Concrete Thoughts: City Council Wants to End as-of-Right Zoning? Yikes!
A recent application brought by the East River Fifties Alliance (ERFA) and backed by several City Council members is attempting to block a new development in Sutton Place that is as-of-right. The byproducts of this legislation could have a devastating impact on the development market overall.
One aspect of New York City’s zoning resolution that provides tremendous benefits to both the development market and the city itself is the as-of-right nature of what is often a laborious, costly and uncertain process of land entitlement. If, suddenly, as-of-right development (properly zoned development which is allowed to proceed without additional action by the Department of City Planning or the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals) is thrown into question, it will lead to reductions in land value, reductions in jobs and reductions in tax revenue to the city.