Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the proposal to rezone the Hudson Yards area of Manhattan’s far West Side. The Building Congress considers this one of the most important land use decisions before the City of New York in many years.
The Building Congress is a diverse membership organization of over 400 organizations with 1500 members from the design, construction and real estate industry. Part of our mission is to support sound public policy, promote productive capital spending and encourage the implementation of major government projects.
The Hudson Yards district has remained largely unchanged for the past several decades. It is zoned for a manufacturing economy that no longer exists; it has limited transit access and is a bleak expanse of brick and cement with no open space and few residences west of 10th Avenue. Yet, due to its location adjacent to the midtown commercial core, the Hudson Yards has the potential to be New York City’s next growth magnet.
The Building Congress urges the Land Use Committee to endorse the rezoning plan put forth by the Bloomberg Administration to help transform the area surrounding the Hudson Rail Yards into a vibrant community.
From a planning perspective, the Building Congress believes this rezoning is environmentally responsible and will lead to sustainable development. The extension of the number 7 line will connect this district to the subway network. Above ground, 24 acres of parks and open space will dramatically reshape the environment into a true neighborhood. The waterfront, currently an underused amenity, will be more accessible to all New Yorkers.
The development of 26 million square feet of office space will pay for the transit expansion into this area and help keep New York City globally competitive in job retention and job growth.
One of the most important functions of government is to provide opportunities to create jobs, and the rezoning proposal before you does just that.
It creates the opportunity for an enormous amount of design, construction and real estate work over the next several decades as well as thousands of new private sector jobs created by the companies that relocate to this new office district. These are jobs that attract young talent to this City and sustain New York as a world capital of finance, academics, culture, and communications.
But the Hudson Yards plan creates more than just jobs. We have the opportunity to attract private investment and create additional tax revenue. The rezoning is thus a growth engine to provide for and improve vital municipal services like fire and police protection and education.
The rezoning of the Hudson Yards area will pave the way towards New York’s next frontier. The returns on the City’s investment are significant. On behalf of the Building Congress membership, I ask you to recommend passage of the City Planning Commission’s Hudson Yards rezoning proposal to the full Council. We urge you to enable this opportunity to create a dynamic new neighborhood that will benefit all New Yorkers and support the growth and continued prominence of the greatest City in the world.
