Garment District Rezoning Enters Public Review

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A rezoning of Midtown Manhattan's Garment District — part of a larger city plan to protect garment manufacturing in the district — entered the public review process Monday when it was certified by the Department of City Planning.

The zoning amendments will actually remove previous manufacturing protections in the district, which spans several blocks from West 35th to West 40th streets located west of Broadway. The protections require landlords to keep their buildings to a 1:1 ratio of garment manufacturing space compared to space for other uses.

City officials and some manufacturers claim that the 1:1 ratio rule, passed in the 1980s, has actually failed to protect garment manufacturing businesses in the district.

"The City of New York took an important first step today by providing the necessary investments in the fashion manufacturing sector, while at the same time removing antiquated zoning restrictions that have simply failed to stop the exodus of jobs overseas," Barbara A. Blair, president of the Garment District Alliance, said Monday in a statement.

In addition to removing the 1:1 ratio the zoning changes include a protection against hotel development in the zoning district, city officials said.

Now that the zoning changes have been certified by the city they will enter the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. First up in the procedure will be community boards four and five, which will have 60 days to hold a public meeting and pass a resolution on the proposed zoning changes After the community board's vote, Borough President Gale Brewer will have 30 days to share her recommendations on the plan.

Both the community boards and borough president have advisory votes in the ULURP process. The only two bodies who can alter the plan are the City Planning Commission and the City Council.

The rezoning of the Garment District is just one part of the city's plan to protect fashion production in the district. The central provision of the new plan is the Garment Center IDA program, a tax incentive through the New York City Industrial Development Agency which allows landlords to benefit from offering long-term leases to fashion manufacturers. The city also plans to invest $20 million to acquire a facility in the Garment District to serve as a dedicated production space.

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