Blood Center Hearing By Borough President Is Set: What To Know

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer has scheduled a public hearing next week on the New York Blood Center's proposed expansion, giving neighbors the chance to make their voices heard as the controversial project continues to advance.

The hearing will be held Monday from 6–8 p.m. at the Hunter College Assembly Hall, with entry via the plaza on East 68th Street between Park and Lexington avenues. It will also be livestreamed on Zoom and Facebook.

The blood bank's proposal to rezone its East 67th Street block in order to build a 334-foot research tower is now more than two months into the city's land-use review process known as ULURP. The first major stage wrapped up in late June, when Community Board 8 formally recommended that the city not approve the project.

Now, it is under review by Brewer, whose office has until July 27 to issue its own recommendation before passing it onto the City Planning Commission. Brewer has strongly hinted that she opposes the proposal, and while she has no formal power to block it, her input can be influential.

Neighborhood groups opposing the Blood Center project are urging residents to attend. Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts noted in an email that public comments do not carry over from one stage of ULURP to the next.

"Even if you spoke or submitted a statement at CB8, you MUST reiterate your comments before the Borough President, and at the next steps at the City Planning Commission, expected later this summer, and before the City Council this fall," the group wrote to members this week.

People can also submit written comments on the project through July 23 by emailing them to info@manhattanbp.nyc.gov.

Supporters of the project say the state-of-the-art laboratory building would be a welcome replacement to the Blood Center's woefully outdated current headquarters, contribute to life-saving disease research, and be an economic boon as the city tries to expand its life sciences industry.

Detractors, meanwhile, have focused on the precedent that would be set by "upzoning" a midblock site — typically reserved for shorter, less dense construction — as well as the tower's impact on a nearby park and school.

The City Council will get the final say during a 50-day review set to begin in August or September. Historically, the Council has allowed individual members to essentially veto projects in their home districts, a practice known as member deference — though it may be on the way out.

If the practice holds, current Councilmember Ben Kallos is all but certain to tell his colleagues to reject the project. And if the review spills over into 2022, incoming member Julie Menin has likewise expressed strong opposition.

Related Blood Center coverage:

• UES Blood Center Tower Disapproved By Board, Heads To Boro Prez
• Blood Center Returns To UES Board As Frustrations Mount
• Upper East Side Blood Center Tower Advances Despite Opposition
• NY Blood Center Plots Major Upper East Side Expansion