I told you months ago that the real life brothers of “Joel Maisel” were trying to do something very bad in Greenwich Village.
Madison Capital, owned by Josh and Mark Zegen, is trying to destroy two landmark buildings on lower Fifth Avenue and replace them with an unwanted 241 foot high apartment tower for the very wealthy.
The Zegens are the brothers of Michael Zegen, who plays Midge Maisel’s shlubby husband on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Imagine what Midge and Joel would say if they heard this story back in 1960.
Next Tuesday there’s an important meeting of the Landmarks Preservation Committee. Since I do not trust these people to do the right thing, read the message below from the Greenwich Village Historical Preservation Society and get into that Zoom meeting. Let the Maisels, uh, the Zegens, build their tower somewhere in New Jersey or Long Island, and not in historic Greenwich Village.
Here’s the message:
The Landmarks Preservation Commission’s public hearing on the application to demolish 14-16 Fifth Avenue in the Greenwich Village Historic District and replace it with a 241 foot tall tower will be held next Tuesday. The approximate time of the virtual hearing is still TBD, but it will be during the day. When the time becomes available (likely Friday), we will post it here, and inform all who signed up for notifications. We need a BIG turnout to show broad opposition to this dangerous plan.
Madison Realty Capital is seeking to demolish a pair of 170+ year old former townhouses between 8th and 9th Streets which are among the most historically significant of their kind in New York. Though highly altered from their original form, they are connected to some of the most important figures in New York history throughout their lifetimes, and approval of their demolition would be a devastating blow to historic preservation in New York City.
It should also be noted that this is a joint application for demolition of the existing structure and the proposed new 241 ft. tall replacement. This means we MUST comment on both elements of the application NOW, should the LPC rule that demolition is allowed. So even if you strongly oppose demolition as we do, we strongly urge also telling the LPC that the proposed new building, 75% taller than all other buildings on Fifth Avenue in the Greenwich Village Historic District and four times the height of the average building on its block, is also unacceptably tall.
