.gif” width=”431″ height=”352″ border=”1″>
A new highway-style billboard frame on the Meat Market’s edge isn’t a good scene in the eyes of nearby residents, who fear their already-nightlife-heavy neighborhood will now become a mini-Times Square cluttered with visually intrusive jumbo ads. The billboard is on the property of the Hotel Gansevoort, in background — and actually will partially block views from some of the hotel’s rooms. After the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation raised concerns, the billboard’s legality is being investigated. The Department of Buildings is reportedly serving the sign owner with a 10-day notice, requiring them to provide more information or have their permits revoked. D.O.B. has not made a final determination on whether the sign is legal in terms of its proximity to Seravalli Playground and the boundary of a residential district. It also may be illegal for the sign to be illuminated.
