East Midtown Rezoning

In 2012, the Bloomberg administration proposed a rezoning of East Midtown, an initiative which was renewed under Mayor Bill de Blasio. The revised zoning in East Midtown would have allowed a doubling of available bulk in many areas as a means of funding various transit improvements. The City Club joined community discussions, concerned that the initiatives were an inappropriate use of zoning regulation as a source of funding for public transit. The purpose of zoning regulation is to ensure that land is used to the communal benefit.   While raising money to help the MTA improve its facilities is necessary, is not the purpose of zoning.  A "zoning for dollars" regulatory scheme does not serve the public interest, and ignores legal prohibitions inherent in a plan which enmeshes the City's obligation to fund public transit with its duty to regulate development to serve the greater good.

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Urban Design Committee Chair John West delivered testimony to the City Planning Commission on behalf of the City Club regarding East Midtown Rezoning at its April 26, 2017 hearing.  He highlighted procedural and legal concerns.  First, the proposed amendments to the Zoning Resolution failed to fully reflect the comprehensive recommendations of the East Midtown Steering Committee, comprised of elected representatives and local community stakeholders. Second, the Planning Department's attempt to use its zoning authority to raise funds for transit improvements created a conflict of interest.  The proposed defacto sale of zoning rights was illegal.  City Club President Michael Gruen also spoke, elaborating that under the proposed rezoning property owners would be compelled to buy zoning rights in order to take advantage of the increased floor area permissions.  The Constitution prohibits such extraction of funds.  A Better Path for East Midtown (West & Gruen, 2017) fully discusses the City Club's recommendations for the future of the neighborhood.

 

Responding to the comments of the City Club and other community voices, the Department of City Planning reviewed the work of the East Midtown Steering Committee in revising the the January 2017 version of the rezoning plan.  The City further engaged in transparent and responsive government by offering opportunity for public review and negotiating with community representatives before City Council approved the resolution. The East Midtown Governing Group has taken the lead on behalf of the community, "bolstering and enhancing East Midtown’s status as a premier central business district through the selection and allocation of funds toward pedestrian realm and transit network projects, " maintaining a Public Realm Improvement Concept Plan to prioritize improvements.

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