Planning commissioner asks board to deny Meatpacking zoning variance

City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden, in a letter to the Board of Standards and Appeals, asked the board to deny zoning variances requested by the owner of 437 West 13th Street in the Meatpacking District, where Darryl Romanoff hopes to build a 12-story glass office tower. The Romanoff family is seeking zoning variances because the High Line covers about 27 percent of the property. The Romanoffs say that will mean additional construction expenses that will lower their return on their investment, so they want to build a higher tower. Preservation advocates say that the proposed project is out of scale with the area and calls for demolition of a historic building. The Board of Standards and Appeals is set to consider the issue again June 16.