Advocacy Alert: Rally for the Future of Midtown!

Advocacy Alert: Rally for the Future of Midtown! 

The Historic Districts Council, New York Landmarks Conservancy, and more, have formed a coalition to oppose many features of the Midtown South Mixed Use Plan (MSMX), and they are organizing a rally on June 18 at 12pm. They are asking the NYC Planning Commission and NYC Council to listen to the community and revise this plan. The coalition believes that the MSMX as currently designed will have long term harmful effects on the four quadrants in Midtown impacted by this rezoning and will lead to increased demolitions of existing historic buildings, loss of thousands of Garment District businesses and jobs, construction of enormous buildings, and the loss of millions of dollars of value in existing development rights owned by landmarked properties. They are asking for four revisions: 

1. The proposed Residential Floor Area Ratio (FAR) must be lowered to respect the built environment, encourage adaptive reuse, and not incentivize the wholesale removal of existing businesses.
   
2. Strategies are needed to keep the existing manufacturing and light industrial jobs and businesses in the MSMX area, especially in the iconic Garment District.
   
3. The plan must respect the character of the existing historic districts within the proposed area. This can be done by maintaining the development rights of landmark sites and not increasing FAR to a point where these rights become worthless. Many landmarks such as houses of worship need development rights to be able to maintain and restore their buildings in perpetuity.
   
4. The plan should provide more incentives to support adaptive reuse of existing historic buildings instead of encouraging assemblages of large parcels and demolition of multiple buildings and blocks. This would cause irreparable damage to our neighborhood and leave vacant lots for years to come. 

Who: Historic Districts Council, New York Fashion Workforce Coalition, Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), United Scenic Artists Local USA 829 IATSE, New York Landmarks Conservancy, garment district workers, and more!

What: Calling on the City Planning Commission and the City Council to listen to the community and make the Midtown South Mixed Use plan (MSMX) work for EVERYONE!

Where: 500 Seventh Avenue, between West 37th and 38th Streets, NYC

When: Wednesday, June 18th, 12pm NOON