A set of zoning changes under consideration in New York City promises to be controversial; the de Blasio Administration is already onboard.
"[New York City] has begun moving forward on a zoning change that would make it more difficult for developers to build hotel projects on land zoned for manufacturing," reports Daniel Geiger.
According to Geiger, the City Planning Commission recently "began the months-long public review process for legislation, endorsed by City Hall, that would require hotels to seek a special permit in those industrial areas."
Opponents of the zoning change credit hotel development on parcels zoned for manufacturing with revitalization successes in neighborhoods like Madison Square Park, the Meatpacking District, and Williamsburg. Proponents of the proposed zoning changes frame the issue as a matter of preserving industrial jobs. "They argue that industrial businesses provide higher-paying jobs and offer upward mobility to people without college degrees," according to Geiger.
Read the full story: City advances plan to stop hotel development in industrial zones
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