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Oversized Gym Billboard in Greenwich Village Rile Residents

By DNAinfo Staff on January 6, 2010 4:17pm  | Updated on January 6, 2010 4:16pm

The huge signs on the side of Equinox gym in Greenwich Village have angered some residents who say the signs violate the area's Historic District regulations.
The huge signs on the side of Equinox gym in Greenwich Village have angered some residents who say the signs violate the area's Historic District regulations.
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DNAinfo/Jennifer Glickel

By Mariel S. Clark and Jennifer Glickel

DNAinfo/Reporter Producer

MANHATTAN — New billboards hung by a Greenwich Village gym have infuriated local residents, who claim they're an illegal eyesore that violate the area's Historic District regulations.

The large billboards hang over the exterior of the Equinox gym at 97 Greenwich Ave., near 12th Street. The signs, emblazoned with photos of attractively fit people, cover nearly all of the four-story building's brick, leaving only the windows uncovered.

Many of the area's preservationists and representatives questioned the legality of the two-story signs, and said they were put up without permits and in violation of the neighborhood's Historic District.

Greenwich Village State Sen. Thomas Duane called the signage "inappropriate and unsightly advertising, which has seriously compromised the character of our neighborhood," in a letter to Equinox CEO Harvey Spevak.    

"I appeal to you and am hopeful that in the interests of neighborhood preservation and with respect for your commercial and residential neighbors, you will choose to remove this ill-conceived building façade," Duane said in the letter.

The gym defended their ad campaign, titled "My Body. My Biography."

"We chose our location in Greenwich Village to proudly launch and display this campaign because the history of the neighborhood is steeped in community, triumph over adversity, tradition, and honoring diversity," the gym told real estate Web site, Curbed.com.

Not everyone in the neighborhood disapproved of the signs.

"I come here every day and live in the neighbohood" said Sarah Commins, a Equinox gym member, as she left the building. "They make no difference to me."