Proposal to turn the property at 29th Street & 10th Avenue into a community garden or dog park.
In the last few weeks we’ve been floating the idea of developing the vacant property at 29th Street and 10th Avenue into a dog park. The latest update is that I just sent a preliminary written proposal to the owner of the lot, which you can see at the following link and which I’ve also pasted in full at the bottom of this post: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MODXa-EC5Zx758Xamd0fO-6nRZOMP5Fn/view?usp=sharing.
Those who muddle through will notice that it proposes either a community garden or a dog park. The primary reason why I’m now also floating the idea of a community garden instead of just a dog park is that there is a program within the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation that would help us develop a community garden (GreenThumb). To my knowledge there is no one from the city who would help us develop a dog park. Plus, you can walk your dog in a community garden; you can’t walk your plant in a dog park. Not without filling out a ton of paperwork anyway.
Posts you missed this week:
Bosco the Mini Australian Shepherd (in a sick action montage): Dog of the day: Bosco the Mini Australian Shepherd. — High Line 28 Block Association
Store opening in Chelsea (plus a conversation with a guy running for City Council, Arthur Schwartz, about police accountability): Store opening in Chelsea: Diaman Discounts on the northeast side of 24th Street & 7th Avenue. — High Line 28 Block Association
Jackson the Portuguese Water Dog (with a thing in his mouth): Dog of the day: Jackson the Portuguese Water Dog. — High Line 28 Block Association
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PRELIMINARY PROPOSAL
From: High Line 28 Block Association (Organizer: Brian Donovan)
To: Owner of 327 10th Avenue (Believed to be Peter J. Filiberto 10th Ave. Trust)
Date: March 21, 2021
Re: Turning Lot on 327 10th Avenue Into Public Gathering Space
This is a proposal to turn the lot at the address 327 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10001 into a public gathering space, e.g., a community garden or dog park, on either a non-permanent or permanent basis. We believe that turning the lot into a space for public use could benefit both (i) the current owner of the lot, in the form of tax exemptions; and (ii) High Line 28 Block Association, in the form of having access to a common meeting space where neighbors could work together on initiatives and get to know each other.
About High Line 28 Block Association
High Line 28 Block Association (“High Line 28”) is an organization of individuals who reside on the Manhattan block of 28th & 29th Streets between 10th & 11th Avenues.
It was formed in January 2021 by Brian Donovan, a resident of the block.
Its mission is to help neighbors on the block get to know each other and make the surrounding community a better place. It bills itself as a social group that comes together to solve the occasional community problem. It is solution-oriented and not focused on raising complaints or identifying problems for other people to solve.
It maintains a website at highline28.com. Its organizer, Brian Donovan, can be reached by email at highline28ba@gmail.com or by phone at 585-200-2535.
About the Lot at 327 10th Avenue
The lot is located on the southwest corner of 29th Street and 10th Avenue in Manhattan at the address 327 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10001. NYC tax records identify the lot as Block 700, Lot 36 in Manhattan.
NYC tax records identify the owner of the lot as Peter J. Filiberto 10th Ave. Trust.
Proposal from High Line 28 to Current Owner of Lot
High Line 28 is preliminarily interested in turning the lot at 327 10th Avenue into a space for the public use, such as a community garden or dog park, on either a non-permanent or permanent basis.
The park would be open to the public and would be for the benefit of the public.
High Line 28 understands that any development of the lot may have to be on a non-permanent basis and that the current owner would likely want to reserve all rights to develop the land as it so chooses in the future.
High Line 28 would be interested in leading all permit, fundraising, and development-related efforts, as well as any other efforts necessary to develop the lot.
Potential Benefits to Current Owner of Lot
The lot is currently categorized as Tax Class 4, meaning that it is a commercial or industrial property. The property is subject to property tax bills on a periodic basis.
High Line 28 believes that the owner of the lot could take advantage of a partial or full property tax exemption by designating the lot for public use.
For example, under Section 420-b of the NYS Real Property Tax Law, the lot could be used as a community garden and fall under the “BENEVOLENT” use property tax exemption. See Assessor Manual, NYS Dep’t of Taxation and Finance.
High Line 28 is aware of at least one other privately owned community garden in NYC with an assessed market value of approximately $5 million that is fully exempt from any property taxes. The garden takes advantage of the “BENEVOLENT” use exemption.
An NYC program within the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation called GreenThumb could assist in the development of the land into a community garden.
Section 420-b also allows a lot to be designated as a “PUBLIC PLAYGROUND” or space for the “ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS RELATING TO CHILDREN OR ANIMALS.” See Assessor Manual, NYS Dep’t of Taxation and Finance.
High Line 28 believes that a dog park would fall into this tax exemption. We have written about the dog park idea here and here, and there is block-wide interest in the proposal.
Potential Benefits to High Line 28
Undertake a project whereby block residents could work together to reach a goal.
Create a gathering space where members of the community could get to know each other.
Next Steps
High Line 28 is still in the preliminary stages of developing this idea. High Line 28 would want to talk to the current owner of the lot before taking any further action.
The purpose of this preliminary proposal is simply to gauge the owner’s general amenability to the idea. We are not looking for any sort of yes or no answer at this time.
To the extent the owner expresses some base-level interest, the next step may be to reach out to GreenThumb to see how they could help. Further down the road, High Line 28 may have to consider forming a non-profit organization to which the lot could be leased.