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In September 1996, in response to a rat infestation, an increase in traffic congestion and noise, the neglect of our trees and flowers, and burned-out street lamps, we started the West 13th Street 100 Block Association. Our association is focused on one small piece of New York: West 13th St. between 6th Ave. and 7th Ave., the "100 block." We are located in northern Greenwich Village, New York City, near the border of Chelsea. It is a tree-lined block comprised of townhouses, large apartment buildings, small apartment buildings, several restaurants, and various small buildings. It is notable for its many trees and for the 1846 Village Presbyterian Church, a Greek revival structure in the center of the block that was converted to apartments in 1983. It was here that a preacher characterized Grover Cleveland's Democratic Party as a hotbed of "rum, Romanism, and rebellion." Current officers of the West 13th St. 100 Block Association are Gary Tomei, President; Alan Jacobs, Vice President; Robert Kittine, Treasurer; and Judy Pesin, Treasurer.
Village Presbyterian Church, now Greenwich Mews

In September 1996, in response to a rat infestation, an increase in traffic congestion and noise, the neglect of our trees and flowers, and burned-out street lamps, we started the West 13th Street 100 Block Association. Our association is focused on one small piece of New York: West 13th St. between 6th Ave. and 7th Ave., the "100 block." We are located in northern Greenwich Village, New York City, near the border of Chelsea. It is a tree-lined block comprised of townhouses, large apartment buildings, small apartment buildings, several restaurants, and various small buildings. It is notable for its many trees and for the 1846 Village Presbyterian Church, a Greek revival structure in the center of the block that was converted to apartments in 1983. It was here that a preacher characterized Grover Cleveland's Democratic Party as a hotbed of "rum, Romanism, and rebellion."
Current officers of the West 13th St. 100 Block Association are Gary Tomei, President; Alan Jacobs, Vice President; Robert Kittine, Treasurer; and Judy Pesin, Treasurer.

Village Presbyterian Church, now Greenwich Mews

St. Vincent’s Hospital wants to build a “hospital of the future,” as St. Vincent’s officials put it, on the current site of its existing O’Toole Building (the white structure with round windows on the west side of 7th Ave, between 12th and 13th Sts.). To finance the new hospital St. Vincent’s would sell its current facilities, 10 buildings facing 11th & 12th Sts. and 7th Ave., to the Rudin Management Co., which would raze the entire site – an enormous demolition job – to clear the way for luxury condos, including 19 townhouses and five multi-story building. Both the new hospital and the tallest condo towers would be substantially taller than anything in the area. The total floor space would come to 1.3 million square feet. “It would be the largest development in Greenwich Village in 50 years,” said Andrew Berman, exec. director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, which is leading the opposition to the project. “The current plan demolishes, rather than reuses, every one of the hospital’s buildings, even those as much as 85 years old, in spite of the protections the Greenwich Village Historic District is supposed to offer.”	To head off this looming crisis, we must act now. Here’s what to do: St. Vincent's has established a Community Working Group to deal with residents’ concerns. 1. Come to its next meeting on Wed., Nov. 14th at 6:30 pm in the Cronin Cafeteria of St. Vincent's Hospital, 170 W. 12th St. 2. Write letters to the public officials listed in the left frame, and to the president & CEO of St. Vincent's, Henry J. Amoroso. For sample letters, visit the website of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.
Document links 1. St. Vincent's Report on its need for new facilities. 2. Community Board 2's preliminary summary and status report of the plans by St. Vincent’s Hospital to build a new hospital in the Village 3. Preservation Alerts 4. Villager article on the architectural plans

St. Vincent’s Hospital wants to build a “hospital of the future,” as St. Vincent’s officials put it, on the current site of its existing O’Toole Building (the white structure with round windows on the west side of 7th Ave, between 12th and 13th Sts.). To finance the new hospital St. Vincent’s would sell its current facilities, 10 buildings facing 11th & 12th Sts. and 7th Ave., to the Rudin Management Co., which would raze the entire site – an enormous demolition job – to clear the way for luxury condos, including 19 townhouses and five multi-story building.
Both the new hospital and the tallest condo towers would be substantially taller than anything in the area. The total floor space would come to 1.3 million square feet. “It would be the largest development in Greenwich Village in 50 years,” said Andrew Berman, exec. director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, which is leading the opposition to the project. “The current plan demolishes, rather than reuses, every one of the hospital’s buildings, even those as much as 85 years old, in spite of the protections the Greenwich Village Historic District is supposed to offer.”

To head off this looming crisis, we must act now. Here’s what to do:

St. Vincent's has established a Community Working Group to deal with residents’ concerns.

1. Come to its next meeting on
Wed., Nov. 14th at 6:30 pm in the
Cronin Cafeteria of St. Vincent's Hospital, 170 W. 12th St.

2. Write letters to the public officials listed in the left frame, and to the president & CEO of St. Vincent's, Henry J. Amoroso.

For sample letters, visit the website of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

Document links

1. St. Vincent's Report on its need for new facilities.

2. Community Board 2's preliminary summary and status report of the plans by St. Vincent’s Hospital to build a new hospital in the Village

3. Preservation Alerts

4. Villager article on the architectural plans

Our new parking regime	After the MTA left our block, the city's Department of Transportation swooped in to make sure that our relief was short-lived. Our block, because it has many businesses requiring deliveries, has traditionally had parking rules that banned parking on one side of the street from 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and banned parking on the other side of the street on from 8 to 6 Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Around February this year, the DOT replaced our signs with those indicating street-sweeping rules, as shown at the left. Under these rules, parking is allowed most all the time on both sides of the street, except for 3 hours per week on each side. Predictably, this led to frequent backups of horn-honking traffic extending all the way down the block. The block association responded, at its General Meeting on June 20, 2007, by calling for restoration of our traditional parking rules. We brought this proposal to the Traffic & Transportation Committee of the Community Board, chaired by Shirley Secunda, which unanimously approved our proposal. Our proposal became a resolution before the entire Community Board, which passed it on September 25, 2007. You can read the text of the resolution here. It is now up to the Department of Transportation to return our block to its normal parking rules. The association is contacting official of the department to urge action. We will keep you posted. Our thanks to Shirley Secunda, Chair of the Traffic and Transportation Committee, and Brad Hoylman, Chair of Community Board 2, for all their assistance and encouragement.
Cars, cars, cars, sitting still but not silent

Our new parking regime

After the MTA left our block, the city's Department of Transportation swooped in to make sure that our relief was short-lived. Our block, because it has many businesses requiring deliveries, has traditionally had parking rules that banned parking on one side of the street from 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and banned parking on the other side of the street on from 8 to 6 Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
    Around February this year, the DOT replaced our signs with those indicating street-sweeping rules, as shown at the left. Under these rules, parking is allowed most all the time on both sides of the street, except for 3 hours per week on each side. Predictably, this led to frequent backups of horn-honking traffic extending all the way down the block.
    The block association responded, at its General Meeting on June 20, 2007, by calling for restoration of our traditional parking rules. We brought this proposal to the Traffic & Transportation Committee of the Community Board, chaired by Shirley Secunda, which unanimously approved our proposal. Our proposal became a resolution before the entire Community Board, which passed it on September 25, 2007.
    You can read the text of the resolution here.
    It is now up to the Department of Transportation to return our block to its normal parking rules. The association is contacting official of the department to urge action. We will keep you posted. Our thanks to Shirley Secunda, Chair of the Traffic and Transportation Committee, and Brad Hoylman, Chair of Community Board 2, for all their assistance and encouragement.

Cars, cars, cars, sitting still but not silent