Greenpoint residents have a message for the shadowy owner of a waterfront lot — tear down this fence!
The chain-link fence bars traffic or pedestrians from the western end of Noble Street, which offers wonderful views of Manhattan and access to the waterfront.
It is owned by firebrand developer Joshua Guttman, who owns the former Greenpoint Terminal Market building and several other sites nearby.
The warehouse building was the site of a massive fire four years ago, and some believe that lax security led to the arson.
Much of the building’s burned-out frame remains, but Guttman has rented several nearby lots to industrial businesses and installed the fence at West Street, which is intermittently shut.
He did not respond to a call asking for comment, but community leaders had plenty to say.
“This illegal fence has cut Greenpoint off from its waterfront for three decades, despite the efforts of community members to remove the fence and return the street to the public,” Councilman Steve Levin (D–Greenpoint) wrote to Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan last week.
Community Board 1 members have joined the letter-writing campaign in hopes of getting the city to break the lock.
“I want the gates opened and removed and the street to be treated like a public street with street cleaning,” said
Community Board 1 member Dewey Thompson. “It’s a beautiful view. It’s possibly the most spectacular view in Greenpoint.”
