NYC's super-tall mechanical void loophole is no more

2019-06-03T13:52:00-04:00

The City Council voted to close a zoning loophole that has allowed developers to boost building heights with excessive mechanical spaces—but it’s only the first step in addressing the issue, say lawmakers.

The zoning amendment will limit the city's notoriously over-sized mechanical spaces to 25-feet in height before additional space begins to eat into a project's allowable buildable area. New York City lawmakers are pushing to close other loopholes, as well, including rules impacting the use unenclosed voids in tall buildings to gain additional height and the agglomeration of "gerrymandered" lots to take unfair advantage of favorable zoning rules for certain parcels.

Curbed quotes Council member Ben Kallos of the Midtown East and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan as saying, “We are taking a significant step towards stopping developers from getting around zoning to give billionaires views instead of building the affordable housing New Yorkers need. This is only a start and we need to go much further.”

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NYC's super-tall mechanical void loophole is no more