Buildings of UNLIMITED SIZE Sought by State Legislature Via MAJOR Change to NYC Zoning
With support from Mayor de Blasio, the New York State Legislature is resurrecting a troubling amendment to New York City zoning that would dismantle the cap on the size of residential development that has been in place for nearly 60 years. Read more about what New York Magazine called “A Nearly Secret Albany Bill” HERE to learn how the legislation “could explode the New York City skyline”.
Supporters from Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) and the Regional Plan Association (RPA) claim that lifting the cap would create more affordable housing, but there is nothing in the language of the bill to guarantee that. When a similar proposal was defeated at the State Legislature in 2016, Senator Liz Krueger was a key voice of opposition. In a June 2016 Community Bulletin, Senator Krueger stated that mega-towers are “the opposite of affordable, and there is nothing in this legislation that will change that.”
Instead, it would open the door for an increased level of unrestrained development and give developers even more leeway to construct supertall luxury buildings. Allowing for greater residential density in already dense urban neighborhoods will create additional strain on infrastructure and neighborhoods, and create further routes for the exploitation of zoning loopholes.
Despite Senator Krueger’s continued vocal oppositions, language dismantling the residential density cap has been included in NYS Senate budget bills that were passed yesterday. It is essential to contact all of our elected officials in Albany to ensure that this dangerous and precedent-setting language is NOT included in the final budget. The Legislature is aiming to pass the budget within the next two weeks.
Here’s how YOU can help:
Contact Governor Cuomo, and your State Senator and Assembly Member:
Urge them NOT to support measures to eliminate the 12 FAR cap in the final budget.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
State Senator Liz Krueger (Senate District 28)
State Senator Jose Serrano (Senate District 29)
Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright (Assembly District 76)
Assembly Member Robert Rodriguez (Assembly District 68)
Don’t see your Assembly District listed? Use the
New York Assembly Member search engine to find your local representative.
Contact your Council Member:
Let them know that your neighborhoods will only be further
vulnerable to overdevelopment if this passes.
Council Member Ben Kallos (District 5)
Council Member Keith Powers (District 4)
Proposed superscrapers, with 180 East 88th Street shown in the foreground (photo from 6sqft.)