Blood Center Building Hits Roadblocks On Upper East Side

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Weeks of resistance to the New York Blood Center's proposal for a major expansion culminated Wednesday night in a vote by the neighborhood's community board to formally oppose the project.

The resolution, which overwhelmingly passed Community Board 8, focuses on the zoning changes requested by the Blood Center in order to build its new headquarters: a glassy, 16-story tower on East 67th Street between First and Second avenues.

The facility, dubbed Center East, would serve as a life sciences hub with state-of-the-art laboratories, and replace the Blood Center's existing three-story brick building, which leaders say is outdated.

But Upper East Side residents have raised alarms about rezoning the midblock site, which they say would disrupt the neighborhood's character by allowing a tall, commercial building to be built along a side street typically reserved for smaller, tenement-style buildings.

Also at issue is the tower's likely impact on nearby St. Catherine's Park. An environmental impact analysis found that the building would cast several hours' worth of new shadows over the park, which is frequently used by students at the neighboring Ella Baker School.

Board members have also criticized Blood Center leaders for declining multiple invitations to appear before CB8 after their initial Nov. 17 presentation. Some suggested that the center has misrepresented the new building as a community-serving endeavor, when much of the space will in fact be rented out to other, private companies.

"The Blood Center is trying to get themself a new building, and they are selling out the community in order to get it," member Elizabeth Rose said Wednesday.

Despite the strong show of opposition, the board does not have the power to stop the project. Once it is formally proposed, it will move through the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), where the City Council will get a final say.

In a statement, Blood Center Executive Vice President Rob Purvis defended the project, saying it "will not only serve our urgent post-pandemic needs by creating modern space for life science research, but support our economic recovery by generating thousands of quality jobs.

"We are committed to working with the community to bring this proposal to the Upper East Side, and we are actively exploring partnerships with local schools, workforce development organizations and neighborhood advocates to ensure this campus is the world-class asset to its community that we know it will be," Purvis said.

Wednesday's meeting was the second time this week that the public has gotten the chance to weigh in on the Blood Center expansion. On Tuesday, the City Planning Department held a public scoping meeting where dozens of residents voiced opposition to the project — although some local nonprofit leaders expressed support, saying it would improve science education.

Among those sharing their skepticism was City Councilmember Ben Kallos, who said his concerns were centered around the potential effects on St. Catherine's Park.

Read previous coverage from Patch:

• UES Community Board Harshly Critical Of Blood Center Expansion
• NY Blood Center Plots Major Upper East Side Expansion