![12 FAR Tower Lot Coverage Reform 3](https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/300/quality:80/latest/12-FAR-Tower-Lot-Coverage-Reform-3.png?bossToken=aab242aa39a5832cbc742aa49ade9e98dd6fd121f7a6b421c5fa75b668ba0604 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/600/quality:80/latest/12-FAR-Tower-Lot-Coverage-Reform-3.png?bossToken=bf588b30fc35fe64a343e95e7cebab05bf8997708bc4312cd1ceaca0f740fe97 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/900/quality:80/latest/12-FAR-Tower-Lot-Coverage-Reform-3.png?bossToken=b6a8e6e732483993c00b592788116e3cac82b12e3a542057127e4f31a124e92d 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1200/quality:80/latest/12-FAR-Tower-Lot-Coverage-Reform-3.png?bossToken=6ab51c60e8216bbb5b4fa1f8869ebd0df03ac63ecf1953deb4f9d47e8839eef4 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1500/quality:80/latest/12-FAR-Tower-Lot-Coverage-Reform-3.png?bossToken=4f35402ac0a0f7a323cc40ee8a4e290b12c89bb6b75688c151773fc1187d6df6 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1800/quality:80/latest/12-FAR-Tower-Lot-Coverage-Reform-3.png?bossToken=ded5ffceb3a3cd5fee51a3cc4bb31119173dfc5e36562743bdc288aaf7ab27f3 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2100/quality:80/latest/12-FAR-Tower-Lot-Coverage-Reform-3.png?bossToken=506c87f2424d7707f5aa2865d450eaeaeddd51ee8edd0092b425d89b2d731480 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2400/quality:80/latest/12-FAR-Tower-Lot-Coverage-Reform-3.png?bossToken=3a29440ec6f18343cc1db0d248b40ba3112c32e20028431c274e02747c2cc962 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2700/quality:80/latest/12-FAR-Tower-Lot-Coverage-Reform-3.png?bossToken=820a68ef0cc16d9d7e1c85dd61d72e15f86234474bfbe6f26be1634dcf5a65eb 1543w)
Street wall requirements and a tower-lot coverage minimum would create more floor area ratio in towers that are less tall.
One can see from the two examples above that with common-sense contextual regulations, mixed-income residential buildings of 18 FAR would have been considerably shorter than the 57th street towers that were built as-of-right under the current rules.
In addition, these buildings would have a mixed-income component instead of being all-market buildings for the extremely wealthy with oversized apartments. Take the Steinway building, which has 60 oversized luxury apartments in the as-of-right building. An 18 FAR building with MIH and standard apartment sizes would have had 95 affordable apartments alone, and 287 more market-rate units. It would be large, but not out of context for Midtown. In short, it would be the kind of apartment building common to Manhattan.
These types of buildings - not more supertalls - are examples of what we would get by repealing the 12 FAR cap. While this reform is just one of many needed to address our housing scarcity crisis, it would be a significant step to delivering more of the kind of housing New Yorkers need.