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The Paper of Record for Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Soho, Union Square, Chinatown and Noho, Since 1933
April 14, 2016 • $1.00 Volume 86 • Number 15
Judge sinks Pier55 suit, saying its arguments vs. ‘Diller Island’ don’t float BY ALBERT AMATEAU
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Manhattan State Supreme Court judge last week dismissed the City Club of New York’s lawsuit to prevent the $130 million Pier55 project, funded by Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg, from going forward without a full environmental impact review.
In a 40-page decision on April 4, judge Joan B. Lobis threw out the lawsuit against the Hudson River Park Trust with prejudice, meaning that although the dismissal may be appealed to a higher court, the lawsuit cannot be filed anew. Diller, who with von PIER55 continued on p. 26 PHOTO BY JONATHAN ALPEYRIE
Cancel gets Chin’s nod, but Niou is far outpacing her in key endorsements BY YANNIC RACK AND LINCOLN ANDERSON
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lice Cancel, the Democratic pick to succeed Sheldon Silver as state Assemblymember for Lower Manhattan’s 65th District, got a last-minute boost ahead of the special election next Tuesday with an endorsement from the
city councilmember who represents the district. Margaret Chin voiced her support for the current district leader at a press conference on Friday morning — alongside colleague Rosie Mendez, who had previously endorsed Cancel — pointing to her strong roots in ASSEMBLY continued on p. 8
Bernie Sanders drew a huge crowd at a rally in Washington Square on Wednesday night, less than a week before the critical New York primary. See Page 3 for more photos.
One win if on Sullivan but not if on Barrow BY YANNIC RACK
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he city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously approved the designation of a two-century-old townhouse on Sullivan St. this week, marking the first time the agency voted to designate a property on its decades-old backlog. The historic house was first considered for landmark designation in 1970 and local preservationists renewed their fight for its protection more than a decade ago. “This vote is much deserved and long overdue,”
said Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. “We hope the commission will follow this by designating more surviving Federal-era houses in Lower Manhattan, and by moving ahead with designation of the remainder of our proposed South Village Historic District, which 57 Sullivan St. falls within.” The property was part of the 95-building backlog that L.P.C. has mulled for the past year. On Tuesday, the commissioners also gave in to the owners of One if by Land, Two if by Sea, the renowned restaurant on Barrow St.,
who, without a permit, removed the 19th-century white stucco arch on its facade last summer. Although the commission previously seemed to lean toward requiring the arch’s restoration, the owners will now be allowed to pursue a different design involving the exposed cast-iron columns underneath — their intention all along. “We feel strongly that L.P.C. made the wrong decision here by rewarding the willful destruction without permits of a historic and beloved feature of the building, and by not requiring its restoration,” Berman said. “It sets a terrible precedent.”
Villager does nyce at NYPA awards.................page 4 Mother of all Starbucks is brewing.................page 7 Editorial: Vote for Bernie on April 19!............page 18 ‘High-Rise’ has many levels.........page 23
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