The Applicant, 415 Madison Avenue LLC, is seeking special permits pursuant to Zoning Resolution (ZR) Section 81‐645 (Special permit for a public concourse) and ZR Section 81‐685 (Special permit to modify qualifying site provisions) (the “Proposed Actions”) to facilitate development at 415 Madison Avenue in the East Midtown area of Manhattan (Block 1284, Lot 21). The Development Site is located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Madison Avenue and East 48th Street, and is in a C5‐3 zoning district in the Southern Subarea of the East Midtown Subdistrict in the Special Midtown District. The site also provides underground passage to Grand Central Terminal, and pending approval of the proposed actions, to the soon to be completed Long Island Rail Road East Side Access project.
The Proposed Actions and the non‐discretionary certifications will together facilitate the development of a new 40 story, 605 foot tall commercial development, totaling approximately 343,100 gross square feet (gsf) (24.6 FAR) on the Development Site with a ground floor retail pavilion and an open air public concourse. Of the 343,100 gsf total, approximately 323,500 gsf would be above grade; the below grade space (19,600 gsf) would be a concourse for the LIRR as part of the East Side Access project to connect the LIRR to Grand Central Terminal and a passageway to the Metro‐North Railroad (MNR) lines. Pursuant to Zoning Resolution (ZR) Section 81‐645, the Proposed Development would utilize a floor area bonus for the provision of a public concourse. In addition, pursuant to ZR Section 81‐685, the height and setback requirements, retail continuity requirements and mandatory street wall requirements would be modified to facilitate the Proposed Development.
RPA Supports actions to facilitate development at 415 Madison Avenue
Regional Plan Association supports the proposed actions seeking to facilitate development at 415 Madison Avenue. The actions seek to provide a floor area bonus for the provision of a public concourse and modify bulk and street wall requirements. Leveraging historical investments made to the LIRR East Side Access project, the first action will improve access to transit and enhance public space. The second action is justified as it not only facilitates the creation of the public concourse (and the associated enhanced transit access), but also makes sense when taking into account the overall bulk and density within the immediate surrounding area.
The East Side Access project connecting the LIRR to Grand Central Terminal will complete a vital and long overdue link in the New York region’s transportation network. With the new added capacity, the railroad will lead a new era of economic growth for Long Island. Once open, East Side Access will give LIRR riders direct access to Grand Central Terminal and East Midtown, the densest concentration of jobs in the country.
East Side Access will not only reduce commuting times for hundreds of thousands of Long Island commuters and strengthen the East Midtown business district, but it will also relieve overcrowding at Penn Station, allow Metro North to run trains on the New Haven line directly into Penn Station, and creates the potential for expanded services in the future, such as those described in RPA’s Trans-Regional Express proposal. East Side Access will also make the LIRR network more resilient by creating alternative routes into Manhattan in the event of flooding, service breakdowns or other disruptions. While it has taken longer and costs more than it should, the substantial benefits of East Side Access will continue for many decades to come.
The proposed public concourse will provide a valuable public amenity for workers and pedestrians, supplementing the overall public realm and transportation network in the area. The public concourse would improve the pedestrian network and public realm in the district by adding circulation space along the sidewalk leading to a more visible and accessible entrance to the LIRR East Side Access project. This entrance will improve access to Grand Central Terminal for commercial buildings located several blocks north from the terminal, effectively expanding the catchment area for both the terminal and the LIRR East Side Access project.
The proposed public concourse is also aligned and would complement the envisioned public realm improvements associated with the East Midtown Subdistrict. The development of 415 Madison would deliver $4.7 million dollars to the public realm improvement fund, contributing to the enhancement of pedestrian and transportation networks in the district.
It is also worth noting that based on the environmental assessment statement (EAS), the proposed actions received a negative declaration, which determined that the proposed actions would not have a significant adverse impact on the environment. The development site (Block 1284, Lot 21) was also originally identified and evaluated as a potential development site during the assessment of the Greater East Midtown rezoning approved in 2017.
Conclusion
The proposed development at 415 Madison Avenue not only leverages the historical investment in East Side Access in a smart way, but it will further enhance local and regional connectivity and accessibility to East Midtown.
We urge Community Board Five to approve and move forward with this plan.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this proposal. As always, we are ready to serve as a resource in helping to further think through these issues and develop the right mix of solutions to address our planning challenges.
