The City agencies are going at a snails pace in making meaningful zoning reforms ...
As we wait, more towers are going up around Central Park and in residential neighborhoods -- in spite of the underlying zoning.
What's happening at the City level?
The City Council and the Manhattan Borough President will continue to fight for revisions to the zoning resolution, but the City Planning Commission is taking too long to address their issues. They wrote to City Planning over a year ago asking for urgent change. They clearly pointed out that the letter and the intent of the underlying zoning resolution must be followed. Read their appeal here.
If the City agencies (DOB, DCP and the BSA) can't attend to this with meaningful reform, the State can! With our help!
A5026A/S03820A sponsored by Linda Rosenthal in the Assembly and Robert Jackson in the Senate can be voted on in the next session. (Read summary of bill here.)
This bill notably closes 3 of the most egregious loopholes:
- Excessive mechanical voids,
- Extreme ceiling heights and
- No-count open spaces -- including building on stilts!!!
We are asking you to share our petition and ask others to join the fight to pass this meaningful reform. Please share this petition with 3 friends-- this will have impact across New York State.
We thank the following legislators who have already co-sponsored the bill to stop abusive tactics:
Assembly Members: Gottfried, Seawright, Mosley, Barron, Ortiz, Stirpe, Carroll, Colton, Epstein, Taylor, Arroyo, Simon, D'Urso, Benedetto, Glick, Dinowitz, Richardson, Niou, De La Rosa, Quart, Dickens, Simotas, Fernandez, Aubry, Rodriguez, Blake, Reyes, Magnarelli, Wallace, Walker. And Multiple Sponsors Cook, Griffin, Lentol, Wright.
Senators: Biaggi, Gounardes, Hoylman, Krueger, Salazar and Serrano.
We need more! With your help, we intend to get this bill out of committee in both the Assembly and Senate and have it passed in the next legislative session.
The attached is a rendering by George Janes and Associates of scale and impact of the West 66th Street tower. This building, as planned now, will be over 30% "mechanical void" space. Is this what was intended by our Zoning Resolution? This will cast an afternoon shadow past Bethesda Fountain in Central Park.