The Sky Is Not the Limit – at Least for Now

Some people – real estate developers and Mayor Bill de Blasio among them – actually believe New York City needs taller residential buildings, and more of them. But apparently there are still a few sane people left in Albany because this week state legislation that would have allowed significantly taller residential buildings throughout much of the city was shelved, thanks to the opposition of community and civic organizations, including the Brooklyn Heights Association (BHA), the Brooklyn Eagle reports.

The BHA decried de Blasio and the real estate industry for mounting a “stealth approach to loosening land use controls and allowing more massive development.” Two bills, one in the State Senate and other in the Assembly, would have lifted the floor-area ratio, or F.A.R., which currently restricts the height of buildings based on their footprint. Without the current F.A.R. of 12, much taller buildings could be built in certain parts of the city, including downtown Brooklyn.

But developers’ hunger for ever-taller buildings isn’t likely to fade in the summer heat. “Despite being killed this session,” the BHA said, “many expect it to be resurrected during the next legislative session.”