Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan

Good morning, Chair Garodnick and Commissioners. My name is Howard Slatkin, and I am Executive Director of Citizens Housing and Planning Council. I am presenting testimony on the Midtown South Mixed Use (MSMX) proposal reflecting CHPC’s Zoning Committee’s review of the proposal.

The core purpose of the rezoning, to use housing and mixed-use development to reinvigorate portions of Midtown South, Chelsea and the Flatiron District, is a sound premise in light of recent trends and challenges. These are areas of significance to the city’s economic wellbeing as well as areas of opportunity for new, high-density housing. We encourage the Commission to advance these changes, with modifications to address several important issues.

With State legislation it has become lawful for the City to zone for residential development at FARs exceeding 12.0. Finding suitable locations for the application of R11 and R12 districts is a worthy effort. However, in some locations the rezoning as proposed would be inconsistent with principles that guide the development of these and surrounding areas.

Issues

• Under the proposal, Sixth Avenue would remain zoned for 12 FAR while the narrow side streets flanking it would be zoned for 15 or 18 FAR. This does not present a rational allocation of bulk or density. The proposal should not zone the sidestreets for higher density than the avenues.
• Jobs in the Manhattan Core support housing throughout the region. The MSMX proposal would depart from a longstanding policy of prioritizing commercial development in the Manhattan CBD with commercial FARs that are at least as high as residential FARs. This has been done in part to support the ability to assemble sites for commercial development, which requires larger footprints than residential development. No rationale has been presented for reversing this policy here, nor has there been an articulation of where within the CBD this new policy would or would not be appropriate. It is not a step that is necessary to induce residential development, for instance. The proposal should assign commercial FARs that are at least equal to the residential FARs in these areas.
• The proposal zones all four quadrants as if they have similar neighborhood characteristics and built context. The southwest and southeast quadrants are different in character Chelsea and Flatiron, rather than Midtown South. The proposal should treat the southwest and southeast quadrants differently from the northern areas.
• Under recently enacted changes to the Multiple Dwelling Law, new buildings with FARs exceeding 12.0 are not permitted in Historic Districts. One can certainly contend (and I would) that this restriction confuses historic preservation designation with land use regulation. Regardless, the zoning should be clear and consistent with State law to avoid confusion or perverse outcomes. The proposal should not assign residential FARs exceeding 12 in locations where the MDL does not permit it.

These issues could be addressed with relatively simple modifications that assign R10 equivalent districts to the southwest and southeast quadrants of the rezoning area. This would not be, by any stretch, a lowballing of residential density it would still allow housing at the highest density permitted anywhere in the city today, while maintaining consistency with key principles undergirding the zoning in Midtown and adjacent areas.

We ask that the Commission make these changes so that new residential zoning districts are deployed in a way that continues to support the vitality of the citys Central Business District.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.