options open.”
City Councilmember Christine Quinn, a member of the Land-Use Subcommittee and an enthusiastic supporter of the Gansevoort Historic District, urged last week that the Landmarks Preservation Commission issue development guidelines for the district as soon as possible to enable property owners to plan appropriate development.
Ronda Wist, L.P.C. executive director, said on Tuesday that the Commission hopes to submit a draft of the guidelines by August and implement them in October or November of 2004.
The Gansevoort Historic District, where 50 or 60 meat wholesale firms still do business, has been gentrifying radically over the past 10 years, with high-end retailers, restaurants, nightclubs and art galleries replacing meatpackers, warehouses and transgender prostitutes.
The district extends roughly from 14th to Gansevoort Sts. between Washington and Hudson Sts. and includes all or part of 13 blocks and about 150 buildings. However, it leaves out a total of three square blocks on the west side of the traditional Meat Market area between West St. and the High Line, the derelict elevated railroad right-of-way that runs along the west side of Washington St.
