Jarrett Murphy raises legitimate concerns about the focus of rezoning under the recent administration and the lack of city planning as a whole. Murphy believes that developers have become supremely influential in dictating current regulations. Furthermore, the disunity among constituencies has made it difficult to create a comprehensive city plan to appease the major people groups in NYC.
It is difficult to imagine that under the Bloomberg administration, the City has revised zoning equivalent to the size of Boston or San Francisco. This excessive rezoning will undoubtedly dictate the way land will be used. The city has consistently upzoned transit oriented sites in hopes of further development. However, reports have also shown that the city has downzoned some areas, like Staten Island, where the population was whiter and wealthier. Such selective zoning raises concerns that city’s goals are driven more by developers than its own residents. In fact, due to inclusionary zoning, developers now have the right to build larger structures if they create affordable housing or other residual benefits to the neighborhood. Development projects such as the Atlantic Yards have already made Community Benefit Agreements to appease the local residents. Unfortunately, these agreements are very difficult to enforce because community boards neither have the resources to initiate or guarantee successful litigation. Essentially, the new zoning regulations opens the door for megaprojects to become a reality throughout the city, regardless of opposition from residents.
With this in mind, the task creating a master plan for the City is becoming a key question. Should NYC have a comprehensive plan for the future? In retrospect, the city would probably be better off (in terms of density and overall infrastructure) if planning had been pursued earlier. Although PlaNYC sets goals for a sustainable future, it is more of an agenda than a constructive plan. Hence, there is a call for government officials to devise concrete steps to implement the ideas expressed in PlaNYC. However, New York City is very different from the likes of Chicago, or Miami, where comprehensive city planning have been implemented without stark opposition. The political atmosphere of our state suggests that no plan will be “good enough” to appease all constituencies. Furthermore, the power of the land lies in separate hands such as the MTA, DOT, and others, making it difficult to obtain unified support. As a result, there is a constant struggle that renders the idea of comprehensive city planning useless in a city like New York.
Altogether, the general trend of zoning regulations points to the influence of real estate developers. As the city continues to progress, there will be more leeway given to large-scale development projects than individual residents. Hence, in planning for the city, there needs to be concrete steps for initiating a sustainable future while respecting the rights of each community.
