"After more than six years of discussion, debate, and vigorous public advocacy, the threat of permanent loss of sunlight for our living museum of plants is over," Benepe said. "We are grateful to our elected officials for their steadfast support and diligent work to craft a plan that ensures the sunlight that plants need to survive, protects the Garden from permanent damage, and enables affordable workforce housing."
City Planning Commission Chair Dan Garodnick called this project "one of the most debated private applications to come before the city." This indicates the significant community interest and divisiveness surrounding the construction plans.
The existing zoning allows for up to seven stories, yet the proposed development underwent numerous revisions to address both community concerns about shadows and the need for affordable housing.
The journey from a proposal for two 39-story towers to a single, 14-story building encapsulates the tensions between urban development needs and preservation of local ecological and aesthetic values.
Collection
[
|
...
]