Massive Midtown Rezoning Plan Hearing Wednesday

MIDTOWN, NY — The first public feedback session for New York City's new plan to rezone and transform 42 blocks of southern Midtown hosted by Community Board 5 is coming up on Wednesday evening.

The public hearing, which will start at 6 p.m. at the Community Board 5 office at 450 Seventh Ave., will be an open forum for the public to voice their comments, questions and concerns to elected officials and community board members.

City officials launched the public review process for the plan — which is called the Midtown-South Mixed-Use Plan — in late January.

City planners who want to rezone parts of Midtown say that the Midtown-South Mixed-Use plan would transform the neighborhood's underutilized office buildings and vacant storefronts into affordable housing and thriving business corridors.

City officials say that by tweaking the residential and commercial zoning in the area between 23rd Street and 40th Street, they would be able to create an estimated 9,700 new homes — including up to 2,900 permanently affordable homes — in an area where housing is largely not allowed today.

"This plan will unlock badly needed housing in an area that historically hasn't allowed it, transforming Midtown into a vibrant live-work neighborhood humming with activity," Councilmember Keith Powers, who is in support of the plan and represents the area, said in January.

The public review process is the first step in tweaking neighborhood zoning to allow for more housing and businesses.

The public review is a roughly seven-month discussion period where city planners will present the plan to local community boards and the borough president, followed by public hearings.

These boards and stakeholders will make their official recommendations to the city, and once the process is complete, the plan will go before the City Council for a vote.

"The public review process will be important for balancing our desperate housing need with public realm improvements and support for local businesses, and I encourage New Yorkers to share their thoughts and help shape the future of Midtown South," Powers said.

The public hearing will take place on Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 450 Seventh Ave. in room 2109. If you can't attend in person, you can register to attend via Zoom call here.

No presentations on the plan will be given at the meeting, it is just a forum for public comments.

To learn more about the Midtown-South Mixed-Use Plan ahead of Wednesday's meeting, click here to watch a presentation from the Department of City Planning, or click here for the project's website. Here's a map of the rezoning plan.

If you can't attend in person but would like to submit a public comment, you can send written comments to office@cb5.org by March 19.

For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.