Statement by Senator Hoylman on de Blasio Administration Decision that Pier 40 Air Rights Transfer Must Go Through City Review

I commend Mayor de Blasio, along with Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen and City Planning Commissioner Carl Weisbrod, for heeding our call and insisting that a proposal to transfer air rights from Pier 40 in the Hudson River Park to the St. John’s Building at 550 Washington Street must utilize New York City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), instead of a General Project Plan (GPP) as authorized by New York State.
 
This is welcome news for local control over our land use decisions, which is the hallmark of ULURP. The de Blasio Administration’s decision ensures that the community board and local elected officials will have input on this enormous project. A GPP, on the other hand, would be an end run around the local zoning process and deny the public the opportunity to weigh in sufficiently.
 
This project has the potential to provide an important infusion of funds for the Hudson River Park and Pier 40, but also will have consequences for the neighborhoods on the Far West Side that need to be studied closely. It’s crucial that the opinions of the people most directly affected by it be taken seriously into account. I’ll continue to work with local residents, the community boards and my colleagues in government to make sure this happens.