For Manhattan to remain the vibrant center it is today we need a smart plan for long-term growth. The current land use process leaves communities fearful of being overrun by development that is poorly planned, harmful to communities, and undermines the character of our borough. This is why I have proposed a “Master Plan” for Manhattan to ensure that we grow our borough sensibly.
Cities across the United States are implementing Masters Plans, from booming … <Read More>
Planned four-story addition will reconstruct the historic cast iron facade, add contemporary set-back penthouse. On August 13, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered and approved a plan to add four stories to an existing building at 29 Greene Street, Manhattan in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. The building, completed in 1878, originally stood at four stories, but a fire reduced it to its current height of two stories. The building will be used … <Read More>
The United States Supreme Court’s June 25, 2013 decision, Shelby County v. Holder, struck down Section 4 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, eliminating a “preclearance” coverage formula that had subjected numerous jurisdictions with checkered voting rights histories to the U.S. Department of Justice’s oversight. Although the decision allows Congress to create a new coverage formula, in today’s political climate that appears unlikely. While the preclearance system was often associated with deep Southern states … <Read More>
New York City routinely permits private property owners to acquire public land without paying for it. Does that shock you? It should! Let me explain how this happened.
In 1961 the Board of Estimate approved a new Zoning Resolution in which the public obtained access to and use of privately-owned open space in exchange for permitting certain owners to build additional floor area inside their building. For four decades people routinely used what became public … <Read More>
Traffic congestion in 2013 stems in large part from how the City has allocated street space among motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, CitiBike stations, pedicabs, and horse-drawn carriages. While changes to address street space allocations can be anticipated, the logic and purpose of the allocations have changed over time.
Act I – Suffocation on the Streets
Facing public streets “choked” with cars, the City in 1950 amended the 1916 Zoning Resolution to require developers of residential buildings … <Read More>
In the fourteenth century wealthy Tuscan families in San Gimignano built narrow, overly tall towers as a show of economic power and to defend themselves during the wars between the Guelfs and Ghibellines. Today tourists see the towers as curious, oversized stone steles. Were the descendants of those San Gimignano families to tour New York City they would feel at home in some of the new residential towers being built in Manhattan.