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Q&A
Building height, zoning, and context in Harlem
0:26:01
·
62 sec
Council Member Riley raises concerns about the height of the proposed buildings and asks about the choice of C4-6 zoning district. Bruce Teitelbaum responds by explaining the context and rationale for the building height.
- Teitelbaum argues that while the buildings are somewhat higher than surrounding ones, they are not out of context with nearby tall buildings.
- He emphasizes the need for increased housing density due to the ongoing housing crisis.
- Teitelbaum mentions that a world-class architect was brought in to develop a vision that is both spectacular and contextual.
Kevin Riley
0:26:01
The community board raised concerns about the height of the proposed buildings, which are much higher than the tallest buildings nearby.
0:26:07
Can you explain why you chose a C 4 Dash 6 zoning district and why such high buildings are appropriate in this part of Harlem?
Bruce Teitelbaum
0:26:14
Right.
0:26:15
So the buildings are somewhat higher than surrounding buildings, but not really out of context.
0:26:20
There are buildings within two or three or four blocks from our site that are nearly as tall as we are.
0:26:26
But frankly, we're in the middle of the housing crisis.
0:26:29
And people I do think understand that massing and and the height of the building like this is important so we can include more affordable housing and more housing and more amenities in the building.
0:26:40
I think that's what this is a function of.
0:26:42
But we're very conscious of the community.
0:26:44
We're conscious of context.
0:26:46
We think and we brought in a world class architect to develop a spectacular vision that I think is contextual.
0:26:54
I think it fits neatly and nicely into the community, but I also think it checks the boxes that are are important.
0:27:00
The priority and among that is building more housing.