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Manhattan Community oard Five

May 15, 2015

Honorable Bill de Blasio

Mayor

City Hall

New York, New York 10019

Hon. Carl Weisbrod

Chair of the City Planning Commission

22 Reade Street

New York, NY 10007

Re: RESOLUTION CENTRAL PARK SUNSHINE TASK FORCE

Dear Mayor de Blasio and Chair Weisbrod:

At the regularly scheduled monthly Community Board Five meeting on Thursday, May 14, 2015, thefollowing resolution passed with a vote of 31 in favor; 0 opposed; 5 abstaining; 1 present but not entitled

to vote:

WHEREAS, The Central Park Sunshine Task Force (CPSTF) of Community Board Five was created toassess the impact and recommend policy changes needed to respond to rapid progress of development ofultra-luxury condo mega-towers along Central Park South; and

WHEREAS, The Central Park Sunshine Task Force has studied the matter and issued a report recommendingpolicy changes; and

WHEREAS, Super tall towers in Midtown have largely been built as-of-right without any public review; and

WHEREAS, The current zoning code has not received a comprehensive update in over 50 years; and

WHEREAS, Current as-of-right development regulations allow adjacent sites to be assembled to permit

construction of buildings higher than underlying zoning allows; and

WHEREAS, Seven mega-towers are currently being built along Central Park South corridor; and

WHEREAS, Another five sites are being developed, with another unidentified number of potential soft sitesclustered in the same area; and

WHEREAS, New construction technology makes it possible to build mega-tall buildings on relatively small

lots; and

Vikki Barbero, Chair 450 Seventh Avenue, Suite 2109 Wally Rubin, District Manager

New York, NY 10123-2199

212.465.0907 f-212.465.1628

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www.cb5.org office@cb5.org

WHEREAS, The new mega-towers will cast significantly longer shadows over Central Park than were everanticipated by the NYC zoning resolution; and

WHEREAS, There is no analysis as to the impact of mega-tall buildings on the infrastructure of New YorkCity, including transportation, sanitation, sewage, storm resilience, parks, emergency services, historic

resources; and

WHEREAS, There has been no public input regarding the impact of mega-towers on its surroundings,especially in terms of the quality of public space and access to light and air; and

WHEREAS, Construction safety has been a major issue with an alarmingly high number of accidents andincidents; and

WHEREAS, The NYC Zoning Resolution has not been reviewed or updated in the context of mega-tallbuildings; and

WHEREAS, The Central Park Sunshine Task force has identified the following problems:

- Lack of transparency

- Lack of protection to air and light in open space

- Tax loopholes- Vulnerability of historic resources

- Construction safety; therefore be it

RESOLVED, Community Board Five supports the findings of the Central Park Sunshine Task Force Report,and be it further

RESOLVED, In accordance with its core principle of quality of life for all, Community Board Five requestsan immediate temporary moratorium on new construction of buildings of 600 feet and higher that are not

undergoing public review, especially those with heights sufficient to cast shadows over Central Park, until theimpacts of such developments have been thoroughly and transparently reviewed in a public process and the

New York City zoning resolution has been adjusted accordingly, and be it further

RESOLVED, Community Board Five urges the Mayor, The Department of City Planning, as well as theNYC City Council to immediately undertake necessary actions to adequately update the Zoning Resolution to

address issues raised by our report, and be it further

RESOLVED, Community Board Five urges that construction safety standards be upgraded to enhance safetyand accountability, and violations be corrected before any further work is permitted to continue.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this matter.

Sincerely,

Vikki Barbero Layla Law-Gisiko

Chair Chair, Landmarks Committee