Henry Wollman of Quadriad Realty has indicated he has the financing to build either two or four residential towers at 190th Street in Washington Heights, according to an article this week at Manhattan Times by Mike Fitelson and Gloria Pazmino.

Quadriad has projects in Astoria and Long Island City in Queens and Williamsburg in Brooklyn.

The plan for two towers could be erected "as-of-right," that is, without special permits or zoning variances and would consist of a 22-story building on the west and a 28-story building on the east.

Even at 22 stories, the towers would be taller than the residential buildings that are now perched atop the Wadsworth Terrace ridge and would invade a skyscape that has long been crowned by the Cloisters atop Ft. Tryon Park.

The lower "as-of-right" towers are shown in orange in the illustration at the right.

In either case, the article continued, "the project would displace several vacant storefronts, a laundromat, community arts center, and Serie 56 nightclub on the east side of Broadway. Ortiz Funeral Home on the west side of Broadway would be incorporated into the development. Under the other "New Strategy" plan, the one Quadriad prefers, the project would result in four towers, all of which could exceed 33 floors (which is taller than the Bridge Tower Apartments on W. 189th Street). Two of the towers would be over 42 stories."

The "New Strategy" plan is preferable, Wollman said during his visit, it added, "because it would provide the economies of scale to build 454 units that could be sold or rented at market rate and 198 units of "affordable" housing, which Quadriad defines as households earning 60 percent to 180 percent of the city's median income. That would still price out most Northern Manhattanites, whose median income was about $30,000 in 2000. The as-of-right option would not include any affordable housing."

Additionally, the "New Strategy" would not require public funding, the article said, adding that "part of the "New Strategy" project would be to rehabilitate Gorman Park, incorporating the green space into the towers' plaza, and the 1-train entrance. Both plans include about 37,500 square feet of retail space and several hundred parking spaces. Wollman said Quadriad is currently negotiating for site acquisition."

The article said that Quadriad is working on plans for another eight or so projects around the city and that the first inkling of this project was unveiled by Quadriad during the Jan. 5 Community Board 12 Land Use Committee meeting.

Several of the 20 or so public attendees objected to how the western tower would abut their building on Bennett Avenue, shutting out light and views.

"In addition to the Manhattan Times and CB12's Land Use Committee," the article said, "so far Quadriad representatives have met with the office of City Council Member Robert Jackson and reached out to Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez. Jackson's community liaison Juan Rosa who met with Wollman said the chief concern was that the project would not fit in with the character of the neighborhood and that the units would be unaffordable for most local families. Noting a stalled development project that would have put One Bennett Park, a luxury high rise, a few blocks away on W. 183rd Street until funding fell through, Rosa also raised a concern about financing. 'We've seen a lot of developers come to the neighborhood and say they have money but don't and leave a hole in the ground,' he added."