NEW YORK—The Midtown East rezoning proposal, which was set to transform the skyline around Grand Central Terminal, was withdrawn by Mayor Michael Bloomberg late Tuesday. The move came after the council and the city were unable to reach a negotiation on a number of issues in the plan.
“The inability to reach a consensus on the plan’s details is regrettable,” Bloomberg said in a statement. “We are glad to at least be leaving the next administration a blueprint for future action.”
Council member Dan Garodnick, in whose district the largest portion of the project sits, and Speaker Christine Quinn issued a joint statement Tuesday:
“Creating new jobs in East Midtown—and across all of New York City—is essential. We can and should do more with the commercial corridor around Grand Central,” the joint statement said. “However, a good idea alone is not enough to justify action today. We should rezone East Midtown, but only when we can do so properly.”
The rezoning of the 73 block area on the east side of Midtown Manhattan was designed to increase and update the office stock to be more competitive with other global business centers. Proponents said the proposal would raise $500 million for infrastructure and transit improvements and bring world-class office space to the area.
Opponents were concerned with the price at which the developers would get the air rights, the timing of infrastructure improvements, and the preservation of iconic buildings in the district, among other issues.
The council’s Land Use Committee was set to vote on the measure Wednesday with the full council voting Thursday. With the application pulled, the council will not vote.
The new council, which will be sworn in Jan. 1, could bring the proposal up next year. In a statement, mayor-elect Bill de Blasio praised the action taken by the council and vowed to take a look at the project again next year.
“For the sake of New York City’s long-term economic vitality Midtown East should be rezoned to allow the creation of a world-class 21st-century commercial district. But it needs to be done right,” de Blasio said in a statement. “I applaud the City Council for pressing the pause button in order to ensure these concerns are adequately addressed. We must continue this process in earnest upon taking office, and I commit to presenting a revised rezoning plan for the area by the end of 2014.”
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