Governor’s executive order may impact proposed development for 1600 Park

A zoning board meeting to determine the fate of an 18-story “C”-shaped building that local developers hope to erect between the Park Avenue and Willow Avenue bridges is not likely to be scheduled for at least three months, said Zoning Board Chairman Joe Crimmins Wednesday. The 1600 Park Ave. proposal has become the focal point of controversy for more than a year because uptown residents have complained that the building will be too big and will add to the city’s traffic problems. Developers have claimed that the building will bring the city more tax revenue and will revitalize a barren area. The meeting has been delayed while developers determine what impact, if any, a recently-signed state executive order will have on the project. Executive Order 109, which was signed by Gov. Christine Todd Whitman last month, prohibits the construction of new buildings that use more than 20,000 gallons of water a day. “Our engineers say that a building that uses that much water a day would probably contain about 150 units, but since this developer is proposing a building with more than 300 units, we have asked them to go to the state and get the green light before we consider it,” said Crimmins. Crimmins also said that he would not schedule the hearing until the city has had an opportunity to conduct its own independent traffic study. The Manhattan Building Company, which is the developer seeking to build at the site, has already conducted its own traffic survey which shows that congestion would actually be alleviated in the northern part of the city if the structure is built. The analysis is based on the developer’s plans to build an east-west road that the city could ultimately use as the beginning of a western by-pass that would connect the northern and southern edges of the city without weaving through congested residential roads. “We think it will be at least three months until we hear this,” Crimmins said. “When we do hold the hearing, I am going to require that the developer re-advertise the meeting in the newspapers so that the public is aware of it.”