Join Village Preservation and Councilmember Harvey Epstein (list in formation) for a press conference Thursday, April 23rd at 2:30pm, demanding the City correct its zoning text to not allow tall towers with no affordable housing in residential neighborhoods like the planned 538 ft. tall tower at 5 West 13th Street, and as they claimed when they passed “City of Yes.” At that time, City officials explicitly claimed that a development under new zoning at this site would take the form of a lower, more contextual building that would also be more likely to utilize provisions that include a portion of affordable housing. Under the text as written, that claim has turned out to be false, as per the recent ruling by the Department of Buildings denying our zoning challenge. 

But the City, under a new administration, has an opportunity to live up to that promise by fixing its zoning text language, to change what kind of development can be built here and at other locations — lower and bulkier, and more likely to include affordable housing, or tall, non-contextual, and nothing but super-luxury condos.