Monday, September 15, 2014

Rezoning the East Side for Massive Towers is Going to Happen. Thank you, Dan.

How did I miss this?

http://ny.curbed.com/tags/1-vanderbilt-avenue

http://therealdeal.com/blog/tag/midtown-east-rezoning/

If you thought that rezoning of the East Side to allow for massive towers and huge windfalls for Big Real Estate was not going to happen, you were wrong. Mayor de Blasio (!) and Dan Garodnick, the councilman in whose district this will be happening, have agreed to a "reincarnated" zoning plan that is currently limited in scope, but which will pave the way for a thorough transformation of the East Side that will please Big Real Estate very much while giving us peons perks such as new subway entrances, stairways, entrances/exits, etc., all to get workers moving efficiently (it is hoped) from outside of the castle where they live (the outer boroughs) to inside of the castle to work for the nobility who will be the only ones left to afford living in Manhattan.

First up is One Vanderbuilt, which, when built right next to the stately Grand Central, will be the second tallest building in the city. You may as well squash Grand Central and be done with it.

Pardon the cynicism, but it seems Dan's previous contrariness toward our former mayor, Mike Bloomberg, on this zoning issue may just have been a case of "let's wait out the rezoning until I get more clout" or "let's wait out the zoning until after election time."

With the massive development of this area (which, despite the perks, will create even more nightmarish congestion in Midtown), here's another neighborhood that true New Yorkers will be staying away from. Soon, only Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village will be left to remind people of the real New York.  And, yes, that is a joke.

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a pair of RE WHORES! DeB is clearly a one-term mayor and DG is a RE who're pretending to serve his constituents. Except, of courage, his RE masters.

Anonymous said...

New Yorkers get screwed again. This only benefits commuters. Vanderbilt was one of the few streets New Yorkers were able to use to avoid the overcrowded riff raff surge of commuters. Jackie O is rolling over in her grave. What a bunch of sell - outs.

Anonymous said...

Bought and Paid For


http://www.commoncause.org/states/new-york/press/press-releases/moreland-monday-analysis-of-rebny-contributions-raises-serious-issues-for-commission-to-consider.html

Anonymous said...



Of course we all remember the photos from the REBNY gala in January of the gang bringing you this midtown tower that residents do NOT want

left to right Stephen Green (SL Green), Dan Garodnick, Alicia Glen, Mary Ann Tighe

http://www.rebny.com/content/rebny/en/directory/member.html/24881317.html

Anonymous said...

They gave millions to their puppets in Albany. Hundreds of thousands to the NYC agencies like City Planning, then posted themselves on Facebook celebrating themselves. Do the residents ever factor in with these guys? No.

https://www.facebook.com/REBNYonFB/photos/a.712356635455631.1073741850.120655387959095/712356858788942/?type=3&permPage=1

Anonymous said...

Gale Brewer and Dan Garodnick are destroying the fabric of the city. Isn't Brewer the one who signed of on two weeks of After Hours construction for Dan's PCVST Office Building? Two hypocrites. Can't wait for next time Brewer shows her face here campaigning to tell her of all her bad decisions and why I will never vote for her.

Anonymous said...

Uggh. If these developments were on the up and up they wouldn't be so secretive and hide the details from the residents. Sleazy and shady.

Anonymous said...

Have they done any long term research on this or is it the same ole lack of due diligence and poor quality of planning by the City and Developers in their scheme for short term unjust enrichment.

What is the effect on a tower of this weight when at full occupancy on the already compromised ground of burrowed train tunnels?

What is the long term effect of the vibrations from trains combined with the weight of this tower on the stability of the tunnel-cracked ground?

What is the effect of the deep foundation unearthed on the surrounding ground and vice versa?

And where will they be dumping the toxic soil from this big dig? BTW nice job erasing the mention of the toxic soil on the PCVST Big Dig site guys.

Anonymous said...

De Blasio has already stated that the only way to squeeze more people and businesses into desired areas is to increase density. Logical but not pretty, that's for sure. The architects of One Vanderbilt made an hourlong presentation at Community Board 6 the other week, complete with visual presentation and self-congratulatory back-patting (SL Green is the developer). They were not seriously challenged, but the project is far along.

It's really hard to stay on top of all these things, but change is coming, not least to our area east of Flatiron. Check out what's going up on 22nd Street just west of PAS. There's one construction site on 23rd between 2nd and PAS with two more to come. If more effective action isn't taken, we'll have a sanitation garage on 25th St between 1st and the drive. And then there's 14th St. Nuff said.

Anonymous said...

"Uggh. If these developments were on the up and up they wouldn't be so secretive and hide the details from the residents. Sleazy and shady."

Sleazy and Shady are the hallmarks of Garodnick, and the useless TA.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Time will tell, perhaps very soon, whether I'm either 1 and/or 2.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

I find it funny that when I link to news stories about Dan, I'm taking cheap shots at him. LOL.

Anonymous said...

STR September 16, 2014 at 1:04 PM

Not likely very soon at all based on actual news reports. How convenient for you.

STR on September 16, 2014 at 1:05 PM

The cheap shot wasn't linking to news stories about 1 Vanderbilt/Midtown East rezoning, it's about how you mischaracterized them to fit your script about Garodnick. Reading correctly is fundamental. LOL.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Again, we'll see if my "cheap shots" will become accurate arrows in the near future.

Anonymous said...

saying residents were consulted or part of the process is a load of crap. the token too late to do anything staged forums and community meetings feigning inclusion of residents isn't fooling anyone. biggest joke of all were the office building forums the TA Dan and DOB held here. just a load of crap.

Anonymous said...

The time to have residents be a part of the process is BEFORE the politicians, city council, city planning, EDC, DOB, ETC cash the checks from RE that their lobbyists delivered for their "initiatives". Once the checks are cashed (usually months and years before permit process begins) it is too late for residents to have a voice in the process and the politicians and RE know and designed the process that way.

Residents, environmentalists and such need a voice in the process before GRUBBY hands exchange money.

Anonymous said...

Anyone have a problem with this?
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140917/midtown-east/tiny-park-with-colorful-waterfall-opens-midtown-east

Stuy Town Reporter said...

What is that? An open air closet?

Anonymous said...

It's a shower amenity for those who have been made homeless because of Dan's favorite 2nd Avenue subway construction.

Anonymous said...

Earth to 11:02 PM. We're talking about the rezoning of Midtown East which the TA has nothing to do with. It sounds like you're talking about the new backyard management office. Or something.

Anonymous said...

What are you talking about 5:04 PM?

Plans for the 2nd Ave subway line have been around since the 1920s. The MTA's final environmental impact statement on the 2nd Ave line was finally approved in 2004, NY voters approved the transportation bond issue that paid for phase 1 in 2005, the feds committed to match MTA funds to begin construction in 2006, and ground breaking for the tunnel took place in 2007.

Dan G's first term began in 2006 but don't let that get in your way.

Anonymous said...

September 17, 2014 at 3:12 PM

Just a reminder. It was mayor Bloomberg who initiated the Midtown East rezoning effort. In his third term. The third term your "residents" granted him despite all we knew about him and the fact that the third term effort that skirted the law was spearheaded by the RE industry. We're not always all that bright but whatever you say.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

>>Dan G's first term began in 2006 but don't let that get in your way.<<

Dan has been one of the strongest supporters of the 2nd Ave. subway line. I hope this won't be a cheap shot if I link to his own website:

http://www.garodnick.com/press-release/garodnick-hails-economic-benefits-second-avenue-subway-east-side-access

Stuy Town Reporter said...

The construction of the subway line has been a nightmare for residents and businesses:

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120821/upper-east-side/second-avenue-subway-construction-has-long-rattled-nerves

There are more stories like this, including the subway construction producing 3 times the amount of permissible toxic dust levels:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/19/second-avenue-subway-has-_n_1363888.html

Anonymous said...

Actually 6:32 almost every if not every construction project in midtown east (incl. 25th st garbage station, skyport garage, and vanderbilt mctower, and STPCV office building) was pushed through the city process with residents intentionally kept in the dark and allowed to speak after it was too late. I think that is what 11:02 is saying. Almost every news article on the projects says residents unhappy about being kept in dark. That seems to be over you head so maybe you are ok with residents being kept in the dark.

Anonymous said...

Thanks STR for the Huffington Post article on the toxic subway. Seriously is Manhattan construction responsible for the toxic dumping in Long Island Parks, Wetlands, and Military Housing complex? This toxicity is unacceptable!

"Despite the MTA's reassurance that their construction to build the Second Avenue Subway is not killing nearby residents, a new report reveals the site contains over three times the allowed amount of toxic dust levels.

The New York Post obtained a report by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration which found a dangerous amount of silica detected during a federal inspection in November. Exposure to the carcinogen has been proven to possibly exacerbate to silicosis, a respiratory disease connected to lung cancer and incurable respiratory failure.

Upon discovery of the high levels, three contractors working at the site were ordered to pay $4,250 in fines, which the companies have until April 20 to appeal.

Disturbingly, the MTA has dismissed safety concerns and publicly reassured New Yorkers that the construction's dust tornadoes and bizarre, skunk-like odors are nothing to worry about. Officials have used nearby commercials and residential boilers as scapegoats behind any spikes in pollution:

Anonymous said...

STR September 17, 2014 at 7:25 PM

That link leads to a statement by Dan about some positive numbers jobs-wise in a report by Carolyn Maloney. Apparently you're either familiar with Maloney's report and are prepared to comment on it or are playing a weak game of gotcha.

Anonymous said...

September 17, 2014 at 10:47 PM

That's not true. There have been CB6 hearings on 25th St and notices went out requesting public comments on it. I know, I filled out one of those comment forms.

Anonymous said...

Dan Garodnick is owned by Brookfield.

He cannot be bashed enough for betraying ST-PCV residents.

His lying trolls are attacking our messenger.

Keep up the good work STR!

Anonymous said...

CB6 hearings and rallies and notices are not getting the necessary results. These are political decisions and deals in the works long before residents get a wind of it and details are usually hidden, kept secret from the communities. Bloomberg choreographed the closing and consolidating of sanitation sites behind closed doors long before we got a wind of it. The secret way these politicians operate with RE and developers has to get a light shone earlier so we can be effective. I was there too.

http://www.realcityonline.com/climb-a-garbage-proposal/

Anonymous said...

Bloomberg was the Second Coming of Boss Tweed. What an evil, avaricious and totally amoral creature. Those who rallied for his illegal third term (Maloney, Quinn, et al) are total scum in my view. We are living in a city that is so totally devoid of decent, honest politicians, I think it is everyone for him/herself. Don't vote for any of them and tell them why when they come around soliciting like the whores they are.

Anonymous said...

Agree 10:25 and worse now Quinn and Hochul are up to tricks. Bad all around. Hate to say it but may have to vote Astorino as the lesser of two evils.

Anonymous said...

Please don't do that @September 18, 2014 at 11:01 PM!

As bad as Cuomo has been for us tenants, Astorino would be way, way worse. Plus his election would free State Senator Jeff Klein (D-Bronx) and the three other so-called Independent Democrats to break the Working Families Party/Cuomo deal they made to vote with Democrats this term instead of with the Republicans like they did last term: Klein and the three others effectively made it impossible to repeal Vacancy Decontrol or to pass any pro-tenant legislation.

I fully intend to do a write-in vote for Teachout/Wu unless the polling for Cuomo/Astorino is tight -- I wouldn't want my protest vote to put an anti-rent regulation guy like Astorino in as gov. It would be a disaster for regulated renters.

Anonymous said...

Hey September 18, 2014 at 11:01 PM – Rent regulations will end in June of 2015 unless our next governor signs on to extending them again. Rent regs may not get improved with Cuomo, but at least they're likely to get renewed. That's a whole different story with Astorino.

Anonymous said...

Two evils. Astorino is the lesser of the two evils.