We spoke with Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine about the issues New Yorkers care about, including housing, transportation safety, and public spaces.
One of these is the elimination of the so-called 12 FAR Cap, a law from the sixties that limits the height of buildings.
“As you know and viewers know, we are in the midst of an affordable housing shortage crisis in New York. Some say why don’t we build bigger buildings with more apartments, so more New Yorkers have housing. The problem is that oddly enough, New York State has prohibited the construction of buildings above twelve stories and it is a limit that has cost us thousands and thousands of apartments since it was approved in 1961,†Levine said.
“There are office buildings now in the middle of Manhattan that are virtually empty due to the pandemic, many are working from home. We could convert those commercial buildings into housing, the problem is that many are huge, thirty stories or more, so due to this limit, if it is converted, only half can be housing and the rest remains. empty, it has no logic,†the official added.
We also asked the president about another issue that also worries many New Yorkers, transportation security, specifically what has been his reaction to the presence of the National Guard on the subway?
“There is a security problem in the subways, that cannot be denied, New Yorkers feel it, although crime figures are improving, the public does not feel it,” he points out. “It seems to me that sending soldiers there was not the correct solution, the public prefers to see the police normal, to see social workers fighting for those who have mental health problems. There are solutions for me that would have been better. This was a mistake by Governor Hochul, who finally had the decision to send more budget to the NYPD or send National Guard agents. She is trying to do everything possible because the public is demanding action, I thank her for the effort, for me it would have been better to give funds to the police,†she said.
Speaking of transportation, the official says that part of the money collected from the congestion charge has to be used to add more free buses.
“This is something that really impacts those who need help the most. Who are those who ride the bus? Older adults, people who use wheelchairs, people who do not have options, to be able to help that public it would be very impactful and a single line has been made, which is the M16 that passes through East Harlem. What has been seen is that it has caused more passengers to use that line. It is a success to date.
The official has called for the expansion of bicycle lanes along the West Side Highway, a southern portion of Manhattan. We asked him where he is in the process.
“On the Hudson River there is a park that runs along the shore, there is a path for those who are walking, running, cycling, but on a nice day you can’t walk, it’s even dangerous. What we want to do is take a lane of the highway and dedicate it to bicycles and electric bicycles. We’re going to give people another option to get to work by bike, so it’s clearer. What comes out of the process is going to be much more accessible, prettier, whether you ride a bicycle or a car,” Levine added.
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2024-04-09 14:31:00
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