Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for February 24, 2020
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
February 24, 2020: A state judge has ruled that developers of a nearly completed 52-story condo tower will have to remove 20 floors of the building to comply with zoning restrictions.[1][2]
As it currently stands, the building would be the tallest on the Upper West Side. However, community groups claimed that the developer “had abused zoning rules to justify the project’s size.” Under normal rules, the developer might have been allowed to build only a 20-story building.[2]
The details are hard to follow because the zoning laws in New York City are complicated. To create bigger and taller buildings, the laws allow “developers to purchase the unused development rights of adjacent buildings.”[2]
But opponents said this project went too far and “created a ‘gerrymandered,’ highly unusual 39-sided zoning lot.” They claimed, and a State Supreme Court judge agreed, that many of the lots were only loosely connected. The judge ordered the developer to "remove all floors that exceed the zoning limit.”[2]
“It is exceptionally rare in New York for a developer to have to remove completed floors from a building, but it has happened,” according to the New York Times. “In 1991, a developer was forced to reduce a 31-story building on East 96th Street to 19 stories.”[2]
The developer plans to appeal and what happens next is unclear.
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
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- February 20, 2020 –58 years ago today John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth
- February 19, 2020 –61 percent of Americans say they are better off than three years ago
- February 18, 2020 –97.5 degrees Fahrenheit may be average human body temperature
- February 17, 2020 –0 presidents have their birthday on President’s Day
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