By Stephen Jacob Smith 4/22 3:41pm

In the Rezone

The Municipal Art Society is worried that the Midtown East upzoning would allow development that would block views of the Chrysler Building, among other landmarks.

Much Ado About Nothing? Midtown East Rezoning Not All That Grand

Based on the arguments made by those both for and against the Midtown East rezoning—a “sweeping proposal,” wrote New York magazine architecture critic Justin Davidson, with “swollen ambitions for the skyline”—one might think that the proposed land use change, which would affect 78 blocks between Second and Fifth Avenues and East 39th and East 57th Streets, would be a dramatic revision of New York City’s most hallowed business district.

Crain’s New York Business calls the plan “essential.” The Post’s Steve Cuozzo, ever a friend to big real estate, says it’s “vital to the city’s future, a way to ensure that Manhattan’s most desirable commercial zone can compete in the future with global capitals like London and Shanghai.” Read More

By Matt Chaban 1/16 12:48pm

Under Development

If you build it, they will come. Promise. (Edward Reed/Flickr)

Midtown East and Manhattan West: Bloomberg, Zucotti Defend Rezoning at Megaproject Groundbreaking

One of the big debates that has been raging around the rezoning of Midtown East is how it might impact development already underway around the city, much of it funded in part by the public sector, and thus taxpayers. Should these projects fail, Joe Public could lose out on his investment.

The World Trade Center and Hudson Yards have been two focal points, but Manhattan West, which broke ground yesterday, ought to be considered, too. While the project’s backers bragged at the groundbreaking about building without public subsidy, they are still competing for the same anchor tenants as their rivals further east. Furthermore, the $2 billion the city contributed to the construction of the 7 train nearby is to be paid back through property taxes on the new projects. No new development, no bond proceeds, big trouble for the city.

Still, Mayor Bloomberg is standing by the decision to fast-track the Midtown rezoning and ensure it gets completed this year. Read More

By Matt Chaban 1/11 6:23pm

Best Laid Plans

Don't block my landmark, bro. (Getty)

East Midtown Hold Up: Maloney, State Pols Ask City Hall to Slow Down Rezoning

Add a few more names to the growing list of people concerned about the speed with which the city is executing the Midtown East Rezoning—ones that carry some serious political clout. In addition to the community boards, a few civic groups and local Councilman Dan Garodnick (who’s vote will be crucial to get the rezoning through the City Council), four new Midtown reps have just sent a letter to the mayor saying the rezoning needs more time to be perfected.

“Because this rezoning is so important, it is critical that it is done correctly the first time and is responsive to the concerns of the area’s current stakeholders even as it lays the groundwork for the area’s future,” Congresswoman Caroline Maloney, Assemblyman Dan Qart and state senators Liz Krueger and Brad Hoylman write. They ask the Department of City Planning to withdraw the plan currently in the works, which is expected to be certified in the coming weeks, “in order to permit sufficient time for community input.” Read More

By Matt Chaban 12/12/12 1:22pm

Best Laid Plans

17 Photos

420 LEXINGTON AVENUE

No Midtown for Old Men: MAS Wants 17 Buildings Saved in Face of Bloomberg’s Big Rezoning

From the start, one of the biggest concerns over the proposed Midtown East rezoning has been the fate of the area’s historic buildings. Midtown has its fair share of landmarks already, but it is no Upper East Side or Park Slope. No doubt there are precious older buildings worthy of preservation, or at least consideration for landmarks protections, especially when staring down all the development that is likely to come from a huge rezoning like the one the Bloomberg administration has proposed for Midtown East.

To that end, the Municipal Art Society has put forward 17 buildings it believes the city ought to consider protecting before the Midtown East rezoning goes into effect. The administration is rushing toward approving this plan sometime next year, but survey of the area’s historic buildings actually has more time than it might seem to proceed, since it has promised the rezoning will have a sunrise provision preventing it from taking effect until 2017. Still, that does not mean any of these buildings could be saved from being torn down and becoming the next Empire State Building. Read More

By Matt Chaban 11/29/12 6:07pm

Best Laid Plans

A Cuomo conundrum? (DCP)

With Sandy as an Excuse, Community Boards Beg Governor Cuomo to Stop Midtown East Rezoning

Basically everybody but the Bloomberg administration and select landlords in the area wants to see the Midtown East Rezoning delayed. While there is a general consensus that creating room for bigger, more modern office buildings in the heart of the city’s central business district makes sense, many planners and community groups fear the administration is rushing the plan to get it done on the mayor’s watch, rather than taking the necessary time to figure out exactly what to build.

Now, the three community boards directly effected by the rezoning are calling on Governor Cuomo to intervene, and their rationale is an interesting, if desperate, one. Read More

By Matt Chaban 10/18/12 8:30am

Starchitects

30 Photos

Rem Koolhaas

Unveiling Competing Designs for 425 Park, David Levinson Says He Will Not Wait for Midtown Rezoning

With the choice of four of the world’s greatest architects, how could David Levinson ever settle on just one to build a new tower at 425 Park Avenue?

“That’s my next job, to find three more sites so I can build all these buildings,” Mr. Levinson joked, seated at a conference table inside his sleek white offices on 57th Street on Monday. He was surrounded by renderings and models by Zaha Hadid, Richard Rogers, Rem Koolhaas and the winning architect Norman Foster.

“For us, it was really a blend of what’s the right concept for Park Avenue, a place that has not had a new building for almost 50 years, an avenue that is quite possibly the most important commercial boulevard in New York City, quite possibly the United State, and what is the place of a new build down the street from Seagrams and Lever House, two of the greatest buildings ever built,” Mr. Levinson explained. “We had to determine for that setting what’s the right firm. So really, it’s a blend of the concept and the firm we can work with.” Read More

By Matt Chaban 10/08/12 6:55pm

Best Laid Plans

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Another Reason for the Midtown East Rezoning: Bragging Rights

We’re kind of embarrassed to admit that this never occurred to us until just now, reading The Times‘ recap of the Midtown East debate. Sure, all the familiar arguments on both sides are there—the city is moving too fast, the city is not moving fast enough, the buildings are too big, they are not big enough, we must compete, we must consider the consequence—but there is also are new argument that should have been obvious from the start, though no one has brought it up, at least not publicly, until Charles Bagli spelled it right out. Read More

By Matt Chaban 9/27/12 1:54pm

Checking in

Holding out for hotels. (Getty)

No Vacancies: Union, Pols Push for Hotel Restrictions in Midtown East Rezoning

Everyone has been praying for the inclusion of churches and synagogues in the Midtown East rezoning, but no one has checked in on the situation of hotels yet.

The religious institutions fear they will not be able to profit from the rezoning the same way their private neighbors will. Now, the hotel union and its political backers are worrying that hoteliers might be in the opposite position, of profiting too much from the rezoning. They are requesting that the Department of City Planning require special permits for new hotel development within the rezoning area. So far, the Department of City Planning has reservations about the proposal. Read More

By Matt Chaban 8/30/12 10:17am

Battle of the Skyscrapers

11 Photos

Court Square

What Shining New Tower Might Citi Help Build?

Citigroup owns some of the most iconic office buildings in the city. Not only is there its headquarters at 601 Lexington, with its jagged roof and gravity-defying base, but also Queens’s tallest tower and a waterfront monolith in Tribeca. As Citi prepares to leave that last home and go in search of some 2.6 million square feet, the Journal reveals that “Citigroup managers had discussions with several landlords about developing a new tower for the company.” While the bankers just as well might stay put at 388 Greenwich, this got us thinking about exactly what on-the-horizon towers Citi could wind up in. Read More

By Matt Chaban 8/23/12 5:12pm

Best Laid Plans

They want more to look at. (Getty)

City Planning Says It Is Not Rushing Midtown Rezoning, Though It Has Good Reason to Act Fast

Earlier this week, Councilman Dan Garodnick called on the Department of City Planning to slow down the planning for the new Midtown East rezoning that would add possible a dozen new skyscrapers to the Manhattan skyline. The argument was that with such an important rezoning—the city’s fate as a competitive marketplace hangs in the balance!—more time was needed to consult all the parties and get the plan right.

For essentially the same reasons, the department is now arguing that it cannot wait. Time is of the essence to get these new projects underway. Read More