Dear Editor
Proposed addition to Pastis Building
Imagine seeing, when you walk across the cobblestones of the popular outdoor space of the Gansevoort Market toward the now closed doors of Pastis, two stories of crinkled glass sitting like a giant ice cube on top of the former wagon shed that frames one side of the marketplace. Imagine it at night, lit up from within with the crinkled glass reflecting all the surrounding lights. Take a look at the New School’s new building on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Fourteenth street to see how garish a largely glass building lit from inside can be at night. The addition proposed by the owner of the building has no place in a Historic Zone. Highly visible, especially when lit up at night, it will make a mockery of the very idea of keeping any vestige of the bustling 19th century market place which has become a tourist attraction and a magnet for night life. The members of the Landmarks Commission suggested that a different material than glass be used and the height be modified. The design modifications will be presented for the Landmark Commission’s review at a later meeting. This is only one of many recent encroachments that diminish the authenticity of historic zones in the West Village and elsewhere. The practice calls for greater vigilance and a reconsideration of the intention behind creating these reminders of the city’s historical past.
Martica Sawin
