125th Street height limits
The City is working to revise building height limits in the controversial 125th Street Rezoning. The proposal seeks to reduce heights permitted along the commercial corridor from the 290′ permitted in certain areas in the recent rezoning down to 195′.
“The follow-up text amendment application includes a zoning text amendment that would reduce the allowed maximum building height and allowed density in the C4-7 district within the Core Subdistrict of the Special 125th Street District. The follow-up application responds to concerns expressed by the community and elected officials throughout the 125th Street Rezoning public review process regarding the allowed maximum height of buildings in this portion of the corridor.”
125th Street Rezoning Follow-Up [NYC DCP]
There are also studies underway for a ‘contextual’ rezoning of the areas of West Harlem left out of the Manhattanville and 125th Street rezonings. These are likely to ‘downzone’ areas of historic and intact built character to provide for height limits while providing opportunity for new development along transit corridors and wide streets and/or large underutilized/vacant sites.
rick lambert
August 12, 2008
where do you live pete?
anon
August 12, 2008
Rick – So increasing residential density is ok if the majority of it is “affordable” housing, but it is not ok if it is mostly market rate? That makes no sense. One has nothing to do with the other.
By the way, Harlem already has more subsidized housing than any other part of Manhattan. Time to start increasing the diversity uptown and stop making demands for insane amounts of subsidized housing.
rick lambert
August 12, 2008
of course i read the article. pete. i also read the 125th street rezoning proposal and one of the the main issues is to increase residential density along 125th street. i’m glad the planning commission is trying to backtrack to decrease the building height that they originally thought was appropritate. i also applaud the fact that the affordable housing requirement for new residential development was increased to almost 50%. i don’t know how much of that 50% will be designated for low income housing and how much will be designated for middle income housing but if the desire is to increase residential density then increase the affordable housing requirement to 80/20. 80% affordable and 20% markiet rate and stop pricing the middle class out of manhattan. that would still increase the city’s taxbase and provide opportunities for home ownership for a segment of the demographic that is consistently priced out of housing opportunities.
Pete
August 12, 2008
Rick, did you even read the article? What they’re considering here is making the height / density limits even lower. The City isn’t “continuing to increase residential density” — what’s doing that is demand for housing in New York.
I agree that MTA needs more funding, but I disagree that limiting density is a rational response to such issues. If anything, the city needs much higher density and vertical development in its urban core in order to keep up with demand for units and also to support the tax base.
These people trying to limit development in Harlem are out of their minds. They should be demanding more.
rick lambert
August 12, 2008
it’s ridiculous that the city continues to increase residential density when there isn’t sufficient infrastructure to support it. the subway system can’t support current ridership. the mta continues to increase fees without improving services. subway stations are deteriorating and the mta says it can’t afford maintenance and upkeep. make developers contribute a significant amount of money to subway enhancements if they want to build a highrise residential tower.
tacony palmyra
August 11, 2008
People so concerned with height need to get a life. The Taino Towers over on E 123rd are 35 stories. There were tall buildings in Harlem that were burned out or demolished and have been replaced by 1-story stores because they were cheap to construct. Harlem isn’t suburbia, it’s Manhattan.
Anonymous
August 11, 2008
Lets get to building! 125th st is going to be beautiful!!!