Stringer, the community board, and Council Members Katz and Avella voice strong opposition;vote planned for August. The Department of City Planning initiated a proposal for twelve text changes to sections of the Hudson Yards zoning text which the Council passed in 2005 and impacts West Midtown below 42nd Street. The proposed changes encompass design points, such as applying sidewalk widening rules along Eighth Avenue and waiving window glazing for projects along a portion of Hudson Boulevard, a new north-south commercial avenue in the heart of the zoning district. More significant text changes deal with relocating subway entrances for the No. 7 line, the transfer of development rights from MTA’s eastern rail yards, use of the Hudson Yards District Improvement Bonus, and alterations to street wall rules.

Under the proposed new text, developers could obtain a building permit for a project without precluding the possibility that they could later seek a transfer of development rights (TDRs) from MTA’s rail yards or the use of the District Improvement Bonus to increase the size of their building. The proposal would also give the Planning Commission rulemaking authority that will allow it, over time, to alter the rules on how to implement the District Improvement Bonus. The new street wall provisions would allow buildings along portions of Eighth and Ninth Avenues and West 34th Street to be set back five feet starting at the building’s third story. (read more…)