Following the Department of Building’s (DOB) reversal of prior zoning approval at 36 West 66th Street last week, it seems the city is prepared to move forward on proposing a solution to close loopholes in the zoning resolution related to unregulated mechanical void space in new developments. The City Council and Department of City Planning (DCP) will begin a review process for new text, possibly as soon as this month, that will address the issue of these oversized inter-building voids that have resulted in non-contextual supertall towers peppered throughout our city’s residential neighborhoods.

Mayor Bill de Blasio had previously promised to address the blight of zoning loopholes being used by the developers of luxury residential buildings by the end of 2018. However, this administration had missed the deadline after expanding the geographic scope where changes to the mechanical void allowances would be considered.

The following is an excerpt from “City fast-tracks crackdown on buildings on stilts” by Joe Anuta, published this afternoon in Crains. To read the full article, click HERE.

“The city had initially said it would regulate mechanical voids by the end of 2018. However, at the behest of the City Council officials, the Department of City Planning said in December that it was expanding the scope of the changes to cover more areas of Manhattan, and that the more comprehensive set of rules would be ready by the spring. But in yet another turn, several sources told Crain’s that the department and council are now looking to institute the rules in two stages. Because City Planning had nearly finished the regulations covering the Upper East and Upper West sides, those will likely be introduced to the public review process first, potentially as soon as this month. In part, this decision was made after consulting with groups such as Landmark West! and Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, which have been vocal opponents of so-called mechanical voids and want to try to stop a project by Extell and another project on East 62nd Street that have incorporated them in their designs. ‘Advocacy from the community had a large role in getting us to a resolution that will finally close this needless loophole,’ said City Councilman Ben Kallos, who has been a vocal opponent of the voids. ‘Ultimately there was a lot of pressure to get this done on the timeline that was originally proposed by City Planning and the mayor.'”

FRIENDS intends to weigh-in on the appropriateness of the proposed solutions. We will continue to share updates about the review process as they become available