PRESENTATION
How does zoning affect businesses?
0:17:44
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86 sec
New York City's zoning rules, which haven't been significantly updated since 1961, are limiting opportunities for businesses to open, operate, and expand. The outdated regulations are causing confusion and hindering economic growth.
- Zoning rules govern where businesses can open, what they can do in their space, and where they can expand.
- Current zoning rules are outdated and no longer serving the city's needs, often hurting businesses instead of helping them.
- Specific issues include restrictions on office locations, bakery expansions in residential areas, home-based businesses, and the use of vacant storefronts.
- The lack of clarity in zoning rules is causing ambiguity for critical industries like life sciences.
- Even minor issues, such as dancing to live music in bars, are affected by these outdated zoning rules.
Dan Garodnick
0:17:44
Next slide, please.
0:17:46
So some people do not realize or appreciate how zoning affects business.
0:17:52
They understand that it can tell you where you can locate certain types of buildings, but how does it actually affect business How is it slowing us down?
0:18:00
Well, questions like where can I open my business?
0:18:03
What can I actually do in my space?
0:18:06
Where can I expand?
0:18:07
These are all questions that are governed by zoning and unfortunately in rules that have not been functionally changed since 1961.
0:18:15
They are no longer helping us.
0:18:16
In many ways, they are hurting us and limiting our opportunity for opening, operating, and expanding a business in New York City.
0:18:24
Let's go to the next slide.
0:18:25
Questions are presented like why the city doesn't allow me to have an office on the Second Floor.
0:18:31
Why you can't expand a bakery in a residential area?
0:18:35
Why if you don't bother anybody, why you can't have a particular business in your own home?
0:18:40
Storefront vacancies where it's our own rules that are keeping them from being reoccupied.
0:18:45
Why can't we do anything about that?
0:18:47
Life Sciences, We have critical work.
0:18:50
New York City is an important industry for us in New York City.
0:18:52
There's lots of ambiguity.
0:18:54
Why can't we have certainty as to where life science work can take place?
0:18:58
And of course, if live music is allowed in a local bar, why can't you actually stand up and dance to it?
0:19:04
These are all questions which were posed and have been posed to us repeatedly that we are trying to address here.