Scott Stringer, who hopes to move up from borough president to comptroller, is about to show whether he’s got the citywide vision needed for the job: He has until midnight tonight to bless a plan to revive Midtown East and safeguard New York’s commercial future.
Stringer can join the anti-development and Not In My Back Yard types, preservationists and others and nix the plan. Or he can act like an adult, back it and prove he’s ready to move beyond the parochial-style advocacy customary of city beeps.
The plan, as we’ve said before, is vital. Midtown East, the area around Grand Central and north, constitutes a major swath of the city’s central business district; if it’s to remain competitive — indeed, viable — for companies, it needs updating. Pronto.
Even the plan’s critics know that. Let’s face it: Corporations today demand new, often high-tech-friendly office space to lure talent and clients. Yet the average building in that area was built seven decades ago.
Why so little redevelopment? In large part, because the area’s zoning laws make it uneconomical to replace buildings.
The rezoning plan would fix that by removing disincentives for new towers and promoting new local infrastructure.
Traditionally, a beep’s views on a matter in his borough can influence City Council members, who ultimately decide its fate. So Stringer’s thumbs-up is critical.
Backing the plan will also help him draw a contrast with his biggest rival in the comptroller’s race, Eliot Spitzer, who’s waging a blatantly anti-business campaign.
Stringer’s got a new ad that notes Spitzer’s dalliances with prostitutes. But like Anthony Weiner, ex-Gov. Socks is desperately trying to get voters to focus on policy issues instead of sex scandals.
Stringer can easily battle him on those terms. Backing the Midtown East rezoning would be a great start.