My name is Marcel Negret, and I am a Senior Planner at Regional Plan Association (RPA). Thank you for the opportunity to testify today in support of the City of Yes for Economic Opportunity zoning text amendment.
Post-pandemic trends have created shifts that impact where New Yorkers are spending their time and money - increasingly outside of the traditional central business district. But New York City’s zoning has not kept up with these changes. Emerging economic hubs in more residential parts of the city have seen the benefit of these changes, and we must lean into these new dynamics in order to foster equitable growth and to realize the goal of reimagining our commercial districts as vibrant work, live, play destinations.
This success has also meant that commercial rents outside of Manhattan have risen and industrial space has become the most expensive market in the country. Cushman & Wakefield Marketbeat NY Outer Boroughs Industrial Q4 2023; Nehring, A. (2023, October 20). “NYC’s Outer Boroughs Overtake San Francisco as Most Expensive Industrial Market” Commercial Observer Increasing costs and regulatory hurdles have made it harder for smaller businesses or long-time community staples to expand and continue to serve their communities. Existing commercial districts also need to diversify. In our analysis of dozens of transit-oriented commercial corridors around the city, we found that many established districts are too homogenous to become 24/7 destinations. In the Greater Midtown area, for example, 73% of built floor area is commercial space and it has approximately 11 workers for every resident, while the average across other commercial areas is closer to 2 workers for every resident.
The increase in local shopping and dining has also led to demands for better services and programming, especially for the public realm. However, existing zoning makes managing these changes very difficult. For example, managing deliveries is hard when delivery hubs are prohibited in commercial districts. Arbitrary vacancy regulations make it difficult to fill vacant storefronts, creating an eyesore for communities and limiting opportunities for small businesses. This is especially problematic since the pandemic resulted in long vacancies and residential districts already cover 75% of the city’s zoned land area. We need our zoning code to help us reactive once-thriving commercial corridors.
Zoning tools won’t solve these issues overnight. But they can set a framework to help us achieve better outcomes for neighborhoods and small businesses in the long term. We have to seize this opportunity and the City of Yes proposal will make it easier for businesses to find affordable space and invest in their communities. We can achieve better outcomes while continuing to protect the health, safety, and quality of life that communities deserve.
We believe that the provisions that would establish new “M” manufacturing districts can be improved. As Brooklyn Borough President Reynoso, other officials, and advocates have pointed out, the City is required to conduct an industrial development strategic plan by the end of 2025. This analysis should guide the land-use changes necessary to support the industrial sector. Additionally, as currently written, the manufacturing zones are not mapped and would rely on private applications to adopt the new proposed districts. This leaves room for ad-hoc development of industrial and non-industrial uses in the same areas without proper consideration of the needs and opportunities of the city’s industrial sector. Therefore, it is essential to establish clear spatial criteria on where it would be possible to map the new districts and avoid potential conflicts in the future.
Over a century ago, New York City adopted the nation’s first comprehensive zoning framework. It was meant to solve problems and improve quality of life while guiding future change for New Yorkers. It has been over six decades since we last made significant changes, which has led to our current regulations being ill-suited to help us address our new reality.
We must modernize our regulations so that we can effectively adapt to new technologies, and proactively engage in the changing needs of our economy, our small businesses and our communities. We need to make it easier and more affordable for small businesses and entrepreneurs to contribute to this great city, to encourage better street designs and organization in the right-of-way, to ensure residents can more easily access the things they need and to finally do away with arbitrary and inequitable regulations. Let’s pass the City of Yes for Economic Opportunity proposal and unlock our City’s potential.
