NYC's revised plan for rezoning the area known as East Midtown met with a chilly reception from a variety of community and interest groups when unveiled last week. Planners are trying to finalize the controversial plan before Mayor Bloomberg exits.
"With the proposal [to rezone East Midtown] now wending its way through the public approval process, the New York City Planning Department released a series of minor modifications to its own plan on Wednesday in an attempt to mollify some critics in the real estate industry," reports Charles V. Bagli.
"The revisions provided little comfort, however, to those with stronger misgivings about the proposal, including community groups, preservationists and even some landlords who worry that the proposal is needlessly rushed and could result in a drastic increase in density in a neighborhood where the public transportation system is already overwhelmed."
Read the full story: Revised Plan for Taller Midtown Fails to Assuage Critics
To Remain Competitive, NYC Should Bolster Placemaking, Not Its Skyline
Michael Kimmelman comes out against the plan to rezone a 73-block area around Grand Central Terminal to allow the replacement of "aging commercial buildings with giant new office towers". The city should focus on planning, not zoning, he argues.
Property Owners Jostle for Deals After Midtown East Rezoning
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High-Rise Approval Secures $220 Million for Grand Central Terminal Improvements
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
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Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
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