UES Blood Center Tower OK’d By City Planning, Heads To Council

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A possible 16-story research tower at the New York Blood Center on East 67th Street took a major step toward reality on Wednesday when the City Planning Commission voted to approve the rezoning that would allow the construction of the new building.

The project aims to replace the nonprofit blood bank's aging headquarters on East 67th Street with a 16-story, 334-foot research tower filled with laboratories, offices and more.

To build it, the Blood Center must persuade the city to rezone the block to allow for more dense construction.

The Commission voted eight to two on Wednesday in favor of New York Blood Center's rezoning application. That sends it to the City Council, which will have 50 days to approve or disapprove it.

The proposal has roiled the neighborhood in recent months, stoking opposition from neighbors who object to the precedent that would be set by "upzoning" a mid-block site, as well as concerns about shadows the tower would cast on a nearby park and school.

Earlier in the month, though, a coalition of labor and community groups formed with the express purpose of boosting the proposal.

Their argument frames the debate in explicitly racial terms, arguing that a small, predominantly white group of Upper East Side residents should not be able to derail a project expected to create thousands of jobs and contribute to key research initiatives.

Reactions To The Decision

Rob Purvis, the executive vice president and chief of staff at the New York Blood Center, praised the City Planning Commission for its decision on Wednesday.

“This is exactly the project our city needs right now," Purvis said in a news release. "Center East will position New York to be a life science innovation hub, create jobs, stimulate billions in economic output annually, and open career opportunities for local students and young professionals."

On the opposite side of the debate, the neighborhood group Eastsiders for Responsible Zoning denounced the vote on Wednesday, calling it “a failure to listen to the community and the facts of this scheme.”

“At no point did NYBC give any legitimate reason for the rezoning as they continue to ram this proposal through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure," the group said in a statement.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, who formally recommended in July that the city reject the New York Blood Center's proposed rezoning, also issued a statement of disappointment Wednesday.

“I am disappointed in the decision made by the NYC Planning Commission and I urge the NYC Council to make the changes to the application that I have called for," Brewer wrote. "I believe that the Blood Center can still have a modern facility that is shorter and more contextual that meets their needs while respecting the neighborhood.”

Brewer's stated objections mirrored the Community Board's, including the suggestion that the Blood Center simply build a smaller structure on the same site that would not go beyond the current zoning limits.

In the Council, the project’s fate is uncertain. East Side Councilmember Ben Kallos has come out strongly against the rezoning, and his opposition could kill the project if he marshals his colleagues to vote against it.

More Blood Center coverage:

• Supporters Of Blood Center Tower Step Up Lobbying Ahead Of Vote
• Brewer Rejects UES Blood Center Rezoning, But Battle Continues
• Who Supports The Blood Center's Upper East Side Expansion?
• UES Blood Center Tower Disapproved By Board, Heads To Boro Prez
• Blood Center Returns To UES Board As Frustrations Mount
• Upper East Side Blood Center Tower Advances Despite Opposition