CB7 and the Riverside Center Development

The review process for the Riverside Center development is a long one for Extell- a bit like walking too many blocks on a hot day this summer. There is the city’s rezoning process, public hearings, and CB7.

Community Board 7 held a special 4 hour meeting just to talk about Extell’s project, finalizing their own recommendations. They voted 36 to 2 to disapprove of Extell’s plan unless Extell builds according to CB7’s “modifications.” In essence, CB7 wants more school space and affordable housing and less buildings overall. You can see a concise breakdown of the differences since the original 1992 plan, good visuals, and the core principles CB7 is working from in this report.

• Extell has already agreed to fund construction for the “core and shell” of 75,000 square feet of school space- the School Construction Authority will have to pay for the rest. CB7 wants Extell to pay for all of it.
• Extell has already agreed to make 12% of the units affordable for 20 years. CB7 wants 30% affordable forever.
• CB7 wants Extell to make a “substantial contribution” to potential future reconfiguration of the Miller Highway.

At the end of the meeting, an Extell representative handed out a statement that read, in part: “While we recognize the Board’s hard work, they clearly do not recognize the difficulty in developing projects in this uniquely challenging economic environment. However, this is just the beginning of a long process. We look forward to the next round of the process.”

But before that, it’s off to the City Planning Commission and the City Council for Extell.

Photo Credit: NYC.gov

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