Despite the project’s phased construction schedule, concerns with the project still exist among elected officials and community members. On November 4, 2019, the City Council Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting, and Dispositions approved two land use applications for the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, the City’s flood protection plan for Lower Manhattan. The Project will include a system of floodgates and walls along the project area, sewage improvements, and will elevate East River Park … <Read More>
Manhattan Community Board 6
Hearings Held on Five Potential Landmarks as Part of Greater East Midtown Plan
Designations opposed by developers and hoteliers; transit advocates expressed concern that landmarking would prevent improved subway infrastructure and access. On July 19 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held hearings on the potential designations of five possible individual landmarks in the East Midtown area of Manhattan. Twelve items in total were identified by Landmarks as significant historic and architectural resources, as part of the mayoral administration’s Greater East Midtown plan. The plan to revitalize … <Read More>
Neighborhood Coalition Proposal is Most Comprehensive Zoning Plan Ever Submitted by a Community Group
The proposal would protect neighborhood aesthetics with height caps on new developments and provide additional benefits to affected communities. On January 21, 2016, the Department of City Planning received a zoning proposal from the East River Fifties Alliance, a neighborhood coalition led by City Council members Ben Kallos and Daniel Garodnick, which is the most comprehensive residential re-zoning proposal to ever be submitted by a community group. The proposal seeks to safeguard the Upper East … <Read More>
At Final Backlog Hearing, Testimony Considered on Manhattan Items
The proposed designation of the former Yuengling Brewery Site in East Harlem proved contentious, dividing preservationists and those who wished to see site developed. On November 12, 2015 the Landmarks Preservation Commission held the final of four special hearings organized to address the backlog of items added to the Commission’s calendar before 2001, but never brought to a vote on designation. The final hearing consisted of items in Manhattan, occupying Community Boards six through twelve. … <Read More>
Letter To The Editor: Shortcomings of the One Vanderbilt Proposal
(Re: Council Subcommittee Hears Testimony on One Vanderbilt, Apr. 20, 2015)
Dear CityLand:
At the public hearing before the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises of the Land Use Committee of the City Council last Monday, 13 April, the applicants and supporters of the proposed Vanderbilt Corridor and One Vanderbilt outnumbered those with reservations about the proposals. They spoke for most of the four hours – the opposition, at two minutes apiece, used 15 or … <Read More>
City Planning Approves One Vanderbilt Project With Modifications
The application seeks to rezone five blocks along Vanderbilt Avenue to permit construction of a new commercial tower. On March 30, 2015 the City Planning Commission approved SL Green’s proposal to build One Vanderbilt, a 1,450-foot commercial tower, and establish the five-block Vanderbilt Corridor. The building will be located on the block adjacent to Grand Central Terminal, bounded by East 42nd Street to the south, East 43rd Street to the north, Madison Avenue to … <Read More>