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Hearings on 60 Hudson Street Draw to a Close In the third and last in a series of contentious hearings before the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals, the Tribeca neighborhood group Neighbors Against NOISE took issue with a site visit made by BSA commissioners to the building in question: 60 Hudson Street. The Sept. 13 hearing, over a variance granted by the Department of Buildings that allows the building to contain more diesel fuel than city code allows, began with a statement by the residents’ attorney, Norman Siegel, urging the commissioners to inspect the building and “clarify the facts before a decision regarding the variance is rendered.” But Siegel responded angrily when Jim Farley, an executive of the building’s owner, GVA Williams, let it be known that the commissioners had, in fact, conducted a site visit, which had not been previously disclosed. “The people in the neighborhood have come here with due confidence that the process would be open and fair,” Siegel said, “and with due respect, I think what you did the other day…violates the due process rights of the petitioners.” BSA Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan replied that “this board has been particular about keeping a transparent process.” She noted Siegel’s objection and promised that a report of the site visit would be entered into the record. The Board is expected to render its decision on Oct. 17. The former Western Union building at 60 Hudson Street is now used as a “telecom hotel,” or a hub where telecommunications companies warehouse the massive computer equipment used to power their operations. The machinery requires dozens of backup generators in case of power outages. These generators run on diesel fuel and the neighborhood group alleges the diesel storage creates a fire hazard for the neighborhood and makes the historic building an especially tempting target for terrorists. Much of the hearing focused on how the contested diesel tanks are refilled. Existing building code requires that they be filled and transported by machine in order to minimize spillage and leakage. The variance allows building employees to fill and transport the tanks by hand if certain conditions, including special training by the Fire Department, are met. Other provisions of the variance at issue include whether the basement or the ground level should be considered the “lowest floor” (building code only limits the number of tanks above the lowest floor), the fire-resistance rating of the walls enclosing the tanks, and how 60 Hudson should be classified. Bess Matassa testified on behalf of Assemblywoman Deborah Glick that “the inappropriate classification of 60 Hudson as [an] Office Building belies the fact that its use is clearly industrial.” The neighborhood where 60 Hudson is located is zoned as a C-6 commercial district, which allows for office buildings but not industrial properties. Members of Neighbors Against NOISE were cautiously optimistic following the hearing. “I just have the feeling that they have their minds made up already,” said Deborah Allen, who lives three doors down from 60 Hudson and is a member of Neighbors Against NOISE. “Historically, they’ve sided with the Buildings Department. But I still think we have a good chance. I’m always hopeful.”
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