Last week the New York City Council passed City of Yes for Housing Opportunity. It’s the Adams Administration plan to rewrite the City’s zoning code and facilitate new residential development.
But what does it mean for landmarks?
Under the new rules, there are three big changes for individual landmarks.
First, there has been some confusion about the difference between individual landmarks and buildings within historic districts.
Historic districts are collections of buildings that, together, create a distinct sense of place.
Individual landmarks are singular structures that have architectural, cultural, or historical significance.
The changes in City of Yes only apply to individual landmarks, not all buildings in historic districts.
Here are the changes:
- Individual landmarks that are within historic districts can now transfer their unused development rights. Individual landmarks outside historic districts could always transfer their unused development rights, and that will continue.
- All individual landmarks can transfer those rights to a larger area: anywhere on their own block, and to any site across the street from their block. If the transfer to is a site in a historic district, the Landmarks Commission will still review the new proposed new building.
- Most of these transfers will no longer require a public review by the City Council. Some of the largest new buildings in the densest zones will still need Council approval. The Landmarks Commission will still review these projects.
We’re glad to see that individual landmarks will have more opportunities to monetize unutilized development rights. The owners will still have to use funds to improve and maintain these historic structures.
But we’ve been cautious from the start. We don’t want to see those development rights enable an out-of-scale tower just a block away.
We’ve heard for years from historic religious and non-profit building owners in historic districts who wanted a way to transfer their unused development rights. Unless there’s an individual landmark involved, City of Yes does not provide an answer.