10.5th Ave, or West Side Story
City Hall Seeking Brand-New Avenue Between 10th, 11thLost in the brouhaha over the Jets stadium and the Bloomberg administration's plan for a revitalized West Side is a broad swath of privately owned buildings in the 30's and 40's that the city wants to demolish to make room for a broad, park-like boulevard.
Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff's ambitious plan calls for the city to invoke eminent domain to clear away the middle of every block from 33rd Street to 42nd Street, between 10th and 11th avenues, in order to create this long, landscaped, car-free Champs Elysees. Mr. Doctoroff, the city's deputy mayor for economic development, hopes to see tall office buildings and residential towers sprout up along both sides of the park.
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And were it not for one pesky building, he would be looking at the easiest land grab since the city took Robert Moses' bulldozers away from him.
Federal Express, the international shipping company, is gearing up for a fight over its World Service Center, which stands in the path of the wrecking ball.
The shipping company doesn't own the building in which it is housed, a 65,000-square-foot facility at 528 West 34th Street. However, over the last 15 years, FedEx has put $54 million worth of renovations into the facility, and sources in Community Board 4, which represents that district, said that FedEx has told them it would cost upwards of $140 million to relocate.
* Ray, 2/05/2004 10:16:33 AM
