Roosevelt Island and Manhattan Upper East Side NYC Council Member Ben Kallos is leading efforts to block construction of a 90 story Sutton Place residential skyscraper.

New York Yimby reported December 1:

The Bauhouse Groups planned 900-foot-tall residential development near the East Sides Sutton Place has been in the works for months and now tangible progress is about to happen. The developer has obtained demolition permits for the assemblage at 426-432 East 58th Street, it announced Monday. In addition to the demolition permit announcement, a new rendering of the tower has been made public, and


Rendering of 426-432 East 58th Street by Foster + Partners Via New York Yimby

can be seen above ….

… Completion of the as-of-right project is expected in the spring of 2019….

DNA Info reported December 2:

… But the demolition of those buildings will not stop efforts to preempt the tower with a height limit rezoning, according to Councilman Ben Kallos, who has worked with neighbors to fight the project….

Mr Kallos says in his December 2015 newsletter:

… We expanded our coalition against superscrapers in residential neighborhoods to groups in other areas faced with the same spectre of tall buildings that will stand out of context and block out light and air. Together we marched to bring more attention to the fight…

… Superscrapers must also be part of the conversation as we consider the Mayors proposed city-wide amendments to our zoning code:Zoning for Quality and Affordability (ZQA) and Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH)….

How does the 90 Story Sutton Place skyscraper impact Roosevelt Island? According to Mr. Kallos:

The proposed superscraper at Sutton Place would be so large that it would not only block out light and air in the surrounding residential neighborhood, but it would also cast shadows across the river onto Roosevelt Island. A simulation shows that the building’s shadow would arrive at Roosevelt Island just in time to cast tram riders in darkness on their way home.

No one should have the right to buy the sky and cast a residential neighborhood in shadows. Our city needs affordable housing in our residential neighborhoods for all New Yorkers, not 900-foot buildings for billionaires.

Mr. Kallos said:

… A Billionaire should not be able to take light and air from Roosevelt Island…

during a May 21 Roosevelt Island Town Hall Meeting.

Here’s Manhattan Neighborhood Network discussion hosted by Mr. Kallos on Superscrapers. and a petition to stop Supercrapers. Mr. Kallos also reports in his December 2015 newsletter:

Do You Qualify to Have Your Rent Frozen?

Are you at least 62 years of age? Then you may be eligible to have your rent frozen through the NYC Rent Freeze Program (SCRIE). We are hosting a screening and application session for this program with the Roosevelt Island Senior Association on Monday, December 7, 10am – 2pm, at 546 Main Street #1. If you, a friend, or family member is interested in applying, Community Service Society will be available to assist. Please call my office at 212-860-1950 to learn what documentation you will need and to RSVP.

Check out the December Newsletter from Mr. Kallos:

I hope you had a healthy and happy Thanksgiving, as we did. We celebrated a very special holiday with our NYCHA residents, with Lexington Houses residents receiving new stoves from my office’s funding (and an untimely gas outage was fixed ahead of Thanksgiving) and free turkeys from the New York Common Pantry for the residents of Robins Plaza and Stanley Isaacs and Holmes Towers.

As the holiday season continues, we are partnering with Chabad Upper East Side to provide free menorahs that you can pick up from our office. And of course, I invite you to join us at our holiday party on Thursday, December 17, 5pm-7pm, in our District Office at 244 E 93rd Street. I hope you can attend, and please remember to RSVP.

This month we kept up the campaign against superscrapers, including in testimony on the Mayors zoning proposals, held a public hearing on legislation to recover $1.6 billion in outstanding debt to the city, and passed a law I introduced.

Here on the East Side, we continued the battle against the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station with a bill requiring air quality monitoring, announced a master plan for the East River Esplanade from 62nd Street to 78th Street and are giving you a chance to decide how we spend over $1 million in City Council District 5 funding at Carl Schurz Park at a visioning session on December 15.

I hope to see you at my office for First Friday or Policy Night or at our rent freeze screening on Roosevelt Island on Monday, December 7. And as we approach the new year, please save January 10 at 1pm on your calendar for our annual State of the District event.

I am thankful to have this amazing job as your council member. What are you most thankful for this holiday season?

Sincerely,

Ben Kallos
TABLE of CONTENTS

  1. Building and Preserving Neighborhoods for All New Yorkers
  2. Recovering $1.6 Billion in Debt to the City
  3. Marine Transfer Station Air Quality
  4. Getting “Dark Money” Out of Our Elections
  5. A Happy Thanksgiving at NYCHA

HOUSING and ZONING

  1. Do You Qualify to Have Your Rent Frozen?
  2. $2.6 Billion for Supportive Housing
  3. Identifying Affordable Housing Hidden by Bad Landlords
  4. Worst Landlords
  5. Preserving an Historic House at 412 E 85th Street

PARKS, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, and the ENVIRONMENT

  1. New Playground for Carl Schurz Park
  2. East River Esplanade Visioning
  3. FDR Renovations Completed
  4. Funding for the Second Avenue Subway
  5. Beyond Coal

GOOD GOVERNMENT and EQUALITY

  1. Passing aLaw to Make Standardize Locations
  2. Fight for $15
  3. Clean Slate

HEALTH

  1. Medicare Update and Enrollment
  2. Cooking with Kallos
  3. American-Italian Cancer Dinner
  4. LGBT Center

COMMUNITY

  1. 86th Street Business Improvement District
  2. Community Board Applications
  3. Free Menorahs in My District Office
  4. Papal Appeal
  5. Big Apple Circus
  6. Gifford Millers Portrait at City Hall

OFFICE UPDATES

  1. Legislative Corner
  2. In the Neighborhood
  3. Volunteer
  4. Here to Help
  5. Legal Clinics
  6. Mobile District Hours
  7. Ben in Your Building
  8. City Council Events

COMMUNITY RESOURCES

  1. Free Storage Bins for E-Waste Recycling
  2. Organics Collection
  3. Emergency Snow Laborers Needed
  4. Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, Advance Directives Project
  5. Citizen’s CommitteeNeighborhood Grants
  6. Bike New York
  7. Jewish Association Serving the Aging
  8. Community Events