AFTER MAJOR CONCESSIONS, LAST OPEN LAND ON MANHATTAN’S UPPER WEST SIDE APPROVED FOR DEVELOPMENT

Wednesday, December 08, 2010 -

At the City Council’s Land Use Committee today, Council Member Gale A. Brewer successfully urged her colleagues to approve the Riverside Center development, bordering West 59 Street to West 61 Street from West End Avenue to Riverside Boulevard, as proposed by the Extell Development Corporation. The vote was unanimous, to allow work to proceed on the last parcel of undeveloped land from the old Hudson Rail Yards on the upper West Side of Manhattan.

Brewer’s support of the controversial project had been contingent upon Extell’s willingness to collaborate with her office and Community Board 7, Manhattan, on a number of key issues. These include affordable housing, open space, an on-site school, funding for Riverside Park South, a construction task force to monitor the project, and concessions by the developer on density and sustainability.

The agreed-upon modifications include:

SCHOOL: 100,000 square feet of “core and shell” will be provided by the developer at no cost, and 85,000 square feet of the 100,000 square feet will be fully fitted-out by the School Construction Authority. The remaining 15,000 square feet will be stored for 5 years for future use in expansion. This new school is critical to alleviating current overcrowding and meeting future needs in grades K-8 on the upper West Side.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Thanks to the Department of City Planning, the project has been included in the city’s inclusionary housing program, requiring 20% of the residential floor area to be affordable housing, totaling nearly 500,000 square feet. The developer agreed to put 135,000 (180-220 units) square feet of new affordable housing units on-site and to establish a housing task force comprised of members of Community Boards 7 and 4, as well as the Council Member and Borough President, to review all affordable housing applications prior to their submission to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

OPEN SPACE: 90% of the on-site open space has been brought down to street level, making it accessible to the public along Riverside Boulevard and West 59 Street, and improving sight lines to the river and Riverside Park South. The open space is not only 30% larger than originally proposed, it is more continuous and practical, and it includes a playground nearly double in size over the original design.

PARKS: The development will designate $20 million to the Parks Department to mitigate the impact of Riverside Center residents on Riverside Park South. These funds will contribute to both the completion of the renovation of the West 59 Street Recreation Center and to Riverside Park South.

RETAIL: The developer agreed to increase both the number and square footage of retail stores along West End Avenue. In addition, Council Member Brewer secured a promise by the developer to make best efforts to rent to neighborhood businesses as opposed to destination chain stores.

SUSTAINABILITY: The developer is mandated to report back in writing to the Community Board and the Council Member on the energy efficiency standards for each building. Energy efficiency measures with respect to fuel consumption and energy use will be incorporated into the building design resulting in at least 10 percent less energy consumption in building systems than the required New York State energy code in effect at the time of the building design. In addition, necessary storm water management language is included in the Restrictive Declaration.

PARKING: The Special Permit was amended to allow 1500 parking spaces (up from 1260 allocated by the City Planning Commission), but the additional 240 spaces are self-park, and not valet parking. The garage will include car share spaces, bike parking and electrical charging stations.

JOBS: Riverside Center will be a union construction project, and the developer is committed to awarding no less than 15% of the total dollar value of the construction trade contracts and of the soft costs to M/WBE firms.

“Riverside Center is a massive development with important near and long-term impacts on our community,” said Council Member Brewer. “Bringing a project of this size into reasonable compliance with the scale and values of the upper West Side has required a long process of analysis and negotiation. I do wish that this project was less dense and conformed to the 1992 square footage of 2.4 million square feet as opposed to the 3.1 million square feet that we passed.”

Brewer added: “I have been adamant that Riverside Center must not become an exclusive enclave for the wealthy. Our goal has been the preservation of the upper West Side as a vibrant, family-oriented community, cognizant of its history and values, open to all, friendly to business, eager for living wage jobs, and dedicated to a common public interest.”

“I believe that the concessions obtained from the developer are significant, that they advance these goals, are fair and balanced, and that they help preserve the quality of life and family orientation that has made our community so desirable for developers.”

Brewer continued: “This enormously complex project challenges our capacity as a neighborhood and city to manage large development, and to integrate it with existing communities.”

“Riverside Center is in fact a master plan for a series of linked developments lasting many years, all within a large, single, bounded site in a dense urban setting. We have other examples in our midst: Lincoln Center, from the Sixties; Riverside South, from the Eighties and Nineties; and recently Fordham University’s proposed city of towers on Columbus Avenue. We know that each such development profoundly alters the character of the upper West Side, and has had impacts far beyond original intent.”

Council Member Brewer concluded: “Much has been achieved to date by working in an atmosphere of good will and serious reflection. With the agreements reached today, I believe that we have achieved many of our most important goals, improved the quality of the development both for residents and neighbors, and laid a solid groundwork for the project. I look forward to the hard work ahead.”

“This was an example of a successful public land use process,” stated Mel Wymore, Chair of Community Board 7. “The project began as a private enclave and as a result of working with all of the stakeholders it will be a true community amenity”. Chair Wymore concluded: “I thank Council Member Brewer, the members of Community Board 7 and many others for their informed perspective and their willingness to participate in this process.”

Council Member Brewer expressed her profound thanks to: Community Board 7 Chair Mel Wymore, as well as members Ethel Sheffer, Richard Asche, Mark Diller, Hope Cohen, and District Manager Penny Ryan for their incisive and comprehensive analysis and report on Riverside Center. Their work provided the tools for the wider community and the City Council to grasp the nature of the project, its implications and impacts, and their report formed the basis for our negotiations with the developer. I also want to thank Gail Benjamin, Christian Hylton, and Danielle DeCerbo of the City Council’s Land Use Division, Ramon Martinez, Deputy Director in the Office of the Speaker, as well as Speaker Christine Quinn. Council Members Leroy Comrie, Inez Dickens, Mark Weprin as well as the Manhattan and Bronx Delegations were particularly supportive and helpful. Other thanks go to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and his staff, as well as Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, and staff from Parks, City Planning, School Construction Authority and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. I am appreciative also of the honest negotiations provided by representatives of the Extell Development Corporation. I offer my profound thanks to my staff members Jesse Bodine and Jonathan Gundel for their long and hard work during the public process; their insight and support were essential to our success.

The full Council will vote on the plan at the December 20, 2010 Stated Council meeting.