Plans for an 800-foot tower have attracted well-funded opposition from a community group. Its campaign to regulate the structure's height has spiraled into a big fight.

For Politico, Sally Goldenberg writes, "Rarely is [community] opposition so organized and well-funded that it succeeds in upending the plans of a developer who isn't even seeking city approval for a land use change."
But that's what's happening in Midtown Manhattan. "A community organization known as the East River Fifties Alliance is on the verge of blocking an 800-foot-tall tower planned for East 58th Street. [...] The alliance spent upward of $1 million on land use attorneys, lobbyists and consultants, some who had worked for the Department of City Planning in the past, to craft a proposal that wouldn't simply register displeasure with development but stop it dead in its tracks."
The alliance wants to regulate the building's height by "imposing a zoning regulation known as 'tower on a base.' If instituted, it would restrict the developer, Gamma Real Estate, to constructing roughly half the bulk of the structure below 150 feet."
Meanwhile, Mayor de Blasio has spoken out against a previous effort by the alliance to regulate the structure.
FULL STORY: Well-funded community group poised to block major Midtown development

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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