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[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Submariner

Wouldn't it suit his motives to allow for a taller building in return for more transportation dollars? I don't know a whole lot about how this works, but doesn't more developer-friendly zoning translate into greater revenues for the city?

It would. The critics of Bloomberg's plan (Bloomberg withdrew the plan after it was clear he wouldn't get the votes to pass it) have said that the City was selling development rights too low, and it wouldn't generate enough for massive transportation improvements.

De Blasio has said that Bloomberg's plan too narrowly defined what sites could be built on, excluding attractive sites for development. Critics of anything being demolished won't like De Blasio's plan, which would likely open the door for more sites being built on.

[FMIII]

Originally Posted by NYguy

That won't happen. But I do wonder what allowances De Blasio's reboot of the plan will allow. Will he allow for a higher FAR (more density) creating a larger tower? That's possible, but the rezoning is more complex than that. The tradeoffs will have to go hand in hand with transit improvements. De Blasio is on board for both, but we'll just have to wait and see how it shapes up.

I red an article in the NYT about the rezoning and how Christine Quinn flip-flopped about it to upset Bloomberg.

That being said, I do hope the final project for this tower will look like the proposal because this tower would, according to me, blend perfectly in the skyline and this area needs a good looking NY style tall tower.

It seems, from what you wrote and posted on this site and what I red in some newspapers that De Blasio will push for this rezoning at an even higher scale but that he wants better counterpart from developers in exchange.

The future seems promising but as you mentioned it, it's too bad that one year is already lost in the process.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by FMIII

I do hope the final project for this tower will look like the proposal because this tower would, according to me, blend perfectly in the skyline and this area needs a good looking NY style tall tower.

What I'm saying is that the massing that we've seen is basically for planning. There will be numerous changes before we see what will actually get built here. We have a few years before anything can actually begin on site.



http://commercialobserver.com/2013/1...g-put-on-hold/

Zoned Out: Midtown East Rezoning Put on Hold


By Gus Delaporte
12/17/13

Largely ignored by the general public, the east Midtown rezoning plan was, for months, a debate between the real estate industry and preservationists. That is, until early November, when it began to look like Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s last significant public initiative was about to fail to gain approval.

As late as October, the plan, which would have transformed 73 blocks surrounding Grand Central Terminal, appeared to be heading for approval—a would-be victory for supporters across the commercial real estate industry. Then, on Nov. 12, City Council members announced they could not come to an agreement on the plan.

Now, with a new year and a new mayoral administration on the horizon, the biggest real estate story of late 2013 could become the biggest real estate story of 2014.

Both the City Council and Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio have expressed concern over the trading of air rights and level of funding required for infrastructure improvements, which has been estimated at $200 million. However, both have expressed optimism over the plan being revived.

“We must continue this process in earnest upon taking office, and I commit to presenting a revised rezoning plan for the area by the end of 2014,” Mr. de Blasio noted in a statement following the decision.

The same optimism is shared by the real estate industry.

“There’s no question that something like it has to happen in order for Midtown east to be office capital of world,” Steve Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, told The Commercial Observer. “When you tie that into Mayor [-elect] de Blasio’s statement, he understood it needs to be done.”

SL Green, the city’s biggest landlord and a significant stakeholder in Midtown east, also expects a revised plan to be revealed next year, according to an investor conference call held last week and cited by Bloomberg News.

REBNY, for its part, has already held discussions with Messrs. de Blasio and Garodnick, receiving assurances that a rezoning of east Midtown should occur once the open-ended questions are answered.

“We’re talking about taking an area that has an average age of office buildings of 72 years old and rents that have not kept pace with increasing rents in other areas of the city,” Mr. Spinola noted. “We need newer space.”

In the meantime, the preservationists that were so vocal about the area’s current building stock—the Municipal Art Society suggested 17 buildings be landmarked in Midtown east—are likely to continue their push. “I think it’s difficult for preservationists not to push back on anything; we don’t understand them,” Mr. Spinola said.

The expectation from the real estate industry is that the process will begin in earnest early next year, allowing for a majority of the work done on the original plan to remain usable.

“I’m hopeful that the proposal will be early in 2014,” Mr. Spinola said. “Once a proposal is put forward, we want to get the clock going.”

[Submariner]

"In the meantime, the preservationists that were so vocal about the area’s current building stock—the Municipal Art Society suggested 17 buildings be landmarked in Midtown east—are likely to continue their push. “I think it’s difficult for preservationists not to push back on anything; we don’t understand them,” Mr. Spinola said."

It's almost like a bizarre compulsion that these NIMBY types have. I can understand the desire to want to keep buildings of note and architecture, but no one is looking to tear down GCT or the Chrysler building; change needs to take place especially with Manhattan West, the WTC and Hudson Yards coming online.

[NYguy]

^ Those people would happily turn Manhattan into a museum of a different era. No concern for the future of the city, or its well being.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by NYguy

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-1...next-year.html

SL Green Expects New Midtown New York Rezoning Plan in Next Year

By David M. Levitt
Dec 9, 2013

I just want to point out further that De Blasio will still surprise some who thought development would be halted. His support goes well beyond the Midtown East rezoning.


http://politicker.com/2013/12/de-bla...-commissioner/

De Blasio Says No Contradiction in Keeping Bloomberg Development Commissioner

By Ross Barkan
12/31/13

Amid a flurry of last-minute appointments before he’s sworn in at 12:01 tomorrow morning, Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio made at least one eyebrow-raising choice: Kyle Kimball, the current president of the city’s Economic Development Corporation and a veteran of Bloomberg-era governance, will keep his job.

“I think I’ve tried to articulate repeatedly the theory under which we’re working here. I’m sure I’ll get this question more than once but I’ll keep repeating the answer,” Mr. de Blasio told Politicker this afternoon, responding somewhat testily to a question about whether retaining Mr. Kimball could be considered hypocritical.

Mr. de Blasio praised Mr. Kimball, who took over for longtime EDC President Seth Pinksy in July, for his role in securing a deal to turn the Kingsbridge Armory into an ice arena and bringing a tech campus to Roosevelt Island.

Under Mr. Bloomberg, the EDC was transformed from a relatively low-key organization into one of the chief development arms of the city. Instrumental in many major projects like Willets Point in Queens and the rezoned stretch of Hudson Yards in Manhattan, the development corporation handed out controversial subsidies to developers in order to spur building.

[NYguy]

I've been saying it for a while, but it's time for anyone who still has doubts about De Blasio better start listening to the man's own words instead of perceptions of what they think he might do...


http://politicker.com/2014/02/audio-...ell-build-big/

Bill de Blasio Promises REBNY He’ll Build Big


By Jill Colvin 2/19/14

Mayor Bill de Blasio today praised some of the biggest names in the real estate industry and told them he has no qualms about building large in the name of affordable housing.

“I think we’ve made clear already–with the people we’ve named and with the approach we’re taking–how central this industry is to the vision that I’m bringing forward,” he continued. “And I hope people, as we get to know each other in these new dynamics, I hope people hear me loud and clear that the only way I can achieve my goals is if we are building and building aggressively. I’m deadly serious about 200,000 units of affordable housing.”

Mr. de Blasio went on to say achieving his goal will also take “a willingness to use height and density to the maximum feasible extent. This is something I’ve said in our previous meetings I don’t have a hang-up about. I think it’s necessary to do what I’m here to do.”

Many residents in neighborhoods across the city complain regularly about housing developments they say are too tall or too large for their locations. But Mr. de Blasio said he hoped that, with the promise of new affordable units and a stamp of approval from his administration, such super-sized projects will be swallowed more easily.

“I hope to, to in all of our dealing with communities that we’ve involved in, to make clear that when my administration blesses a project, including a project with a lot of height and density, it’s because we believe we got a good deal for the people. And I think that will change some of the terms of the debate on the ground in communities,” he said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/poli...icle-1.1620714

Sky's the limit: Mayor de Blasio says he would OK affordable housing buildings at any size


By Matt Chaban AND Jennifer Fermino
February 20, 2014

Get ready for even taller skyscrapers and more densely packed neighborhoods.

Mayor de Blasio told a closed-door meeting of real estate barons Wednesday that he has no “hangup” about allowing them to supersize their developments if it means creating more affordable housing.

Leaving no doubt what he meant, de Blasio said reaching his housing goals would require erecting the biggest buildings possible.

De Blasio also talked about a stalled plan to rezone a 73-block area around Grand Central Terminal to allow for much taller buildings.

That plan — one of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s pet projects — was shelved after the mayoral election, in part over de Blasio’s objections.

De Blasio told the REBNY board Wednesday that he wanted the project to move forward, hopefully by the end of 2014.

Stephen Green, chairman of SL Green Realty Corp., was another in attendance for Hizzoner's speech

[ILNY]

^ Bill de Blasio objected Grand Central Terminal rezoning plan and now he is supporting it.... so what has changed?

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by ILNY

^ Bill de Blasio objected Grand Central Terminal rezoning plan and now he is supporting it.... so what has changed?

He supports his own rezoning plan, not the one previously offered.

He never objected to rezoning GCT area; he objected to the details surrounding the rezoning.

[babybackribs2314]

Originally Posted by Crawford

He supports his own rezoning plan, not the one previously offered.

He never objected to rezoning GCT area; he objected to the details surrounding the rezoning.

Disagree; De Blasio's play here is an effort to cement the re-zoning as part of his own legacy rather than Bloomberg's, which Quinn was more than willing to accommodate given Bloomberg's refusal to endorse her for the mayoral race.

It's not about the details; it comes down to ambition & political semantics, as most things in NYC do (unfortunately).

[ILNY]

Originally Posted by Crawford

He supports his own rezoning plan, not the one previously offered.

He never objected to rezoning GCT area; he objected to the details surrounding the rezoning.

Did he publish the details of his rezoning plan yet?

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by babybackribs2314

Disagree; De Blasio's play here is an effort to cement the re-zoning as part of his own legacy rather than Bloomberg's, which Quinn was more than willing to accommodate given Bloomberg's refusal to endorse her for the mayoral race.

I agree with what you've wrote; it will basically be more or less the same rezoning, but with some tweaks so it can be part of DeBlasio's legacy.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by ILNY

^ Bill de Blasio objected Grand Central Terminal rezoning plan and now he is supporting it.... so what has changed?

Originally Posted by Crawford

He supports his own rezoning plan, not the one previously offered.

He never objected to rezoning GCT area; he objected to the details surrounding the rezoning.

Correct. Bill De Blasio spreviously pelled out his support of the rezoning, in his own words. His criticisms of the plan included that it didn't go far enough, had restrictions that didn't offer enough buildable sites, and of course, infrastructure improvements to the area. What's more, we aren't really losing any time here, because the plan wouldn't take effect for a few years anyway.

It's time for people to face the reality that Bill de Blasio has faced, and repeatedly stated: in order to reach one of his signature goals, he will need the real estate industry to build, even more so than during the Bloomberg years.

And finally:

SL Green Realty Chairman Stephen Green addressed business owners’ anxieties yesterday over the incoming administration of Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio, calling those feelings “overblown.”

SL Green president Andrew Mathias was also confident a rebirth of the proposal is on the horizon. He projects a new plan will be in place within the year, he told investors on a conference call.

Mathias added that de Blasio is an advocate for One Vanderbilt, SL Green’s 65-story, 1.5 million-square-foot office tower project adjacent to Grand Central Station, Bloomberg News reported.

He did not kill this building.

[Submariner]

While I applaud de Blaiso for pursuing more affordable housing, I don't think high density towers in midtown are the right approach.

Midtown is more or less, prime real estate, and should be offered to the highest bidder for the highest price. Affordable housing belongs in less expensive parts of town - perhaps I'll be labeled as some wealthy 1%er (which sadly, I am very far from) but why should the city pass up on the opportunity to capture tremendous tax dollars from high end residential or class-A office space? The same goes for mixed residential developments - the city should want to maximize high end developments in expensive parts of town - it would allow for more revenue generation, and the city could afford to build more affordable housing in areas where land isn't as expensive, and isn't that the goal here? To build more affordable housing for people?

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by Submariner

While I applaud de Blaiso for pursuing more affordable housing, I don't think high density towers in midtown are the right approach.

Midtown is more or less, prime real estate, and should be offered to the highest bidder for the highest price. Affordable housing belongs in less expensive parts of town - perhaps I'll be labeled as some wealthy 1%er (which sadly, I am very far from) but why should the city pass up on the opportunity to capture tremendous tax dollars from high end residential or class-A office space? The same goes for mixed residential developments - the city should want to maximize high end developments in expensive parts of town - it would allow for more revenue generation, and the city could afford to build more affordable housing in areas where land isn't as expensive, and isn't that the goal here? To build more affordable housing for people?

Brooklyn and Queens will lead the boom in residential construction. Its already happening, and there is plenty of land available for affordable housing.

[De Minimis NY]

Originally Posted by Submariner

While I applaud de Blaiso for pursuing more affordable housing, I don't think high density towers in midtown are the right approach.

Midtown is more or less, prime real estate, and should be offered to the highest bidder for the highest price. Affordable housing belongs in less expensive parts of town - perhaps I'll be labeled as some wealthy 1%er (which sadly, I am very far from) but why should the city pass up on the opportunity to capture tremendous tax dollars from high end residential or class-A office space? The same goes for mixed residential developments - the city should want to maximize high end developments in expensive parts of town - it would allow for more revenue generation, and the city could afford to build more affordable housing in areas where land isn't as expensive, and isn't that the goal here? To build more affordable housing for people?

You're getting at a subtle but definite flaw in De Blasio's reasoning with respect to using high density development to finance affordable housing. While I love skyscrapers and am always rooting for NY to add new supertalls, there is a cost to the public of having the extra density: transportation systems and city streets become more crowded and all types of city services (garbage collection, for example) get stressed. There is no question that the benefits of taller buildings are worth the costs, but the money gained from selling development rights needs to be allocated towards alleviating these costs to ensure that Manhattan is just as enjoyable to walk around and live in as it is to view from across the river. That's what Bloomberg's plan for Midtown East was all about, expanding sidewalks, improving the pedestrian experience and making transportation infrastructure upgrades. There was even a proposal to turn the median of Park Avenue into a path that tourists could walk down to get better views of the architecture and be out of the way of commuters.

From what I've gathered, De Blasio only intends to alter the Bloomberg rezoning plan to "get a better deal for the city" (charge more for air rights) and isn't going to divert funds towards building affordable housing in outer boroughs. But based on what he's been saying about adding density in NYC in general, it seems that his overall plan outside of the Midtown East Rezoning is to do just that: sell development rights in Manhattan to fund affordable housing elsewhere. This is what I find reprehensible.

It's a redistributive policy in which the costs fall on Manhattan communities and the benefits flow to other areas. I have no problem with this if it's done in a transparent manner: increase taxes to pay for affordable housing. If the public supports it then it'll work and if not then it'll fail; at least it will be decided by what the people of the city want. By disguising it through the sale of development rights, though, he transfers the value in a way that nobody will notice. Then, when rezoned communities don't have the funds to make the improvements made necessary by the extra density, they'll be the ones who will have to go to the city to ask for politically sensitive extra tax dollars.

It all ends up looking like De Blasio just "found" extra money without raising taxes to fund his plans, while midtown residents end up footing the bill.

[Blaze23]

^^^ So what's your solution? Adding more tax burden on people? This is an industry specific solution for a specific problem, it's the same thing Bloomberg did but under different terms. It might not be perfect but I find it fitting.
And the issue concerning infrastructure due to added density is exactly what is being addressed under the East Side rezoning and will be a blueprint for other developments to come so I don't see that as an issue.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Submariner

While I applaud de Blaiso for pursuing more affordable housing, I don't think high density towers in midtown are the right approach.

There's no reason to think DeBlasio plans affordable housing in Midtown, or as part of the Grand Central rezoning.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Submariner

While I applaud de Blaiso for pursuing more affordable housing, I don't think high density towers in midtown are the right approach.

You don't think high density towers belong in Midtown of all places?

Affordable housing belongs in less expensive parts of town

I see, you think he means to build the affordable housing in east Midtown. De Blasio intends to use the "inclusionary housing" incentive when it comes to rezonings to allow developers to build larger buildings.

Originally Posted by De Minimis NY

You're getting at a subtle but definite flaw in De Blasio's reasoning with respect to using high density development to finance affordable housing. While I love skyscrapers and am always rooting for NY to add new supertalls, there is a cost to the public of having the extra density: transportation systems and city streets become more crowded

For goodness sake, its New York freakin' City. The heart of Midtown is meant to be crowded, and frankly, you won't notice the difference of more people coming in anyway. The reason De Blasio wanted a time out in the process is so he could address the concerns of infrastructure, which they will do. You don't have Grand Centrals, and Penn Stations all over the city. De Blasio is no fool, and no mayor will be willing to let a central business district die, especially when they have the means to avert it.

Originally Posted by Crawford

There's no reason to think DeBlasio plans affordable housing in Midtown, or as part of the Grand Central rezoning.

He doesn't, his concerns for east Midtown have to do with the infrastructure, enough buildable sites, and the hotel trade, not residential building.

[Perklol]

Originally Posted by NYguy

For goodness sake, its New York freakin' City. The heart of Midtown is meant to be crowded, and frankly, you won't notice the difference of more people coming in anyway. The reason De Blasio wanted a time out in the process is so he could address the concerns of infrastructure, which they will do. You don't have Grand Centrals, and Penn Stations all over the city. De Blasio is no fool, and no mayor will be willing to let a central business district die, especially when they have the means to avert it.

I think he/she meant that the 3 north-south subway lines may get too crowded. It's fair enough. That problem may have been solved if there were a second avenue subway but it might not happen soon enough.