In the months since Mayor Bloomberg announced his plan to rezone Midtown East, which would allow taller buildings to rise around Grand Central, opposition has mounted from several fronts, ranging from nearby religious institutions to preservationist groups keen on landmarking as many structures as possible (not without opposition, of course) before the rezoning becomes a reality.
The latest voice to join the fray comes from the Municipal Art Society, which released a 64-page report yesterday with suggestions for how to balance the desire for more office space and new iconic, starchitect-designed skyscrapers with necessities like public space, pedestrian accessibility, transportation infrastructure, and, yes, preserving worthy existing structures. Then today on the City Room blog, Times block-by-block guru David W. Dunlap highlights not only MAS's recommendations for the area but another, contrasting report by the Real Estate Board of New York (coming in at 79 pages!) that basically asserts there are no buildings in midtown worth saving. Which perspective (or, in this case, epic PDF full of research-driven agendas) will triumph?
· East Midtown: A Bold Vision for the Future [MAS]
· Icons, Placeholders and Leftovers: Midtown East Report [Real Estate Board of New York]
· 2 Views of Buildings Around Grand Central: Special or Just Old [City Room]
· Midtown East rezoning coverage [Curbed]
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