Developers of new buildings and the residents who live nearby are not known for their mutual warm feelings. But last month the neighbors of a triangular plot of land at Greenwich and Canal streets all but threw their arms around Fabian Friedland, the man who plans to construct an eight-story apartment building on the part-empty lot.

		At Community Board 1's Tribeca Committee meeting, where Friedland sought and received advisory consent for a zoning variance, he was showered with praise and gratitude. "Absolutely wonderful" was the way Katzia Spanier of 466 Washington St. described the developer's responsiveness to community concerns. Even Carole DeSaram, perhaps the most vigilant guardian of residents' interests in north Tribeca, said she was "impressed." And committee member Bruce Ehrmann went further. "Aside from asking Fabian to dig the foundation himself," he said, "I don't know what more he could do." What he did is rare among local developers. Friedland, a 12-year Tribeca resident who lives with his family on Washington Street, headed off resistance to his project by first consulting with the neighbors who might have opposed him.
Last fall, at the first of several meetings with residents near the development site, Friedland laid out his plans for a 111-foot-tall building with a setback at 85 feet. That was too tall, the neighbors said. Over time, the planned height shrunk to 98 feet with a setback at 75 feet, preserving light and vistas for more neighbors. As DeSaram put it, "It got a little better and a little better." Friedland, a software developer who has bought and sold Tribeca buildings but never built one from scratch, also agreed to other requests, such as leaving the roof free of cooling towers and making the ground-floor commercial space off limits to clubs or bars. He needs a variance to construct the building in part because it will be taller than allowed by zoning. To get the waiver he must show financial hardships connected with the site. Many developers before him have failed to convince the community board of hardship. But Friedland's claims, which include problems posed by the lot's odd size and its proximity to the Holland Tunnel, won CB1's support. It did not hurt that he had already gotten on good terms with the neighbors-an approach, Friedland said, suggested by his attorney, Jay Segal. Segal had represented the developer of a proposed hotel complex on Vestry Street who had given in to neighborhood opposition after a long and costly battle. "It seemed to be the natural thing to do to speak to everybody ahead of time," said Friedland. "I knew everyone and I knew the issues that they would have." "I think [Segal] was really anxious not to cause undo problems for himself and his client," said Barbara Siegel, a Washington Street resident and one of the leaders in talks with the developer. "And more power to him. That's the way to go." Friedland said he was waiting for city approvals before settling on a building design. He agreed to work with a neighborhood "design committee" before the plans take final shape. "We're intending to design a building, then go to the committee for comments and input," said Friedland. "It's not going to be designed by committee." Nevertheless, almost everyone seems assured that the project will turn out all right, if only because Friedland is a neighbor. As Watts Street resident Arnie Svenson told him last month, "We know where you live."