URBAN DESIGN COMMITTEE
What’s In My Back Yard (W.I.M.B.Y.) ARTICLE BY JANE MCGROARTY, AIA
Rendering by Clarkson Estates. Courtesy of Cetra Ruddy.
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A lot has changed in the last couple of months. Here in New York the worst of COVID-19 seems to be behind us. Construction has restarted with troubling clouds in the housing market that were beginning to gather before the pandemic. With nearly 60% of the condo units in Long Island City built since 2018 remaining unsold, the 10,300 new units in the pipeline in Greenpoint and Long Island City must be making developers very nervous. One of the problems is that there is no demand for a 950 square foot two-bedroom condo selling at $1.5 million. What used to be the developer’s sweet spot is now looking a lot like a sore thumb. A pause in luxury high rise development could be useful and it also feels like a good time to do a comprehensive city plan. Ron Schiffman, Professor Emeritus at Pratt Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment, would like to see a moratorium on waterfront development until the city can address industrial land in the context of climate change. The need for local manufacturing became painfully evident during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when we found out that protective equipment and masks were not being manufactured in the US. Supporting manufacturing makes economic sense for the city that lacks jobs for many of its less affluent residents. COVID-19 has implications for planning and development on many fronts. It is conceivable that businesses may need far less office space than they currently occupy. More employees may continue to work remotely, spending less time in the company’s head offices. The days of the multi-floor corporate headquarters on Park Avenue may be coming to an end. In the future employees may choose to work at home or an a nearby co-working space. The environmental benefit, as we experienced in the first months of NYC shutdown, is better air quality as fewer cars and buses carried commuters to and from the city’s business districts. The Phase 2 restaurant outdoor-only openings in New York City have resulted in many hundreds of outdoor cafes in parking lanes adjacent to brick and mortar restaurants. Planners have begun to think about potentially excess commercial and office space. Mini-residential neighborhoods could be created along Park Avenue and Sixth Avenue and other central business districts by converting excess space to residential uses. The many artists, dance companies and non-profits have been
