After seven years of stalemate, two developers have reached an agreement that will allow them to build ultraluxury towers on the northern edge of Midtown. The area is becoming the modern equivalent to what the robber barons built a century ago.
With dollar signs in their eyes, Gary Barnett and Steven Roth reached an agreement this week that will allow each other to move ahead with two "superluxury" towers along 57th Street. Combined with five other luxury high-rises in the area, the buildings will help transform a "once dowdy stretch" into "Billionaires’ Row," reports Charles V. Bagli. "Taken together, the seven high-rise buildings promise to remake the skyline and to redefine what it means to be rich in a city that is a cradle of capitalism and not so long ago was an emblem of urban poverty."
"But with the surge in construction of apartments at prices only a billionaire could afford, is there a fear of saturation?" he asks. “'Price really has no relevance,' said Nancy Packes, a real estate consultant and marketing executive. 'High net worth individuals look at real estate today not as a place to live, but as an investment.'"
FULL STORY: Developers End Fight Blocking 2 More Luxury Towers in Midtown

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

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

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation
California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.
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