W. 13th St.

Gazette
Voice of the W. 13th St. 100 Block Association, Inc., 143 W. 13th Street, Suite 105, New York, N.Y. 10011 Issue No. 6 January 2000

Annual Meeting:
Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2000, 8 P.M .
Our Block

Election of Officers
Katherine House, 118 W. 13th St.
Agenda: Armory Update. New Business or Suggestions

Presidents Message
At the dawn of the new millennium, we who are residents of or have businesses on this block are indeed most fortunate. Daily we see changes on the block that are improving it in every way: buildings are being renovated, trees trimmed, tree planters installed, and sidewalks repaired. Other changes are planned and will soon come to fruition. This Block Association is awaiting the installation of the old fashioned street lamps promised to us by the City as a result of the Associations efforts. These lamps will be installed early next year without charge to any of our residents. We have also ordered new garbage cans for each of the Blocks four corners. These cans are better designed, more attractive, and will be embossed with the name of the Block Association. We have also engaged a horticulturist to plant flowers in the tree pits, as well as maintain them. Additionally, the new owners of 156 W. 13th street have informed us that there will be a full restoration of that building and its faade, adding to the historic beauty of the block Page 1

The additional good news is that 14th St. is improving. For example, Pratt Institute has recently purchased the building at 144 W. 14th St., the rear of which is in poor condition and faces a number of our neighbors back gardens. We now expect that the buildingfront and rearwill be refurbished and beautified. The entire Executive Board thanks all of you for your contributions and participation in all our endeavors to date and we look forward to continuing to work with you in the future. GARY TOMEI

New Garbage Receptacles

The Block Association has ordered four enclosed garbage cans for the corners of our block. They will be placed on 13th Street at Sixth Ave. on the north and south corners, and at 7th Ave. north & Trash cans: new and old south corners. These cylindrical enclosures will be solid green in color, will hide the debris inside, and will cover any overflow of trash.

The City will service them as it does the current wire mesh. These bins will be a vast improvement. The Greenwich Village Association, an umbrella community organization that serves our area, plans to follow our lead and place these attractive bins along Sixth Ave. from 14th Street to Ninth Street.

Hope for the future: We certainly hope that the John Adams directors will place foliage in the front of their building as well as in back to complete the tree-lining of Twelfth & Thirteenth Streets. We also hope that the new condo at 65 West 13th St. will place trees and foliage along their frontings on 13th St. as well as Sixth Avenue.

Trees and Foliage

New planters and trees: Planters and two Bradford pear trees are now in place on the west end of our block, in front of 105 W. 13th St. The trees are thriving and add a nice ambiance. In addition, two planters have been placed in front of Cafe Loup (also at 105), which helps the look of that end of the block. Truck destroys tree: The City has removed a large tree in front of the City and Country School. The tree was badly damaged when an illegal tractortrailer struck the tree. (The trucker was given a summons to court.) Our Block Association is coordinating with the school to plant another tree in the sprint. R.I.P.: A tree has died at 128-130 W. 13th St. It will be replaced. John Adams wall: We still need approval from the John Adams building (side of Rite Aid) to place foliage along the back of their building. The plain brick wall is an eyesore and not in keeping with our tree-lined block. The John Adams Board of Directors needs to understand that trees are an essential part of making life in the City tolerable. Citys commitment to trees: The City is committed to trees--so much so that they supply any homeowner free trees. Upon request, the City will establish tree pits anywhere feasible and supply the trees. The Parks and Forestry Departments are available free of charge to trim these trees, make sure they are cared for, and assist any in need of help. (Recently, the Parks Department Enforcement Police responded within hours to a reported problem with our street trees. They then followed up to make sure our trees were not being harmed.) Page 2

10 things we like about trees

(1) Trees add beauty and character to the city and to the homes where the trees are located. (2) They soften the harshness and angular look of city streets. They can screen unpleasant views. (3) Trees, like all green plants, use carbon dioxide and convert and release life-giving oxygen. This consumption of carbon dioxide helps reduce global warming caused by the greenhouse effect. (4) The carbon is used to create wood and other plant tissues, thereby sequestering carbon for long periods. (5) Trees help clean the air by trapping dirt, grit, and dust, and by absorbing other pollutants. (6) Trees act as sound barriers thereby reducing irritating and harmful noise. (7) Carefully located deciduous trees can save energy by cooling buildings in the summer and allowing solar heating in the winter. A home on a tree-lined street can save $15 a month on air conditioning costs. (8) Trees near a home can increase property values by up to 20%. (9) Trees increase pride in the community. (10) Trees are the only representative of nature to many city dwellers.

Sidewalks
Each homeowner is responsible for repairing and maintaining the sidewalk fronting his or her property. There have been a few accidents recently caused by faulty sidewalks, one of which was very serious. The Greenwich Village Alliance has recommended that individual Block Associations in the area police these repairs on their blocks. Our Association has written to owners with the biggest problem spots. The owner at 157 W. 13th St. has repaired his problem and the City & Country School re-did its entire frontage. The co-op at 136

W. 13th Street has completed re-doing the sidewalk in front of its building. Patch and repair your walks, folks, its your responsibility!

tique at 133 W. 13th. The contracts were due to be signed in December, according to the Lamppost Division of the Department of Transportation. Our installation is slated to take place sometime this summer. We will keep you posted as things progress.

Subway stairs
We are pleased to report that the Mass Transit Authority responded very quickly to our request that the subway stairs leading out of the Seventh Ave. line at 175 W. 13th St (Cambridge House) were in disrepair. They responded the same day and the stairs were patched quickly. Nice going.

Beautification
Thanks to the Markle Residence as well as the Katherine House for the lovely flowers and plants that were placed in front of their buildings. Very pretty indeed. Also, thanks to 117 W.13th for its flower work. In addition, we all enjoyed the fabulous tulips courtesy of the Fruchters at 151 W. 13th St. Nice new flowers and plants are in front of The Church at 143 W. 13th. We have contracted to have our tree pits planted with flowering plants starting this spring. We will have various species blooming into the fall. We need everyones help to keep the dogs away from our flowers and to help water those in front of your building. Keep up the beautification work and we will have the most beautiful block in all of New York.

Brownstone renovation
Its new owners are renovating the brownstone at 111 W. 13th St.. The previous occupants did little to keep the front of that building tidy. There was always litter in the tree pit in front. We hope the new owners will keep the front neat and clean and the tree pit trash-free and watered.

Curb your dogs

Our beautiful trees are taking a bath in dog urine. Most dog owners take a walk down our block and allow their pets to urinate in the tree pits. The urine kills the flowers we have planted and will eventually kill the tree if we allow this to continue. The City cleans the sides of our streets twice a week so urine placed there is washed away consistently. If you see someone allowing a pet to pee in our pits, ask the dog-owner politely to try to have it pee in the side of the street (the curb) as in CURB YOUR DOG. We had placed Curb Your Dog signs at the tree pits but an unreasonable local resident removed them. If you are a dog owner, please have your pet pee in the street, not on the flowers or near the trees.

Fate of Armory still undecided

The 14th Street Armory, long a vacant eyesore, is expected to be razed in the near future. The developer, Orda Management, is planning to build condominiums on the upper floors. The current known contenders for the first two floors are Pathmark and the McBurney Crowded 14th St., view YMCA, which recently east from 7th Ave. sold its 23rd St. building. For several months, Costco, a big box chain that offers bulk purchases, had been in serious negotiations with Orda to occupy this site. However, last month, it withdrew from those negotiations. Costco had intended to install a new, scaled-down version of its stores, which was to be called Costco Fresh. The store would have occupied some 70,000 sq. ft. (Costcos typically occupy at least 125,000 sq. ft.) It would only have sold supermarPage 3

Lampposts
The new antique lampposts will be installed to replace all the lampposts now in place (except the one real anPresent Future

ket items. (Costcos typically sell hard goods such as appliances and furniture.) Costco maintained that the size of the Costco Fresh purchases would not require or encourage customers to bring cars to the site. Many elected officials and community members saw the following as red flags: Both Costco and Orda continually refused to attend public meetings. While Costco claimed that it would be offering smaller bulk packages than those offered at all other stores, it did not provide any details. Costco was not going to provide any parking. Under an agreement between Orda and the State, Costco could only receive truck deliveries on 14th Street, an already heavily clogged thoroughfare. Costco had not conducted an environmental study (apparently required under State law) to support its claim that it would not cause any environmental problems at the Armory site such as traffic congestion. Several unions (Costco is non-union), elected officials, and community groups threatened to bring a lawsuit to stop Costco. Denying it was affected by this threat, Costco dropped out of the running for the Armory site. Stating that it still intends to establish a Manhattan presence, it is pursuing other venues such as 23rd Street and 55th Street, both on the far West Side. The Association has been monitoring the different potential main tenants at the Armory, but is waiting for public discussion and vote at the Annual Meeting before taking any official position.

illness is offered as a defense, a judge rather than a jury evaluate psychiatric evidence. The judge would then be the sole authority for deciding whether a defendant is mentally ill. The judges decision would be communicated to the jury, which would decide whether the defendant is culpable for the crime, despite mental illness. The article also mentioned Prof. Uvillers wife, Justice Rena K. Uviller of State Supreme Court in Manhattan. We are proud to have such distinguished members of our association.

Real estate values are booming!

Real estate values citywide are hotter than ever. Recent sale prices on our block are indicative of the wider fast-moving market. Since the mid-1990s, townhouse sales on our block have increased significantly. Here are some examples of townhouse sales for 1999-99:
10/99 9/98 1/98 156 W. 13 111 W. 13 157 W. 13 $3.30 million $1.70 million $2.95 million

Sales for the former church complex at 139-145 W. 13th include:

7/99 7/98 7/98 Triplex Penthouse 1 Bedroom $645,000 $925,000 $245,000

Sales at Cambridge House, 175 W. 13th for 199899 include:

10/99 8/99 3/99 1/98 1 Bedroom 2 BR, 2 Bath 1 Bedroom Studio $255,000 $540,000 $260,000 $92,500

Block resident profiled in Times

On November 9, 1999, the New York Times profiled Block Association member H. Richard Uviller. Professor Uviller teaches law at Columbia Law School. The article discussed Professor Uvillers proposal that, in a criminal trial in which mental Prof. Uviller
This newsletter is published by Alan Jacobs, with contributions from Bill Borenstein, Nancy Deckinger and Gary Tomei. Submissions welcome. Drop them with the doorman at 105 W. 13th St., marked 11E. Or e-mail them to: alanjj@sprintmail.com.

Recent sales for Greenwich Towers, 105 W. 13th, include:

11/99 9/99 8/99 10/98 7/98 1 Bedroom Studio Studio Studio 2 BR, 2 Bath $305,000 $137,000 $150,000 $159,000 $400,000

For the latest real estate information, watch for this column in an upcoming newsletter. --KITTY SORELL Kitty Sorell is a sales professional with The Corcoran Group. She may be reached at 539-4968. Page 4