Home › News ›

Neighbors Oppose Possible Street Sale in New York

Posted by: Nate Berg

1 October 2008 - 9:00am

One of New York City's smallest and least-known streets is attracting the eyes of private developers, and the city seems keen to sell. But neighbors say the tiny street is worth preserving.

"About 30 feet wide and 120 feet long, it resembles a dusty alleyway more than an active thoroughfare. There are no street signs. It is virtually impossible to see on a standard atlas.

The street does, however, have admirers. For instance, there is Avalon Bay, the developer of recently constructed luxury buildings on First Street. It wants to repave Extra Place and create a cleaner passageway to the shops and boutiques that are expected to open in the new buildings.

Other admirers include longtime neighbors who said they were charmed by the truncated lane simply because it was one of the last remnants of the block’s pregentrified past. But the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, which has control of the street, has no interest in holding on to it."

Full Story: An Obscure City Street, Often Forgotten and Perhaps Soon for Sale
Source: The New York Times, September 28, 2008
»
Bookmark and Share
“
Short of erasing existing political and jurisdictional boundaries, citizens and officials need to develop the capacity to work across boundaries according to the "problem-sheds" of the land and water issues we face in the 21st century.
”