A resident of the Westbeth artists housing complex, Valerie Ghent, said she was concerned when she saw a hole being dug yesterday in front of the Superior Ink building on West St. between Bethune and W 12th Sts. “I saw them digging and removing a lot of dirt,” said Ghent. “There was a silver truck there that said ‘Environment Assessment’ on the door. Obviously, I’m worried about toxicity issues. On May 27, I saw them remove this really old, rusty oil tank.”
Ian Michaels, a Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson, said, “It wasn’t us. All our trucks are standard issue, white with a green stripe and our logo. I haven’t heard of anything going on at West St.”
The company that owns the 33,000-sq.-ft. building, Related Companies, purchased it in February and plans to delelop a residential building. Their vice president of residential development, David Wine, said, “I really can’t comment on any specifics of this particular situation — I just don’t know enough about this instance.”
The Far West Village has seen a recent string of new development projects, including two Richard Meier-designed apartment towers on Perry St., completed this winter, and a third one rising now on Charles St.
