Chelsea Market expansion’s supporters say most New Yorkers endorse project

A poll by the Chelsea Market Coalition shows that roughly half of New Yorkers support the market’s expansion, and that number jumps to 8 out of 10 when they are read a short description of the project, the New York Observer reported.

Of residents in all five boroughs, 49 percent supported the project before being told what the expansion would entail — about 300,000 feet of new retail, commercial and residential space — and 15 percent opposed it. Meanwhile, 77 percent supported the plan after being told about it, the Observer said.

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Jamestown Properties’ development has already been forced to make a number of compromises, scrapping plans to build a hotel as part of the project. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has said he will veto the proposed additions to the Chelsea Market, at Ninth Avenue between 15th and 16th streets, unless the project is significantly reduced in scope.

The Midtown South office leasing market, which includes Chelsea, is the tightest in the nation. [NYO]