City planners are betting big on Manhattan’s Midtown South, launching a bold proposal to rezone a 42-block area near Penn Station to address the city’s housing crisis.
The plan could spawn 10,000 new apartments in the heart of Manhattan, transforming the struggling office district in the wake of Covid into a vibrant, round-the-clock neighborhood, according to city officials.
“It’s outrageous that in an area this downtown, with a housing crisis this bad, that if you wanted to build housing here, our rules simply wouldn’t allow it,” city planning director Dan Garodnick told the reporters at a public briefing last week.
The City Planning Department began the process this week to reimagine the stretch between 23rd and 40th streets and Fifth and Eighth streets. The move follows Mayor Eric Adams’ vision to breathe life into Midtown’s office market by allowing residential conversions and high-rise residential development.
The rezoning, officials say, could include up to 2,800 affordable housing units under rules that require developers to cap rents for low- and moderate-income tenants in at least 25% of new apartments.
“There’s a real opportunity to come back in a fairer and more affordable way,” Rafael Cester, CEO of the Community Preservation Corporation, told Gothamist.
The plan draws inspiration from the transformation of the financial district, which was transformed into a booming residential area after 9/11 with tax incentives, but critics warn against repeating Fidi’s mistakes.
Redevelopment of the financial district did not mandate affordable housing, leaving low-income renters locked out.
Today, the Trust boasts some of Manhattan’s priciest rents and lowest poverty rates, according to NYU’s Furman Center.
Supporters argue that Midtown South, with its proximity to major transit hubs like Penn Station and the Port Authority, is perfect for a residential revival.
“There’s so much transportation infrastructure,” Mitchell Moss, an NYU professor of urban planning, told Outat. “It was made for more shelter.”
The proposal already has the support of key city members Keith Powers and Erik Bottcher, whose support will be critical when the council votes later this year.
But not everyone is on board.
John Mudd, president of the Midtown South Community Council, called the plan insufficient to address the city’s dire need for low-income housing.
“Community units are wanting” in which an average New Yorker can move, he told Gothamist.
“They’re really talking about a drop in the bucket when it comes to housing for people who really need it.”
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