So much absurdity here, it's hard to know where to begin. Let's give the floor to Lincoln Anderson at the Downtown Express:
On Wednesday, hardhats started installing construction fencing around the former parking lot at Varick and Spring Sts. where Trump and a team of developers plan to build a 42-story condo-hotel. A young man at the site wearing a suit and holding an attaché case identified himself as the construction project manager, from Bovis Lend Lease, LMB Inc. He said they’ll start digging soon. “We’ll break ground in about a week,” he said, declining to give his name.
Ah, the old guy-with-attaché-case source. Good good. Except, er, this catch: Trump's crew has city permission to dig a hole, not to build a building. Says one opponent of the project: "Yes, they have a permit to dig a hole — and at the end of the day, they might have to fill the hole with dirt and put back the parking lot. It’s like an anagram. He needs a 'T' for a hotel, but it's just a hole." A final decision on the anagram, er, building application is expected any day now.
· City to Trump: Yes to Hole, No to Building [Downtown Express]
· Trump Soho: 45 Stories for Hudson Square [Curbed]