Crains New York - April 22, 2013 - (Page 10)

OPINION Unshackle east midtown T he seven-month public review of a smart Bloomberg administration plan to rezone east midtown begins this week. The plan is essential for the country’s pre-eminent business center to stay competitive. It deserves to withstand the inevitable attempts to diminish or delay it. The city estimates the rezoning would trigger the creation of 4.5 million square feet of office space and the renovation of 10 million more, accommodating 16,000 more jobs than now. It could generate $500 million for improvements, such as subway stairwells and escalators to speed commutes. New space would have to exceed the city’s energy-conservation code by 15%—achievable with modern technology. The details are complicated, but the premise is simple: Owners of aging commercial office buildings could modernize without losing square footage—which today is impossible if their properties exceed the current zoning, as many do. Developers could build new commercial towers on a few key sites; in exchange, they would help pay for the infrastructure to accommodate pedestrian and subway traffic. To surpass current zoning limits, landlords would first pay into a district improvement fund at rates the city hired an independent expert to set. To go taller still, developers could pay more into the fund or buy landmark air rights from entities such as Argent Ventures, which owns the land under Grand Central Terminal. Air-rights transfers would be simpler than under the current system, which has been used CRAIN’S ONLINE POLL for just one building since its implementation in 1992. The City Council, which will decide the plan’s fate, will hear arguments that the price to create or renovate office space in excess of current zoning is too low (from Argent) or too high (from prospective buyers). The council must keep both sides’ agendas in mind. It should also carefully consider pleas from landmarked houses of worship that need some changes to the rezoning to sell their air rights. And it should reject calls by the usual crowds for further studies. Seven months is time enough to tweak. Kicking the task to the next administration would guarantee nothing but a longer and even more politicized wait. Want the green? Gotta come clean Incredible: Albany Democrats are pushing for public funding for the state Legislature’s never-ending election campaigns, saying it will limit donors’ influence. But these same pols won’t give up their second jobs or even divulge their incomes and clients, which lead to conflicts of interest and sometimes outright corruption. The vague disclosure forms they sometimes deign to fill out reveal almost nothing. These elected officials want taxpayers to show them the money, but they won’t show their own. It’s no mystery why the public has so little faith in them. COMMENTS God is in the details SHOULD SECURITY BE TIGHTENED AT NYC RACES AND OTHER EVENTS? Yes. Spectators should be screened at the start, finish and other key points. No. The NYPD does enough behind-the-scenes police work to keep us safe. Date of poll: April 16 162 votes 48% Yes 52% No A DEVOUT BUSINESSMAN Your April 8 article “Design inspiration” (clever play on words) asserts that David Klar “quit religion nine years ago.” I was dismayed to read this inaccurate statement. While David may have left the pulpit of the rabbinate to pursue his business ventures, he most certainly has not abandoned his religion. I know this, as he attends our Manhattan synagogue—where my husband serves as rabbi—to pray on a regular basis. I also know that David is actively involved in the Jewish community of New York, serving in leadership positions and on a number of religious boards and committees. —brocha chana metzger Co-director Chabad Lubavitch of Midtown Manhattan SANDY FUNDS FOR RELIGION? I was caught off-guard to learn in Crain’s latest “40 Under 40” feature (March 25) of Rep. FOR THIS WEEK’S QUESTIONS: Go to www.crainsnewyork.com/poll to have your say. 10 | Crain’s New York Business | April 22, 2013 Grace Meng’s effort to extend Hurricane Sandy disaster funds to houses of worship. Perhaps she is well intentioned, but this would be a gross misuse of such taxpayerfunded relief. There are people still without homes, jobs and the means to get to work. There are businesses struggling to recover and survive. There are massive mass-transit dislocations. These things should be what federal funds address. Yes, spiritual strength can help people as individuals through disasters, but a place of worship can be anywhere people can find a place to assemble—albeit perhaps here on a temporary basis, and looking to compassionate local institutions to volunteer in that regard. Should someone who is being spotlighted as a bright young light in a business publication be applauded for diverting disaster relief funds that should be used first to help people re-establish their busi- nesses, livelihoods and homes? —miriam s. michel Jackson Heights WRIGHT AND WRONG Re “Frank Lloyd Wright wronged on Park Avenue” (CrainsNewYork.com) and “Landmark call speeds demolition” (Crain’s, April 15): One reacts almost viscerally to such acts of corporate vandalism, but it’s also true there’s a lot of blame to go around. The way the law was set up certainly didn’t help, and the lack of coordination between city agencies, while hardly surprising, also contributed. But the real issue is that this was a space hardly anyone even knew about. It’s a little hard to get too sad about a space no one valued enough to even have a photograph of. What did it even look like? This sure feels like a lot of hand-wringing over something nobody cared about to begin with. —franklin getchell Midtown CRAIN’S WELCOMES SUBMISSIONS to its opinion pages. Send letters to letters@crainsnewyork.com. Send columns of 475 words or fewer to opinion@crainsnewyork.com. Please include the writer’s name, company, address and telephone number. CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS editor in chief Rance Crain publisher, vp Jill R. Kaplan EDITORIAL editor Glenn Coleman managing editor Jeremy Smerd deputy managing editors Valerie Block, Erik Ipsen assistant managing editor Erik Engquist senior producer, news Elisabeth Butler Cordova news producer Amanda Fung contributing editor Elaine Pofeldt columnists Greg David, Alair Townsend crain’s health pulse editor Barbara Benson senior reporters Theresa Agovino, Aaron Elstein, Lisa Fickenscher, Matthew Flamm reporters Chris Bragg, Matt Chaban, Daniel Geiger, Andrew J. 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All rights reserved. ®CityBusiness is a registered trademark of MCP Inc., used under license agreement. CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS chairman Keith E. Crain president Rance Crain treasurer Mary Kay Crain Cindi Crain executive vp, operations William Morrow senior vp, group publisher Gloria Scoby vp/production, manufacturing David Kamis chief information officer Paul Dalpiaz founder G.D. Crain Jr. (1885-1973) chairman Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. (1911-1996) secretary Merrilee Crain (1942-2012) http://www.crainsnewyork.com/subscribe http://www.CrainsNewYork.com http://www.crainsnewyork.com/resources/classifieds http://www.crainsnewyork.com/events http://www.crainsnewyork.com/poll

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - April 22, 2013

Crains New York - April 22, 2013
IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
CORPORATE LADDER
REAL ESTATE DEALS
OPINION
ALAIR TOWNSEND
GREG DAVID
REPORT: GREEN NEW YORK
THE LIST
FOR THE RECORD
CLASSIFIEDS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - April 22, 2013