Midtown South Rezoning Passes City Council With Ease

The councilmember-led rezoning passed through the land use process without much conflict Is it a sign of changing attitudes on housing improvement City housing bureaucrats and Councilmembers Keith Powers and Erik Bottcher who represent the Midtown South rezoning area at a press conference ahead of Thursday s vote Dept of City Planning In the coming years Midtown could get nearly new homes including over affordable units as the City Council voted to advance the neighborhood s rezoning Thursday afternoon Neighborhood rezonings can be politically contentious but the Midtown South plan rolled through the City Council by a vote of in favor and zero opposed Lawmakers noted it s a sign of changing attitudes on new progress and the right concoction of local encouragement and a struggling field for offices amid a housing shortage function d u ac var s d createElement 'script' s type 'text javascript' s src 'https a omappapi com app js api min js' s async true s dataset user u s dataset campaign ac d getElementsByTagName 'head' appendChild s document 'u kmqsczew vunxutxmd' This is a rare instance where the Council members brought forward the idea of rezoning this area for housing declared Councilmember Keith Powers who represents large portions of the rezoned district and of East Midtown north of th Street Often the city leads applications for neighborhood rezonings and then negotiates with local councilmembers This time he and neighboring Manhattan Councilmember Erik Bottcher needed to figure out not if we yearned to do it but exactly how we could Powers revealed Midtown South a rezoning area that stretches from th to th avenues between rd and st streets is dense and filled with a lot of office space including a large number of buildings that haven t recovered from pandemic slides in demand The rezoning targeted spots that could be prime for office-to-residential conversions while also making room for a lot more housing thanks to the area s high density It will be the largest neighborhood rezoning in two decades functionaries declared Thursday A rendering of the areas targeted by rezoning which would look to spur new housing where residential improvement is at present restricted Dept of City Planning We re trying to attend to the necessities of properties that are having a laborious time right now and also bring in new housing for an area that we think will be really appealing for people disclosed Powers That s solving two citywide problems The plan also included open space and pedestrianization efforts for particular of midtown s congested streets as well as reviving a stalled proposal for a dedicated busway across th Street which will link residents and those passing through with a few of the city s largest transit and event hubs near Penn Station The harder fight may have been won at the state level in The rezoning will be the first to make use of new zoning tools New York State gave the city which lifted a state-imposed cap on residential density and expanded tax incentives for office conversions It also builds on citywide zoning changes to unlock greater density passed as part of the Council and City Hall s December agreement on the City of Yes for Housing plan This is exactly where we should be building housing It s unfathomable that in an area this central with a housing dilemma this dire that if you wished to build housing our own rules would not allow it mentioned Dan Garodnick chair of the City Planning Commission Garodnick warned that while the plan would make office conversions more viable they remain a complicated puzzle given the light and air requirements layout of office buildings and expenses involved in construction The Department of City Planning leaders stated they can t at the moment name any projects in the area seeking conversion Under current City Council practice land use changes usually need the sign off of the local member under a practice called member deference where the Council defers to local representatives on projects in their own districts The mayor s Charter Commission has in recent days taken aim at a few of those practices which Commission leaders recounted City Limits can consequence in the loss of prospective housing But most of of the City Council remains opposed to the ballot measures which voters will weigh in on this November It s why Powers and Bottcher s early promotion for the plan stood out Under the current dynamic of land use in New York City the ability to succeed on a vital initiative like this is largely dependent on willing local representatives who are ready to show leadership on housing We were grateful to have that here revealed Garodnick No project is without its critics but Midtown South s easier political path could be a sign of warming to housing advancement in the City Council There s definitely an attitude that is changing disclosed Powers We re seeing more Council members willing to step forward and raise their hand in patronage of building more housing and addressing citywide demands in their districts He added that the neighborhood s existing density and strong transit infrastructure could make it less controversial than rezonings in other parts of the city The tide may even be turning in society boards which have been slower to welcome new housing Manhattan Region Board which covers the heart of Midtown gave the plan a thumbs up during their review earlier in the review process Manhattan Group Board which covers Midtown East disapproved of the plan After advancing City of Yes for Housing earlier this year the Adams administration has also pushed through two neighborhood rezonings along the Bronx Metro North Station area and along Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn The city s Jamaica neighborhood plan passed the City Planning Commission Wednesday and will be next up for the City Council to review Another plan to zone for more housing density in Long Island City will reach the City Planning Commission in September To reach the 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