Thanks to Empire State progressives, New York City can no longer even be New York City.
As Governor Hochul, supported by Mayor Adams, reiterates his 100% right call for the state Legislature to reconsider the 1961 law that severely restricts new housing construction in the city. be A postmortem revealed that thanks to this law, the huge cluster of absolutely iconic Gotham structures built before its enactment could not exist in their current configuration.
These include the world-famous Eldorado on the Upper West Side, with its double towers overlooking Central Park. 825 Fifth Avenue, an East Side icon, must be even shorter than seven stories.
The 61-year law, known as the 12 FAR Cap, limits building heights based on foundation area.
This explains the prevalence of “pencil towers” in Midtown. It’s a super-tall, super-slim building that serves as luxury housing for the very, very, very wealthy.
Like the Steinway Tower at West 57th Street, it stands over 1,400 feet tall and has just 60 apartments.
It’s no wonder this cap and its predecessors have cost the city an estimated 200,000 apartment units since its enactment. That’s enough to cover about two-thirds of New York’s housing shortage.
The deficit is a major factor undermining the city’s middle-class living standards, with a third of residents paying more than half of their income on rent.
Guardian of the law, Like Rep. Linda Rosenthal, sitting neatly in the rent-stabilized Upper West Side apartment she inherited. State Sen. Liz Krueger justifies their irrational position by stoking concerns that overdevelopment will damage neighborhood character.
except where prohibited by law accurately the type of building Gave It retains the character of old New York, while allowing for the presence of many soulless skyscrapers where oligarchs store vast sums of money. Pied-a-terre.
I’m sure you can still hear it Also Just like the little guy’s friends in New York make sure only really big fish can live here.
