Landmarks Commission Considers Fate Of Historic Meatpacking District Street

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Neighbors fear a huge development will destroy a landmark street in the Meatpacking District.

Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, is leading the fight to stop two developers from tearing down some buildings on Gansevoort Street and "entombing" others with high-rise additions.

The south side of the block is a row of squat market buildings with metal awnings from which slabs of meat once hung.

It was made a historic district a decade ago and its character is protected under city law, WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reported.

"That wonderful sense of history that you can still see now would be gone," Berman said. "This is exactly what we were seeking to prevent from happening."

The fate of the project is in the hands of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which is meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss the issue.

"It really flies in the face of what landmark designation is intended to do," Berman said. "The precedent that this approval would set would be really impactful for neighborhoods throughout New York City."

A vice president for one of the developers drew a roar from neighbors at a public meeting in August when he called the existing Gansevoort Street a blight for the community, according to local paper The Villager.

Berman said thousands of letters in opposition of the development have been sent to the commission.