Adjacent lot

For the purposes of Section 81-60, inclusive, an "adjacent lot" is:

(a)        a zoning lot that is contiguous to the lot occupied by the designated landmark building or other structure or one that is across a street and opposite the lot occupied by such designated landmark building or other structure, or, in the case of a corner lot, one that fronts on the same street intersection as the lot occupied by such landmark building or other structure; and

(b)        in C5-3 or C6-6 Districts, a zoning lot that is contiguous to, or across a street and opposite another lot or series of lots that, except for the intervention of streets or street intersections, extend to the lot occupied by such designated landmark building or other structure. All such lots shall be in the same ownership (fee ownership or ownership as defined under zoning lot in Section 12-10 (DEFINITIONS).

Granting lot

For the purposes of Section 81-60, inclusive, a “granting lot” shall mean a zoning lot that contains a landmark building or other structure. Such granting lot may transfer development rights pursuant to Sections 81-632 (Special permit for transfer of development rights from landmarks to the Vanderbilt Corridor Subarea), 81-642 (Transfer of development rights from landmarks to qualifying sites), or 81-653 (Special permit for transfer of development rights from landmarks to non-qualifying sites).

Landmark building or other structure

For the purposes of Section 81-60, inclusive, a “landmark building or other structure” shall include any structure designated as a landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission pursuant to the New York City Charter and Administrative Code, but shall not include those portions of zoning lots used for cemetery purposes, statues, monuments or bridges. No transfer of development rights is permitted pursuant to Section 81-60, inclusive, from those portions of zoning lots used for cemetery purposes, or any structures within historic districts, statues, monuments or bridges.

Non-qualifying site

For the purposes of Section 81-60, inclusive, a “non-qualifying site” shall refer to a zoning lot that does not meet the criteria for a qualifying site and is located in a subarea other than the Vanderbilt Corridor Subarea.  

Public Realm Improvement Fund

For the purposes of Section 81-60, inclusive, the “Public Realm Improvement Fund” (the “Fund”) shall be a separate interest-bearing account established for the deposit of contributions made when developments or, where permitted, enlargements on qualifying sites in the East Midtown Subdistrict will exceed the basic maximum floor area ratio set forth in Section 81-64 (Special Floor Area Provisions for Qualifying Sites) through their utilization of the provisions of Sections 81-642 (Transfer of development rights from landmarks to qualifying sites), 81-643 (Special provisions for retaining non-complying floor area in commercial buildings) or 81-685 (Special permit to modify qualifying site provisions). The Fund shall be utilized, at the discretion of the Public Realm Improvement Fund Governing Group, to provide funding to implement improvements to the East Midtown Subdistrict, and its immediate vicinity, in the Borough of Manhattan. Upon receipt of any contribution, the Public Realm Improvement Fund Governing Group or the Department of City Planning shall notify the Comptroller of the City of New York and the Speaker of the New York City Council and promptly deposit it into the Fund.

Public Realm Improvement Fund Development Rights Valuation

For the purposes of Section 81-60, inclusive, the “Public Realm Improvement Fund Development Rights Valuation” (“Development Rights Valuation”) shall be a value per square foot of transferable development rights in the East Midtown Subdistrict, which shall provide a basis for establishing a minimum contribution to the Public Realm Improvement Fund. As of August 9, 2017, the Development Rights Valuation shall be set at $307.45 per square foot.

When proposing an adjustment to the Development Rights Valuation, the Department of City Planning shall undertake a transferrable development rights valuation study conducted by qualified professionals utilizing industry best practices. The City Planning Commission shall, by rule, review and adjust the Development Rights Valuation, pursuant to the City Administrative Procedures Act not more than once every three years and not less than once every five years.

An applicant, upon written request to the Commission, may request a transferable development rights valuation study to evaluate whether the Development Rights Valuation should be modified for a particular qualifying site based upon any recent changes in market conditions within the Subdistrict. The study must be paid for by the applicant and completed within a one-year timeframe. The Department of City Planning shall initiate the study, to be conducted by qualified professionals utilizing industry best practices. Where the study demonstrates that the value of the development rights for the qualifying site is less than the Development Rights Valuation, the Commission shall, by certification, and in connection with a certification pursuant to Section 81-642 (Transfer of development rights from landmarks to qualifying sites), modify the required contribution to 20 percent of the adjusted valuation.

Public Realm Improvement Fund Governing Group

For the purposes of Section 81-60, inclusive, the “Public Realm Improvement Fund Governing Group” (the “Governing Group”) shall be established to administer the Public Realm Improvement Fund (the “Fund”), and shall consist of 13 members: seven members shall be representatives of City agencies, appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the Mayor; one member shall be a representative of a citywide civic organization, appointed by the Office of the Manhattan Borough President; one member shall be a representative of the Office of the Manhattan Borough President; one member shall be a representative of the New York City Council member representing the City Council district encompassing the largest portion of the East Midtown Subdistrict; one member shall be a representative of the Speaker of the City Council; one member shall be a representative of Manhattan Community Board 5; and one member shall be a representative of Manhattan Community Board 6. The Governing Group shall be a local development corporation, organized pursuant to the New York State Not-for-Profit Corporation Law, and affiliated with City government for purposes of the New York State Public Authorities Law, whose organizational purpose shall be limited solely to the purposes set forth in this Chapter. Each member shall have one vote, and all Governing Group decisions, as set forth below, shall be upon a majority vote at a public meeting at which a quorum is present. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the members.

The purpose of the Governing Group shall be to bolster and enhance East Midtown’s status as a premier central business district with a high-quality public realm, by allocating funds from the Fund to implement public realm improvement projects. The Governing Group shall establish and maintain a Public Realm Improvement Concept Plan (“Concept Plan”) for the purpose of creating a list of priority improvements, and shall have the authority to amend such Concept Plan, and associated list of improvements, as necessary. All priority improvements in the Concept Plan shall meet the criteria set forth in Section 81-683 (Criteria for improvements in the Public Realm Improvement Concept Plan).

Establishment of the Concept Plan, amendment of the Concept Plan, calendaring of items for a vote to fund, and designation of funding for a specific public realm improvement on the Concept Plan shall be decisions requiring a majority vote of the Governing Group at a meeting at which a quorum is present. If only members of the Governing Group appointed by the Mayor vote to calendar a particular public realm improvement for a vote to fund it, the Governing Group shall conduct a public hearing on the matter prior to such improvement being placed on the calendar for vote. In addition, if any member of the Governing Group puts forth a proposed public realm improvement, discussion of such improvement shall be added to the agenda of the next public meeting. Establishment of the initial Concept Plan shall be completed no later than November 1, 2017.

In the event that more than 20 million dollars remains in the Fund for more than three years, the Governing Group shall be required to hold a vote either to fund a public realm improvement project or to retain the funds.

The Governing Group shall adopt procedures for the conduct of its activities. Such procedures shall be consistent with the requirements of the New York State Open Meetings Law (Article 7, NYS Public Officers Law), which procedures shall also be consistent with the goals of the Subdistrict. Those procedures shall be publicly available by posting on the Department of City Planning’s website, and shall include rules requiring reporting and transparency including, but not limited to, the following: procedures on the adoption and amendment of the concept plan and opportunity for public comment thereon; requirements to provide a transcript or recording of all public meetings and hearings; and transparency and annual reporting requirements concerning deposits into and expenditures from the Fund. The Governing Group shall annually update the Concept Plan by providing a list of all projects on the Concept Plan to date, those added or removed in the past year, the dollar amount of funds designated to each project on the Concept Plan, to the extent available, the estimated cost of each project on the Concept Plan, and the schedule for all projects for which a decision to designate funding has been made by the Governing Group. Such annual update shall be posted on the Department of City Planning’s website no later than January 15 of each calendar year following the establishment of the initial Concept Plan. All meetings of the Governing Group shall be open to the public with advance public notice provided of all meetings and public hearings.

Qualifying site

For the purposes of Section 81-60, inclusive, a “qualifying site” shall refer to a zoning lot:

(a)        that is not located in the Vanderbilt Corridor Subarea;

(b)        that has frontage along a wide street;

(c)        where, at the time of development or, where permitted, enlargement, either:

(1)        at least 75 feet of such zoning lot’s wide street frontage is clear of buildings or other structures; or

(2)        the entire block frontage along such wide street is occupied by one or more landmark buildings or other structures; or

(3)        such zoning lot’s wide street frontage is occupied by an existing easement volume that is being preserved, or reconfigured in accordance with Section 81-673 (Mass transit access);

(d)        where a building is developed or, where permitted, enlarged, in accordance with the floor area provisions of Section 81-64 (Special Floor Area Provisions for Qualifying Sites), and such development or, where permitted, enlargement exceeds the basic maximum floor area set forth in Row A of the table in Section 81-64 and such building or publicly accessible space occupies the cleared area in paragraph (c)(1) of this definition, unless the provisions of paragraphs (c)(2) or (c)(3) apply;

(e)        where a maximum of 20 percent of the floor area permitted on such zoning lot is allocated to residential uses; and

(f)        where such building being developed or, where permitted, enlarged, complies with the performance requirements of paragraph (a) and the publicly accessible space requirements of paragraph (b) of Section 81-681 (Mandatory requirements for qualifying sites).

Receiving lot

For the purposes of Section 81-60, inclusive, a “receiving lot” shall mean a zoning lot to which development rights of a granting lot are transferred. Such receiving lot may receive a transfer of development rights pursuant to Sections 81-632 (Special permit for transfer of development rights from landmarks to the Vanderbilt Corridor Subarea), 81-642 (Transfer of development rights from landmarks to qualifying sites), or 81-653 (Special permit for transfer of development rights from landmarks to non-qualifying sites).

Sale price

For the purposes of Section 81-60, inclusive, “sale price” shall mean the total consideration exchanged for transferred floor area pursuant to certification to transfer development rights from zoning lots occupied by landmark buildings or other structures within the East Midtown Subdistrict to a qualifying site. The total consideration shall include all consideration as defined in Chapter 21 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York and Title 19 of the Rules of the City of New York, as they may be amended, or their successor provisions, whether or not subject to tax under that Chapter. The total consideration shall also include any other compensation in whatever form received in exchange for the floor area, including contingent consideration. A valuation prepared pursuant to procedures established by rule of the City Planning Commission or the New York City Department of Finance shall be required for all consideration in a form other than cash. The application for certification shall include affidavits from the buyer and seller, attesting under penalty of perjury, that all of the terms of the transaction and all the consideration have been disclosed, and may be subject to audit.