That blurry, crowded room you see at right? That's Spector Hall at 22 Reade Street earlier today, site of the City Planning Commission hearing into the Sanitation Department's plan for a three-district garbage truck garage on the west end of Spring Street, a 12-story building that would, as one Curbed commenter put it, turn the fancy Urban Glass House nearby into the Urban Trash House. A Curbed correspondent was on hand to follow the proceedings, and we should've known, the controversy has something to do with icky garbagemen hanging out in Soho:
The fun part of the pro-garage testimony: architects' descriptions of the green features for the building. Along with some talk about the building being "high performance and contextual" with it's water and light surroundings, the energy efficiency was revealed to come through a "solar fin facade system." That's right: an exterior of movable aluminum fins that can reorient itself in the winter and summer to reduce energy consumption. Also, an "extensive green roof" where rainwater can be harvested and later used to clean the trucks. Well, we didn't see that one coming! But there is so much more going on here, like where these dudes are going to eat lunch.
Earlier in the hearing, the commission asked the first of what would end up being a bit of a theme for the day: "Will the sanitation workers be coming back for lunch in the facility?" When the answer was revealed that yes, they probably would, the crowd tittered and the committee insisted that they describe this further later. The lunch issue came back in the (written) comments of CB2 member Philip Mouquinho, Chair of the Community Sanitation Steering Committee, which spelled out the CB's objections to the big (367,250 square foot) space. They believe DSNY has the space and is moving backwards to fill it with things like an employee lounge, possibly more than one eating spaces, and "fancy offices with waterfront views." So that's the gist, DSNY: the community doesn't want your big, fancy aluminum-finned garbageman clubhouse clogging up their streets with garbage trucks and their air with garbage truck exhaust just so a bunch of garbagemen can hang out in their fancy water front lounge and eat their lunches. Simple!
If there is a rendering of this fin-having, shape-shifting garbageman clubhouse floating around out there, please send it along.
· Curbed's Garbage Garage coverage [Curbed]
Loading comments...