‘Restaurants are a critical part of the economy, employing 10 percent of New Yorkers. We saw during the pandemic how important they are to communities. Outdoor spaces, heated and cooled, were gathering spaces through the year for weary New Yorkers.’
The CPC voted 9-0 in favor of the proposal, which would pave the way for roughly 8,200 new apartments by 2035. The plan will now head to the City Council for final binding vote within the next 50 days.
The de Blasio administration wants to upzone a 56-block swath of the Lower Manhattan neighborhoods, where elite boutiques and wealthy arrivistes have replaced the manufacturing sites and artists that characterized the area a half-century ago.
‘Time and time again, we have seen the concerns of community members come to fruition, as rezonings have led to rampant gentrification and displacement in working class communities of color across the city.’
Housing advocacy groups and some elected officials have been pushing for years for the city to adopt a comprehensive plan, and an earlier effort to do so was abandoned during the City Charter Revision process in 2019.
The Commission voted 11 to 1 in favor of the factious rezoning application, which would expand the Sunset Park manufacturing and innovation hub by 1.46 million square feet.
Carlos Menchaca, the council member whose district includes Industry City, said he would reject the application, setting off a debate over whether a single lawmaker should hold up a development project with potential citywide impact.
Online City Planning Commission meetings and hearings will begin in August, in time to move ahead with a plan to rezone Gowanus.
‘Building supertall finger buildings that allow high sales prices based on the views they let inhabitants own hurts neighborhoods by blocking light and air from other buildings and public streets.’
Opposition to the towers is vocal, and the oppositions’ strategies are varied: Some want to force a land-use review via legislation, while others are threatening a lawsuit.
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