Upper East Side Community Board To Launch Zoning Fight Against High-Rises

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The Upper East Side's community board is planning to launch a crusade against high-rise development by capping building height limits on all major avenues in the neighborhood, according to the board's monthly agenda.

The Community Board 8 Zoning and Development Committee will meet Wednesday night to discuss implementing a 210-foot height limit on First, Second, Third and York Avenues, according to the meeting agenda. The board will also look into zoning text amendments and special zoning districts to protect the neighborhood from dense development projects.

The community board's effort is still in its early stages, Crain's New York Business first reported. The board will have to draw up a neighborhood-wide rezoning plan and get it passed through the city's public review procedure, according to the report. Those process could take almost two years to complete, and any approved construction projects that finish foundation work before a rezoning passes will be allowed to continue, Crain's reported.

Changing building height limits to 210 feet on First, Second, Third and York avenues will bring the roadways in line with current restrictions closer to Central Park such as Fifth and Park avenues, Crain's reported.

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Upper East Side City Councilman Ben Kallos told Crain's, "We're getting ready to fight." Kallos is a supporter of a similar rezoning to cap building heights in Sutton Place, which is currently moving through the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure and has picked up endorsements from the neighborhood's community board and Borough President Gale Brewer.

Read the full Crain's article here.

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