[NYguy]

https://w42st.com/post/hells-kitchen...ousing-crunch/

Hell’s Kitchen Skyline: NY Lawmakers Consider Lifting Building Height Restrictions Amid Housing Crunch





by Dashiell Allen
April 3, 2024

Lawmakers in Albany are considering lifting a restriction on the density of residential buildings in New York City, known as the Floor-Area-Ratio (FAR) cap, that could potentially allow more tall residential towers to rise across Manhattan, including at sites in Hell’s Kitchen. Those in favor of nixing the current rules say it would help the city build desperately needed housing, while retractors fear it could alter the character of low and mid-rise districts, without yielding enough affordable units.

.....Currently, all new residential buildings in New York City can be built at a FAR of no higher than 12, thanks to a state law passed in the 1960s. That could change soon — and as some see it, alter the size and scale of NYC neighborhoods.

Lifting the residential FAR cap would not immediately change New York City’s zoning, but it would allow the City Council to rezone individual plots of land, or entire neighborhoods, to a higher density than is currently permitted.

“[The FAR cap] is basically a guard rail against the real estate industry being able to destroy the incredibly modest protections that New York City residential neighborhoods have against grossly out-of-scale overdevelopment,” Andrew Berman, executive director of The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, told W42ST. Without the cap, developers could in theory build towers as tall as they’d like to, “with literally the sky as the limit,” he added.

State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who represents Hell’s Kitchen said he is aware of concerns that eliminating the FAR cap could incentivize the development of areas, and potentially the demolition of buildings with rent-stabilized apartments in the process.

The State Senate’s proposed budget included lifting the cap, but requiring that new development adhere to “Mandatory Inclusionary Housing or equivalent affordability requirements,” and be “constructed outside of historic districts.”

“I’m a strong proponent of protecting our historic districts,” Hoylman-Sigal said. “This is not black and white, it’s a nuanced perspective that engages more people than just 63 senators sitting in their leather bound seats. … by lifting the FAR cap and providing guardrails, I think we can have engagement that allows for the creation [of new housing].”

Hell’s Kitchen Assemblymember Tony Simone told W42ST on Tuesday that he supports the measure passed by the Senate, and thinks any new development should be subject to the city’s Universal Land Use Review Process (ULURP), which requires input from the community board and an opportunity for the public to weigh in.

“I think it would be determinative on the scale and character of the neighborhood,” Simone said. “I just think a broad cap is kind of yesterday — we should look at a forward-looking way of increasing density.”

Another strong supporter of lifting the FAR cap is Councilmember Erik Bottcher, who would be influential in determining how local zoning on the west side will change once Albany greenlights greater residential density.

“The crisis in housing that we’re experiencing now is going to pale in comparison to what’s coming unless we take bold action,” Bottcher told W42ST.

Bottcher and six other councilmembers signed a March 19 letter penned by Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine calling on Albany to lift the cap, not just to build new buildings but to convert old ones from commercial into residential uses.

“We’ve got office buildings that are ready to convert to residential, but only a portion of the office building can convert to residential because of the nonsensical 12 FAR cap,” Bottcher said.

If the residential FAR cap were to be lifted, the measure would most likely be included in New York State’s annual budget deal, which was due earlier this week and is still being negotiated. It could be passed alongside myriad other housing measures, such as good cause eviction protections for tenants of unregulated units and creating a new tax incentive for developers to build housing that includes a percentage of affordable units.

“If the FAR cap were to be lifted beyond conversions, there should be at the very least two restrictions attached to it,” Berman said. “It should only be for new construction that is 100% or mostly affordable. Secondly … it should be limited to areas that already allow dense commercial development. One could make the argument that if you’re already allowing commercial development at that high of a density, what’s the difference if there’s residential development at that high of a density as well?”

Hoylman-Sigal said it is unclear if lawmakers, tenant activists, and the Real Estate Board of New York will come to a deal this year, and if that deal will include removing the residential FAR cap.

“I think if the concerns around preservation [and] affordability … could come together in a final product, I think it would have a chance,” Hoylman-Sigal said.