Portion of exhibit. Image Credit: CityLand.
Exhibit traces the conditions that lead to the creation of the 1960 zoning resolution, the forms that were created in its wake, the innovation of the 1961 zoning resolution, and the arguments surrounding zoning today. On November 10, 2016, the Museum of the City of New York opened its exhibition, “Mastering the Metropolis: New York and Zoning 1916-2016.” The exhibit uses 150 objects, artifacts and photos to demonstrate how 100 years of zoning has guided the City’s growth, and its urban experience. (read more…)
Public plaza at 140 Broadway, Manhattan in 1997. Image Credit: Alexander Garvin.
New York City routinely permits private property owners to acquire public land without paying for it. Does that shock you? It should! Let me explain how this happened.
In 1961 the Board of Estimate approved a new Zoning Resolution in which the public obtained access to and use of privately-owned open space in exchange for permitting certain owners to build additional floor area inside their building. For four decades people routinely used what became public open space. That changed quite dramatically after foreign terrorists crashed two airplanes into the World Trade Center.
In the aftermath of September 11th property owners began to worry about protecting their buildings from possible terrorist attacks. If they were not worried, their insurance companies were and demanded that they provide protection. In some cases the request for additional security came from the NYC Police Department. In no case, however, could anybody specify the form of that attack. Nor did they devise actions that protected against airplanes penetrating their property. The unspecified attack was expected to come from individuals or vehicles.
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Universities, medical centers, museums, and religious buildings face tighter restrictions. The City Council approved amendments to 64 sections of the zoning text that control placement, size, and parking for community facilities. The Planning Department and the Council’s Land Use Committee conducted a joint study of existing zoning controls of community facilities. This is the first amendment to the relevant text since 1961.
The revision impacts community facilities such as universities, houses of worship, medical facilities, dormitories, libraries, museums, schools, and day-care centers. The amendment is intended to restrict the permitted floor area and potential sites for community facilities in single-family or small multi-family areas, as well as increase the ability of community facilities to locate in more suitable, higher density areas. (read more…)
