Paul Bubney, Connect New York, 08.13.20
Increasing NYC Parks Department’s expense budget and giving businesses more open space are among the recommendations the New York Building Congress makes in a new report. The report also says the city should expand its current use of transferable development rights, BIDs and incentive zoning measures such as floor area ratio bonuses to capture real estate value for parks.
“NYC Parks oversees 14% of the city’s land, but consistently receives less than 1% of the expense budget and 6% of the capital budget,” the report states. Meanwhile, other major cities like Los Angeles and Chicago allocate between 2% and 4% of expense budgets to parks.
Regarding open space, the Building Congress recommends that to give businesses more outdoor space and to accommodate social distancing guidelines, “the city should continue allowing restaurants and small shops to use streets and sidewalks, while making it easier and safer for them to do so.”
https://www.connect.media/building-congress-urges-steps-to-capture-parks-real-estate-value/
