Community District
Find the planning projects in your community district.
Most Active Projects
HOW TO GET STARTED
RECENT NEW YORK CITY PLANNING NEWS
Opponents Worry About Use of Eminent Domain in Columbia’s Expansion
May 13, 2008 | Columbia Daily Spectator
Columbia's expansion is set to begin in Manhattanville, but three business owners, who own 10 percent of the land in the footprint of the expansion, have yet to strike a deal with the University to sell their properties. Community members are concerned that the State will deem the neighborhood blighted in order to allow the State to use eminent domain to acquire those properties. Columbia states they still hope to reach deals with these business owners. Opponents of the expansion believe that use of the State’s eminent domain power would be inappropriate because Columbia is a private institution.
Lower East Side Rezoning Proposal Goes to Community Board
May 12, 2008 | WNYC
In order to restrict out of scale development in the Lower East Side neighborhood, the City is proposing a rezoning to limit height to 8 stories throughout the majority of the area. As of now no restrictions are in place and developers are able to buy adjacent building lots' air rights allowing for larger scale development. The rezoning has reached the community board and if passed will go on to the borough president's office.
Hudson Yards Developer Tishman Speyer to Meet with MTA Again
May 12, 2008 | Reuters US Edition
After the Hudson Railyards negotiations between Tishman Speyer and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) broke down over the developer’s rezoning demands, the two parties have scheduled another meeting for Tuesday, May 13. Both parties hope that the project can continue to move forward as planned.
Despite Recession, Schumer Favors More West Side Development
May 12, 2008 | Associated Press
Even in the face of an economic downtown, Senator Schumer would like to see the Port Authority take over the expansion and renovation of Penn Station. He believes one of the City’s priorities should be to provide more office space. Mayor Bloomberg disagreed, saying that the City should be in charge of its own development priorities, though he would welcome funding from the State for Moynihan Station. Bloomberg does not support the Port Authority taking over the Moynihan Station project due to delays the agency has faced in the World Trade Center redevelopment.
Red Hook Ikea to Provide Free Ferry Service from Lower Manhattan
May 12, 2008 | New York Post
Ikea announced that it will provide a free ferry service from Lower Manhattan to its new Red Hook location, in order to help mitigate community concerns over increased traffic. The new ferry will supplement the free shuttle buses Ikea is providing to the nearest subway stations as well as local MTA buses. The dock for the ferry will be located along the public esplanade Ikea also provided in exchange for development rights in the Red Hook community.
Bloomberg Expresses Hope for Hudson Yards Deal
May 10, 2008 | New York Times
Mayor Bloomberg met with representatives from Tishman Speyer in London on Friday and expressed optimism that the developer, selected in March as the winning bidder to redevelop the Hudson Railyards site, and the MTA could still work out a deal for the site. Negotiations failed last week when, according to the MTA, Tishman proposed postponing the closing of the deal until the West railyard site was rezoned, a process that will take at least 18 months. After giving the developer a day to reconsider, the MTA called off the deal on Thursday afternoon. Representatives from Tishman and the MTA are scheduled to meet again on Monday.
New Atlantic Yards Renderings Prompt More Critical Commentary
May 10, 2008 | Brooklyn Papers
After two very different sets of renderings representing the revised Atlantic Yards plans were released last week, several people are commenting on the images as well as the future of the plans. One set of renderings, released by Forest City Ratner, omits the 11 towers that are to be built in Phase two of the project, as well as the existing buildings that currently surround the site. Critics say this omission is an intentional effort to hide the fact that the proposed buildings are much larger than existing buildings in the area. Many architects also criticize Frank Gehry’s new designs for the Brooklyn 1 building. The Municipal Art Society released its own renderings of the future development, showing a cluster of bulky buildings surrounded by vast parking lots, reflecting the concern that the new project timeline will actually cause more blight than the project was supposed to eliminate in the first place. Developer Bruce Ratner continues to say that the Gehry-designed building will not be built until a tenant for it is found.
Demonstrators For and Against Atlantic Yards Protest at Site
May 10, 2008 | Brooklyn Eagle
Two groups on opposite sides of the Atlantic Yards battle demonstrated at the site on Saturday. One was a group, 800-strong, of union construction workers who were there to show their support for the project, saying it would provide them with much-needed jobs. The other group, about 400 in number, were opposing the project. Members of the opponent group said that the union workers should join their cause protesting Ratner, since the developer would no longer be providing the 15,000 union jobs he had originally promised.
MTA and Tishman Speyer to Continue Negotiations
May 09, 2008 | Crain's New York Business
Despite an apparent collapse in the negotiations between the MTA and Tishman Speyer over the development of the Hudson Railyards site, the two agencies are said to be working on reviving the deal. According to Crain’s, moving forward with the deal is in both parties’ interest. If further negotiations fail, the MTA loses the $1 billion that Tishman pledged for the development rights, and risks losing leverage with other potential developers. Tishman Speyer would lose the opportunity to develop a signature project at on the largest remaining developable tract of land in Manhattan.
Collapse of Hudson Yards Deal Would Leave City in Debt
May 09, 2008 | Reuters US Edition
The bond rating agency Standard & Poor’s has estimated that the City of New York will be responsible for up to $7 million in debt if the Hudson Railyards deal does not go through. Two years ago the city issued $2 billion in bonds to pay for the Number 7 subway extension; those bonds were backed by payments that were anticipated to be received from the railyards project. If negotiations between developer Tishman Speyer and the MTA fail, the City will have to find another source of funds, such as a tax hike, to cover the debt service.