Happy 100th Birthday to the City's First Zoning Law

New York City’s first zoning law went into effect 100 years ago Monday, and it’s largely responsible for a surprising fact: in 1910 there were 164 residents per acre of land in Manhattan, while today there are just 109.

Yes, thanks to the Zoning Resolution adopted on July 25, 1916 – and its successor of 1961 – New York City is far less congested that it would be if developers had been allowed to do as they pleased, which was the case prior to 1916.

George McAneny, the borough president of Manhattan, was one of the co-authors of the resolution. As reported by the New York Times, he offered this prescient plea in 1913: “The time has come when effort should be made to regulate the height, size and arrangement of buildings.” Regulations were needed, he added,“to arrest the seriously increasing evil of the shutting off of light and air from other buildings and from the public streets, to prevent unwholesome and dangerous congestion both in living conditions and in street and transit traffic.”

So next time you watch a supertall condo tower obliterate the view from your living room window, remember that it could have been much, much worse. Then go ahead and ask yourself the inevitable question: Where is George McAneny when we need him most?