By Nina Mandell
DNAinfo Producer/Reporter
MANHATTAN — Anna Wintour is pressing city officials to stop a developer from erecting a building that would loom over her private Greenwich Village garden at her four-story townhouse, according to news reports.
The Vogue editor-in-chief wrote that the project was "a totally out-of-scale, inappropriate eight-story building," adding that it would be an "unwelcome intrusion" in a letter to the Landmarks Trade Commission.
She's also appealed to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn on the issue.
Developer Jason Wu's proposed building on Bleecker Street would border MacDougal-Sullivan Gardens, which is accessible only from the 22 townhouses, including Wintour's, that surround it. The garden features shade trees, manicured shrubs, a lawn, a walking path and a children's playhouse, according to the New York Post.
Wu drew immediate protests from preservationists when he proposed tearing down a historic townhouse on Bleecker Street.
The preservationists lost and the building was knocked down last year.
Wu’s building plan was approved in October by the city to the dismay of activists.
"It's tragic that he demolished the building," said Andrew Bernstein, executive director of The Greenwich Village Society For Historic Preservation.
The tide seems to be swinging to the preservationists side, not only as a result of Wintour's support, but that of the 22 other townhouses that surround the garden, Bernstein said.
Wu's plan hit a roadblock when the Department of Buildings sent a Jan. 7 letter to Wu saying it intended to revoke its approval of the project if its objections were not addressed. Among the objections was that the new building would be too tall, violating city zoning law, something Bernstein said his group argued from the beginning.
The developer told the Post he had collected support from local businesses and said his building would be would house a jazz club or cabaret, an art gallery and six apartments.
Despite the big names opposing his project, Wu seemed unaffected when contacted by the Post about Wintour’s objections — and unaware of who he was dealing with.
"She works for Vogue?" he asked.
