Land Use committee approves Midtown South rezoning with modifications to protect garment jobs, add housing and public space

The New York City Council Committee on Land Use approved modifications to the Midtown South Mixed Use Plan, a zoning map and text change to create a new Midtown South Mixed Use Special District that council members said would allow housing and mixed commercial uses in an area of Manhattan that has long been zoned primarily for manufacturing.

Council Member Kevin Riley, chair of the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, introduced the plan and the recommended changes. The committee approved the measure as LU 324 and LU 325 with modifications.

The committee and sponsors described the rezoning as a major housing and public‑realm opportunity. Council Member Batcher said the plan will “unlock[] 9,535 new homes, including 2,842 permanently affordable homes” and called the shortage of housing a “moral emergency.” Riley and other members described the proposal as a chance to add both market‑rate and income‑restricted housing near transit, while preserving local industrial employment.

Under the proposal, the plan would replace the existing Garment Center Special District with a Midtown South Mixed Use Special District divided into four subareas (northwest, northeast, southeast and southwest). The land‑use package the committee considered includes (a) a zoning map amendment to change…