East Midtown Rezoning Approved By City Planning Commission

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A city rezoning initiative for the East Midtown neighborhood was unanimously approved by the City Planning Commission this week, moving it one step toward full approval.

The rezoning initiative is being hailed by many city officials as an opportunity to upgrade office building stock and create more jobs in a 78-block section of Midtown that spans the east side of Third Avenue and the west side of Madison Avenue from East 39th to 57th streets.

While the area is already home to one of the busiest office districts in the city, it lacks certain "modern office" standards that attract commercial tenants, according to a Department of City Planning press release.

"The Greater East Midtown area is the city’s premier business district. It generates approximately 10 percent of the city’s entire real estate taxes so it is essential that it continues to maintain its status as a world class economic magnet," City Planning Chairman Carl Weisbrod said when the rezoning initiative began public review.

The rezoning plan gives neighborhood developers several options for upgrading their buildings. These options include: undertaking pre-approved transit upgrades in exchange for more building space, buying the air rights of landmarked buildings in the district and allowing currently overbuilt buildings to re-use all of their existing floor area in an on-site redevelopment.

The next stop for the rezoning plan in public review is the City Council. Should the rezoning initiative gain the support of the council it will become law. The rezoning does not require approval of the mayor.

Check out a map of area affected by the rezoning below:

Photo by Andrea Puggioni