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OUR PROJECTS

We monitor the evolution of urban policies in New York City to advocate for the greater good.

Good governance:  The City Club analyzes proposed changes to the rules and procedures which control development.  We  promote processes which are transparent for the benefit of the general public, and which are controlled by a genuine municipal response to the will of the community.

Quality of life: The City Club envisions a New York which uses urban planning to support a high quality of life.  New Yorkers will not be deprived of sunlight and air by overdevelopment.  We demand access to green spaces, and protection for our unique historic sites and neighborhood character.

Monitoring City Agencies:
Fair and Transparent regulations

Governor's Island: Preserving Public Green Space

Penn Station:
Ten new skyscrapers will leave New Yorkers displaced in the shadows.

Monitoring
City Agencies

Procedures matter, and an agency can only represent the public interest when its rules and policies are effective.

The City Club monitors the activities of New York City and ew York State agencies, and analyzes proposed changes to zoning, budget, policies and procedure.  Our membership includes field experts in architecture, urban planning, and law working together to understand how our city and state legislative, administrative and budget decisions impact our city.  We share our understandings about the long-term impacts of proposed changes to rules and regulations, or approvals of development projects with New Yorkers, to encourage informed citizen participation in government.

Penn Station

Penn Station Area Project: When did New Yorkers consent to the bulldozers?

New York State and its development partner, Vornado Realty, have bypassed municipal oversight in making plans for redeveloping six city blocks around Penn Station. Without appropriate community input, and despite broad opposition, the plans includes bulldozing six blocks around Penn Station.  New Yorkers will be displaced, and their homes replaced with a new density of skyscrapers which will block the sunlight from the sidewalk below. The City Club advocates for a plan which passes through the standard process of community input, giving New Yorkers an opportunity to speak up about how any changes will impact quality of life for those who call midtown home.

Governor's Island:
Preserving Public
Green Space

Governor's Island is one of NYC's oldest serene escapes.  Rezoning threatens to prioritize profit and parking over the preservation guaranteed it's deed.

The Federal government sold Governor's Island to NYC for $1 in 2003, passing over ownership with a deed which protected 40 acres of the property as parkland.  Recent up-zoning by the City threatens this historic escape for New Yorkers, with buildings dating back to the 18th century and undisturbed park space enjoyed by humans and wildlife alike.  The up-zoning permits plans to replace urban farmland with towers as tall as 25 stories, and  to pave over natural areas to create 200 parking spaces.  Additional park space will be sacrificed for a hotel, a shopping district, and a Climate Center to be run by a yet-to-be selected university.  The Governor's Island Trust needs to operate with dedication to the deeded purpose of this land- public use.  While real estate developers stand to make a profit from up-zoning, The City Club wants to ensure that financial concerns don't overshadow the terms of the original deed, which guaranteed "the protection and preservation of the natural, cultural, and historic qualities of Governors Island."

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