Lower Manhattan, LIC community boards wade into Midtown East rezoning fracas

Community boards in the Financial District and Long Island City could be the latest additions to the fight over rezoning Midtown East, DNAinfo reported. Lower Manhattan’s Community Board 1 is slated to vote this week on whether to join a multi-board task force established to weigh in on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to allow for increased development in the area.

Despite the fact that most of Manhattan separates CB1’s fiefdom from the rezoning district, decisions affecting the office stock in Midtown East can impact Lower Manhattan, an official from Community Board 5, which covers Midtown East, told DNAinfo.

“Board 1 has a big stake in what happens with any new Class A office space,” Wally Rubin, the district manager of CB5, which invited CB1 to join the task force, told DNAinfo. “Board 1 is concerned about the present and future of Lower Manhattan, so there’s a natural interest in what happens — what the plans are for East Midtown — that might draw away business.”

Meanwhile, some members of Queens’ Community Board 2 — which covers Long Island City, a stone’s throw across the East River from Midtown East — have expressed interest in joining the task force. The board has not yet taken any steps to join the task force, and did not respond to DNAinfo’s requests for comment.

The task force is comprised of Manhattan’s community boards 4, 5 and 6. [DNAinfo] —Zachary Kussin