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City Council member Erik Bottcher blasted for opposing Gansevoort tower height

Is “out of scale” a legitimate complaint in a city with a housing crisis?

City Council member Erik Bottcher and Gansevoort Square (Photo Illustration by Steven Dilakian for The Real Deal with Getty and Google Maps)
City Council member Erik Bottcher and Gansevoort Square (Photo Illustration by Steven Dilakian for The Real Deal with Getty and Google Maps)

Manhattan Council member Erik Bottcher started a firestorm with a single tweet about the Adams administration’s plan for an apartment tower called Gansevoort Square.

“I strongly believe in the need to build more housing in all neighborhoods, but a height of 600 feet (60 stories) is obviously out of scale for the Meatpacking District,” he wrote Tuesday.

Readers pounced on the contradiction, noting that someone who “strongly” believes the city needs more housing — as Bottcher has been claiming — wouldn’t shrink a Manhattan project that would deliver 600 units, up to half of them affordable, without any public subsidy.

“Dude, what? This is straight NIMBY,” commented Peter Pierce.

“WTF are you doing — we need more housing,” Albin Henneberger chimed in.

“Very disappointing to hear this from you,” wrote Harry Heymann. “There’s no reason why we can’t build lots and lots of new housing in the Meatpacking District (and elsewhere!)”

“Erik Noooooooo! You were one of the good guys!” wrote Urbanroaddiet.

Within 24 hours, more than 200 comments had piled up, all but two of them negative. Many were along the lines of, “Is that not in fucking Manhattan?” and “Move to Iowa if you hate tall buildings.”

Only two commenters took Bottcher’s side. “You’re right, Erik. Don’t cave,” one wrote.

“People are missing the point. 600 feet ~is~ out of scale for the area currently. That doesn’t mean high rises are inappropriate but a random 600-foot one certainly is,” Patrick Constant wrote. “I live in Washington Heights and we got our first high rise, 28 stories. Comparatively huge but it fits in.”

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But pro-housing advocates have been fighting the notion that buildings should be limited to the heights of neighboring structures.

“Let’s stop pretending ‘out of scale’ is a legitimate complaint,” Urbanroaddiet wrote under Bottcher’s tweet.

And Nat Elkins wrote, “The Empire State Building was out of scale when it was constructed as well. Should it not have been built?”

Despite the dearth of positive responses, Bottcher is not alone in opposing a 60-story tower at Gansevoort Square, a city-owned site on Little West 12th Street between Washington Street and 10th Avenue. Village Preservation, an influential advocacy group, is vociferously against it.

The well-funded nonprofit surely put Bottcher on its dartboard after he was quoted in the Adams administration’s press release announcing the project.

“I look forward to working with all stakeholders and the wider community to envision this site for cultural and park uses, along with the potential for much-needed affordable housing,” the Council member had said.

But even if Bottcher persuaded the administration to shorten the tower, which he likely could do under the Council’s tradition of “member deference,” Village Preservation would be opposed because it generally doesn’t want anything above eight stories built in its domain.

Splitting the difference between eight stories and 60 would satisfy no one. Bottcher might realize that no project of any significant size would be acceptable to NIMBYs and instead try to make up with his disillusioned fans in the yes-in-my-back-yard movement.

On Wednesday, clearly taken aback by the reactions, he wrote, “Is it possible to be both YIMBY while also feeling that 60 stories is a tad bit tall for the West Village? Asking for a friend.”

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