Mulry Angle

St. Vincent’s and Rudin unveil elliptical hospital, condo tower

(from The Villager)
St. Vincent’s Hospital and the Rudin Organization last week revealed their preliminary plans for a new state-of-the-art hospital building on the west side of Seventh Ave. and for the residential redevelopment on the east side of the present hospital complex.

The conceptual plans presented at an Oct. 10 community meeting attracted about 100 neighbors. An innovative hospital building consisting of a rectangular four-story base and an elliptical tower set at an angle to it and aligning with the Village grid south of Greenwich Ave., was proposed for the west side of the avenue.

The new hospital, which would replace the six-story O’Toole Building built more than 40 years ago for the National Maritime Union, would have a total of 21 high-ceilinged stories rising 300 feet, plus about 30 feet more on top for mechanical systems. read more

St. Vincent's & Residential Renderings On View

The City Review recently posted the renderings of the proposed hospital and residential developments at St. Vincent's.

Proposed: New hospital tower, left. New residential development right. (Mulry Square, bottom right quadrant.)

Rendering indicates proposed new residential development on 11th Street looking west with existing buildings ghosted.

View of planned residential building on avenue from the north (looking toward Mulry Square).

450-unit Residential Development Funding State-of-Art St. Vinny's

Listen to our podcast of the meeting

The good news:
•    St. Vincent’s has hired a reputable architectural firm for its new hospital.
•    All construction will be LEED, green, state-of-art.
•    FX Fowle expects to restore townhouse/stoop living to 11th & 12th Streets in the footprint of the to-be former St. Vincent’s campus.
•    Rudin’s rezoning of the former campus to residential will put the property back on the tax rolls again. Currently, the city sees zero taxes from the property.
•    St. Vincent’s is willing to work with the MTA on its Mulry Square ventilation plans.

The bad news:
•    The hospital will tower up to 21 stories. Almost 100 ft higher than 175 West 12th St.
•    The residential development features a 21-story “bookend” building at 7th Avenue between 11th & 12th Streets. Almost 100 ft higher than 175 West 12th St.
•    The residential development comprises 450 units and is being designed to attract families.
•    The meeting endured 2 ½ hours before anyone mentioned the impact the residential dwelling would have on the school system.

Read the NY Sun's story.

(Photo: Bill Rudin explains how the redevelopment will fund St. Vincent's.)

Steve Martin is a Hopper collector.

Steve Martin is a major Hopper collector. Might he care that the site of Nighthawks is in jeopardy? We can hope. The actor recently narrated the documentary film that accompanies the exhibition Edward Hopper on its national tour. Produced by the National Gallery of Art, the 30-minute film premiered to television audiences on New York's WNET Channel 13 on Sunday, August 19 at 10:30 p.m.

Photo: Scene from the 1981 movie "Pennies from Heaven" features Steve Martin (in the fedora) and Bernadette Peters (with her trademark hair). Nighthawks has been used for a number of movies and campaigns.    

Village Parents Have Been Mobilized to Fight the Fight

The parents of PS 41 have officially been put on alert regarding St. Vincent's construction and encouraged to be "fighting the good fight on these type of issues."

It is the high-rise "luxury housing development" (on 7th Avenue & 12th Street) component of the St. Vincent's proposal that they are watching very closely. "Massive disruptive and noisy construction, over-development, no new school facilities--this is what our parents are looking at and they need your support."

Expect to see these parents turn out for the October 10th meeting, as well as for the Community Board 2 meeting on Thursday, October 18 at 6:30 pm in the Cronin Auditorium.

                  

PUBLIC HEARING ON ST. VINCENT'S CONSTRUCTION

                   

PUBLIC FORUM: JOINT MEETING COMMUNITY BOARD #2/ ST. VINCENT'S HOSPITAL WORKING GROUP

                   

Wed., 10/10 @ 6:30 PM-St. Vincent's Hospital, 170 W. 12^th St. Cronin Auditorium

                   

1. Update on the new St. Vincent's Hospital. The public is encouraged to attend.

                  

This Won't Be the First Time Mulry Gets Torn Up

In June 2001, patience was running thin at Mulry Angle after 13 months of torn-up streets, blinding work lights and humming machinery. Residents say they have lost sleep, business owners point to lost sales, and just about everyone misses the lost silence.

The treacherous intersection, where in 1981 two children crossing the square with their mother were crushed to death by a 12-wheel tractor, was getting a much-anticipated redesign to improve safety.

Casey Torres, general manager at Greenwich Cafe, 75 Greenwich Avenue, said sales had fallen 40 percent since work began. ''It's destroying our business,'' he said.

''The construction has really made the square unattractive and a blight,'' Councilwoman Christine Quinn said. ''But at the end of the day, it's going to be a good thing.''

Let's hope we get a good thing if the MTA breaks ground...

Read more.

Over 50% of MTA's Antiterrorism Projects Behind Schedule

The [MTA] comptroller’s report [as reported by the NYTimes, June 2007] found significant delays in both designing projects and in construction. It found that, as of mid-March, 11 of 21 construction “tasks” that are part of the projects currently under way were behind schedule.

The largest component of the security program involves surveillance cameras. Next comes hardening tunnels and other structures. While the balance of $83 million goes to a variety of safety improvements, including improved tunnel lighting, signs and ventilation (under which Mulry Square falls under).