The City Council’s Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee heard arguments yesterday on the Department of City Planning’s Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan. The Plan lumps together four distinct quadrants for major upzoning and threatens existing buildings in a “one size fits all” proposal.
Yesterday’s hearing is the first step towards a full Council vote on the Plan later this summer. Councilmembers Erik Bottcher and Keith Powers, who represent the areas in the plan, sat through several hours of testimony. No members of the Subcommittee were present for the public speakers.
Preservationists welcomed the plan’s initial emphasis on converting underused commercial buildings to residential. But portions of the Ladies’ Mile and Madison Square North Historic Districts were included with no regard for their historic character. While the State Legislature did lift the former “cap” on the size of residential development, it exempted historic districts. The City just ignored the exemption.
The rezoning also negates the recently expanded ability of individual landmarks to sell their unused development rights. With FAR at 18 and up, there is no need to buy air rights from landmarks.
The Department of City Planning says the plan could result in 10,000 new units of housing. But there is no guarantee of this number, and the majority would be market rate. There is no need to compromise historic districts, or existing Garment Center businesses and workers to create affordable housing. We can, and should, have both.
Historic Districts matter to New Yorkers. They protect our unique character, provide thousands of local jobs, and enhance our quality of life. While City Hall seems to ignore this, residents of the year-old Willoughby-Hart Historic District celebrated the arrival of signs identifying the historic boundaries.
A “Brownstoner” article noted that residents of this small district worked for two years to gain historic district recognition. Many of them celebrated what one resident called its “distinct sense of place within the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood.” Another said, “History arrived today.” Several years ago, the Conservancy got this area eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
New York has usually managed a balance of new construction and protecting the buildings and neighborhoods that are the heart and soul of this great City.
ACT NOW – Please tell the Councilmembers how much historic districts matter and that there is no need to erase our history now.
Write to Eric Bottcher – District 3
Write to Keith Powers – District 4