Manhattan Community Board Five

Vikki Barbero, Chair

450 Seventh Avenue, Suite 2109

New York, NY 10123-2199
212.465.0907
f-212.465.1628

Wally Rubin, District Manager

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 26, 2015

For more information, please contact:
Community Board Five, office@cb5.org, 212-465-0907

STATE AND CITY ELECTED OFFICIALS JOIN COMMUNITY BOARD FIVE AND OTHERS
AT PRESS CONFERENCE CALLING FOR ACTION ON ALARMING RISE OF MEGATOWERS ALONG 57TH STREET AND CENTRAL PARK SOUTH

New York - Members of Manhattan Community Board Fives Central Park Sunshine Task Force
convened a press conference on the City Hall steps today. They were joined by NYC
Comptroller Scott Stringer, Councilmembers Corey Johnson and Mark Levine, State
Senator Brad Hoylman and representatives of Community Board Six, the Municipal Art
Society and Landmark West. The press conference followed the release of findings of
Community Board Fives Task Force on the development of super towers at what has come to
be known as Billionaires Row. After a year of research, public hearings and meetings with
elected officials, developers, stakeholders, advocates and scholars, CB5 released a 33-page
report that was approved by their full board on May 14th.

CB5 Chair Vikki Barbero opened the press conference by stating, We are in front of City
Hall today to call on the administration, the Department of City Planning and the City Council to
take immediate action to foster sensible land use development.

The most pressing assertion of this report is that out-of-date zoning laws and over-ambitious
developers will plunge most of Central Park into darkness if all towers go up as planned, thus
action must be taken immediately. The Task Force is calling upon the administration and the
City Council to enact a temporary moratorium on mega-towers in this area.

www.cb5.org

office@cb5.org

Task Force Chair Layla Law-Gisiko stated, If we want to make provisions for good urban
planning, we have to hit the pause button. Moratoria serve just that purpose. Its not a ban.
Its just a tool for municipalities to evaluate and remedy the impact of something they did not
foresee. She added: The current administration inherited a City that allows mega-towers. The
City can and should temporarily halt new development of mega-towers and while the pause
button is pushed, the City must develop new zoning tools to protect our open space, improve
construction safety, protect our historic resources, close tax loopholes. If the City acts swiftly,
we can protect our assets while allowing comprehensive and transparent development.

Central Park is Manhattans backyard and a priceless asset for all New Yorkers, however,
anyone who has walked along the parks southern border can see that its being overwhelmed
by new mega-towers and their shadows, said New York City Comptroller Scott M.
Stringer. The zoning was meant to protect the light and air in these green spaces, but the
zoning is failing us by allowing these towers to rise without public comment or meaningful
review. Im proud to stand with the members of Community Board Five and other advocates in
saying that we need more light on the street and in the park and more light in the planning
process.

"It feels like the tail is wagging the dog out there, with buildings going up and the city
hopelessly sitting on the sidelines," said Council Member Dan Garodnick. "I am grateful to
CB5 for their thoughtful advocacy on this subject, and am hopeful that we can find a solution
that makes sense."

I applaud the Central Park Sunshine Task Force of Community Board 5 for pushing for
transparency and public input when high-end luxury real-estate developers seek to build new
mega-towers in their community. Their study further supports the need for the city to address
the looming threat of shadows falling on our parks from the rising number of skyscrapers, said
Council Member Mark Levine.

Nobody goes to Central Park to sit in the shadow of a building said Council Member Corey
Johnson. To protect our greatest public space, I support Community Board Five's efforts to
call attention to shadow-creating skyscrapers on Central Park South. In New York City, our
open space is precious. We cannot allow luxury condos to diminish a park that is enjoyed by
millions of people every year.

www.cb5.org

office@cb5.org

State Senator Brad Hoylman said: Central Park is the crown jewel of New York Citys public
open spaces. Im grateful to the Community Board Five Sunshine Task Force for their report
showing a moratorium is urgently needed on the super-tall-luxury towers that threaten Central
Park and are being constructed without any community input. I urge the Mayor and City
Planning to develop a public review process for these developments before its too late.

"When we released Accidental Skyline in December 2013, we never expected that 18 more
months would pass without any action from the City on the zoning crisis that gave rise to
Billionaire's Row," said Margaret Newman, Executive Director of the Municipal Art
Society of New York. "This report by Community Board Five must serve as a call to action: if
what it takes to snap the City out of its slumber is a temporary moratorium on supertall building
permits, so be it."

Kate Wood, President of Landmark West, said: As private developers race for the sky,
they are erasing public assets that make our City great. If the pace continues unchecked
Central Park will become Central Dark. She added: Rethinking 50 years of zoning wont
happen overnight. We need a moratorium, we need planning.

Terrence ONeal, Chair of the Land Use Committee for Community Board Six said: In
our resolution, Community Board Six is requesting that City Council seriously looks at this mega
tower and other mega-towers, including the possibility of a moratorium until we can really
understand the impact of these huge towers.

Members of the Task Force went on to illustrate how future development would affect Central
Parks shadow line and Manhattans skyline. Other members spoke to the various chapters of
the report, which delved into concerns over transparency in the tax structure, lack of resident
coordination, and the need for a revised zoning law.

CB5 Task Force member and longtime resident of the neighborhood, Renee Cafaro spoke on
construction safety impacts on residents. New York City needs a response to the construction
safety crisis that is strong enough to match the scale of the problem. With seven buildings
going up simultaneously in a six blocks radius, the City must act swiftly. We recommend
cocoon systems for tall towers, to avoid fallen objects or debris, as well as mandatory drug
tests, echoing recommendations by the Building Trades Employers' Association.

www.cb5.org

office@cb5.org

Former CB5 chair David Diamond summed up the press conference by saying, While the
administration has been quiet so far, we urge the Mayors office and the Department of City
Planning to incorporate these very important zoning components into its current policies for
development.

The full CB5 Central Park Sunshine Task Force report can be found at www.cb5.org.

www.cb5.org

office@cb5.org