City officials are discussing ways to stem the influx of residential skyscrapers on the Upper East Side that could include a height cap in certain zoning districts.
Roughly 200 Lenox Hill residents joined elected officials at a forum Thursday to discuss the matter, with City Council members Ben Kallos and Dan Garodnick among those calling for a height cap in certain parts of the Upper East Side.
Portions of the neighborhood, Mainly On Park Avenue between East 60th and East 96th streets, are currently zoned as an R10 district, according to DNAinfo. The designation allows for a higher density of people on a single lot and permits developers to build as high as they want without undergoing a public review.
No such height limits have allowed some developers to build well beyond what is typical for the neighborhood, according to Kallos, who cited DDG’s 31-story condominium development at 180 East 88th Street as an example.
Kallos urged residents to push Community Board 8 to adopt a resolution supporting a zone change in the district from R10 to R10A, which would cap building height at 210 feet and require developers to build within the heights of other neighborhood properties.
A Community Board 5 task force called earlier this year for a moratorium on massive skyscrapers in the vicinity of 57th Street, which has seen a glut of new towers currently being developed. [DNAinfo] – Rey Mashayekhi