Controversy Follows Proposed Midtown East Plan

A very public spat over proposed Midtown East plan took place in the pages of Crain's this week.

1 minute read

July 21, 2017, 9:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Grand Central

dibrova / Shutterstock

That's right, claims of fake news has come to the world of planning.

David is talking about one article in particular, an op-ed by Michael Gruen and Alexander Garvin—the latter of watch should certainly sound familiar to Planetizen readers who might have read his books The Planning Game or What Makes a Great City. Of the op-ed, David has this to say:

The most untrue part of the op-ed is its claim that the city is rezoning what is now called Midtown East to generate money for transit and other improvements. The effort originated with real estate interests worried about the future of the office district, an objective both the Bloomberg and de Blasio administrations endorsed. The decision to link development to transit improvements was the price of dealing with community and political opposition. Virtually nothing else in the op-ed is accurate either.

According to David, these arguments are especially pernicious because, he believes, the neighborhood is headed to decline under the current zoning regime. David also argues that the new Midtown East plan sets up a clear system of public benefits.

Wednesday, July 19, 2017 in Crain's Business New York

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

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.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

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

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

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.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view image of strip mall in suburban Duncanville, Texas.

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.

July 6 - Parking Reform Network

Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

July 6 - Next City

Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

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.

July 6 - InTransition Magazine