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Originally Posted by aquablue
Using FAR limits the density of a building thus the resultant demand on city services, so it is a way of controlling how a city functions. NY also has those setback zoning guidelines that combine to make it rather difficult to be free to design a building without limitations. The setback laws are there to prevent the city from becoming too dark and imposing on the street.
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The FAR in effect limits the heights of buildings (there's only so much space you can build), but the restrictions on setbacks and streetwall heights also limit designs of towers. Of course there is always the special permit process, where towers like 15 Penn and Tower Verre had multiple special permits. At One57, they specifically worked within the guidelines (envelope) of that site, and they're doing the same at 432 Park. Over on the west side, City Planning had in place a few sites with
unlimited FAR, but the City Council wasn't comfortable with that, and limits of about 24 were put in for those sites (today we know them as One Hudson Yards, the Girasole, Sherwood Equities tower, and a couple of other sites.
What's planned on the east side will be similar, but with more options on how the FARs are built up. Developers will pay for the privilege and add other improvements to the City.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/busines...NBn7V8YYokal4N
Grand Central’s grand plan
By Steve Cuozzo
July 17, 2012
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Contrary to what’s been published, there are no height limits in the area either in existing zoning or in the rezoning. Greater heights than today’s would be entirely a function of the enlarged FAR, which require more floors to accommodate more square feet, and thus a loftier building. Not that the new zoning would lead to a sprouting of tall “sliver” buildings — it requires “qualifying sites” to have full-block avenue frontage and a minimum 25,000 square-foot footprint.
7. What’s the catch with “as of right”? A developer would not have to go through time-consuming and costly ULURP. But they’d have to pay the city for each additional square foot desired to build in excess of the current 15 FAR or buy air rights. The payment to the city would buy a District Improvement Bonus (DIB) to help pay for transit and other public-oriented upgrades in the area.
...The new zoning won’t take effect until 2017, because Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden wants to protect the Hudson Yards District from competition in the short run. Or even the appearance of competition — since many real estate insiders say that a rezoned Midtown East wouldn’t really compete with Hudson Yards, which will have larger footprints and floor plates and lower tenant costs due to subsidies. While Burden is committed to Midtown’s long-term future, she’s passionate about letting nothing interfere with or dilute interest in Hudson Yards right now. She told us, “We believe we need this time, five years, for these new [Hudson Yards] buildings to anchor. We want to send a crystal-clear signal that Hudson Yards is an enormous priority for the [Bloomberg] administration.”
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It also gives time for qualifying sites to allow current leases to run their course.