Council OK to remake city skyline
THE PLAN to rezone the neighborhood known as Midtown East — which is likely to add new skyscrapers to the skyline — sailed through the City Council on Wednesday.
The long-awaited effort covers the area from 42nd to 59th Sts. and the East River to Sixth Ave. It is expected to lead to the construction of 16 new buildings over the next two decades, bigger and taller than what is currently allowed. The area was last zoned in the 1980s, with regulations that officials have said discouraged modern office space.
Developers will be allowed to build taller buildings in exchange for making improvements to seven neighborhood subway stations before they break ground — a move expected to bring in $500 million.
Area landmarks will also be able to sell air rights to developers — and will pay into a fund for other area improvements.
“We think that we have balanced a lot of competing interests to ensure that we will unlock development potential in East Midtown while also guaranteeing that the public will see improvements in the process,” Councilman Daniel Garodnick (D-Manhattan) said.
Mayor de Blasio said the rezoning “will spur good jobs for New Yorkers.” AFTER OPPOSITION from a local councilman, the Economic Development Corp. pulled a proposal for a Bronx mall and senior housing known as Baychester Square on Wednesday.
The project, which was to be built on vacant city land leased to the MTA, would have included 180 affordable senior housing units — and meant $30 million for the MTA capital plan.
Proposed developers Grid Properties sought to buy the parcel from the city, which was to pass on the cash to the beleaguered transit authority.
But it was pulled from the Council’s land use agenda Wednesday because of opposition from Councilman Andy King, who represents the district and whose support was key to moving the project through the Council. King did not attend the hearing.
In a statement, King cited “strong community opposition” as the reason for his change of heart.
Some of that opposition came from a rival mall. Employees of the mall’s operators, Prestige Properties, have donated thousands of dollars to King, campaign finance records show.