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Council Member Brewer inquires about manufacturing considerations in Manhattan South plan
1:00:30
ยท
164 sec
Council Member Gale Brewer questions the Department of City Planning about how the Manhattan South plan will consider existing manufacturing industries, particularly in the textile sector. DCP representatives explain that the plan recognizes the importance of existing businesses while also allowing for housing and conversions, aiming for a dynamic mix of uses in the area.
- The plan overlaps with about 14 blocks of the Garment District zoning area.
- DCP emphasizes the need for flexibility rather than restrictive zoning to address vacancies and economic changes.
- Reference is made to the 2018 zoning change that removed preservation requirements for manufacturing but still allowed for the continuation of various uses.
Gale Brewer
1:00:30
When you're doing the Manhattan South, are you gonna take into consideration all of the manufacturing that goes on there for the textile and other kinds of industries that are manufacturing?
Dan Garodnick
1:00:45
The short answer is yes, but I'm gonna turn to Edith, who I think has something more to say on this one.
Edith Hsu-Chen
1:00:51
Hello, council member.
1:00:52
Thank you for your question.
1:00:53
You know, a portion of the Garment District, the zoning Garment District, does overlap with a portion of our MS, MX neighborhood plan.
1:01:03
Of the 42 blocks within our Midtown South plan, it's about 14 blocks, some partial and some whole.
1:01:10
And our plan, the neighborhood plan, is it recognizes the value and the importance of businesses and it recognizes the legacy in the manufacturing that's been in this area, but it also very importantly allows.
1:01:23
It allows housing and allows for conversions.
1:01:27
Actually going back to a question that chair Salamanca asked earlier, where we are also further enabling conversions in areas where housing is not even allowed today.
1:01:36
So I mean restrictive zoning can be frankly tempting to achieve specific outcomes, but we don't want to lock ourselves into a prescriptive approach that may actually end up prolonging elevated vacancies and frankly economic turbulence.
1:01:53
The Garment District itself has gone through a lot of change as we know.
1:01:58
And you know, it's frankly been steadily on the decline as we all know for decades.
1:02:04
And the 2018 zoning change, analysis that I know exactly, salute you for that, that analysis the analysis that went with the 2018 zoning change, you know, showed that the zoning the preservation requirements for manufacturing were really inhibiting, you know, use of space within within that area.
1:02:34
So the 2018 zoning change removed those preservation requirements, but it did allow the continuation of businesses and manufacturing uses and, you know, commercial uses, and we are doing that still.
1:02:49
That's very important as part of the MSMX neighborhood plan.
1:02:53
We see a dynamic mix of uses.
1:02:56
We see housing working very in unison, in harmony with the businesses that are there and businesses that may come there and grow there.
Gale Brewer
1:03:09
Thank you.
1:03:09
I might disagree with some of what you're stating, but I appreciate it.
1:03:12
Thank you very much.
1:03:13
I'll let it go for Thank