He must insist that the landmarked Tony DaPalito Recreation Center in Greenwich Village, which has been for decades a magnet for working people around the city, is not demolished despite City Hall’s propaganda blitz claiming that it is structurally beyond repair. This is the”demolition by neglect” ploy increasingly used by public and private owners of landmarked properties. Don’t make repairs, then apply for permission to demolish. Needless to say, the Landmarks “Preservation” Commission is a full partner in the sham. NYC actually has $120 million in its budget earmarked to restore the building, but the Adams administration insists instead that it must be demolished.
And Mamdani must radically downsize or cancel altogether the monster luxury condo tower that the City wants a private developer to build on land it owns right outside the Gansvoort Market Historic District. This will be the largest building anywhere in this part of town.
It is NYC Council Member Erik Bottcher’s responsibility to solicit Mamdani’s aid in foiling such an offensive strike against affordable housing, but while Village Preservation has been urging Bottcher to step up, “so far he has not responded. “
Remember, this is city-owned land that City Hall wants to turn over to oversized luxury development.