UES Blood Center Tower Disapproved By Board, Heads To Boro Prez

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An Upper East Side community board has submitted its recommendation that the city not approve the New York Blood Center's controversial rezoning, sending the project to the Manhattan Borough President for the next stage of its public review.

Community Board 8 filed its recommendation on Monday, the last day of its two-month review window under the city's "ULURP" process for new developments. This was no surprise: the board had voted unanimously in May to call on the city to reject it.

Now, the proposal — which calls for rezoning the blood bank's East 67th Street block in order to build a 16-story, 334-foot tower — will head to the office of Borough President Gale Brewer, who has until July 27 to make her own recommendation.

Brewer plans to hold a public, in-person hearing on the project at 6 p.m. on Monday, July 12, a spokesperson told Patch. The location has not yet been determined.

The nonprofit Blood Center's proposal for a new headquarters has drawn the neighborhood's ire since it was first unveiled last fall, sparking protests and becoming a central issue in the District 5 City Council race.

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meanwhile, say the state-of-the-art laboratory building would be a welcome replacement to the Blood Center's woefully outdated current headquarters, contribute to life-saving disease research, and be an economic boon as the city tries to expand its life sciences industry.

The borough president, like the community board, has no power to stop the project, though she can try to influence its fate by convening her staff of land-use experts to weigh in on it. Brewer has not taken a formal position, but she has strongly hinted that she opposes it — and even appeared at the May 23 protest against it.

Community Board 8's recommendation to the City Planning Commission lays out dozens of objections to the project, accusing the Blood Center of attempting an illegal "spot zoning" and of failing to make any changes to the project despite "widespread fear and opposition in the community."

The City Council will get the final say during a 50-day period 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.

If that holds, the Blood Center could be in trouble, since Councilmember Ben Kallos has come out strongly against it. (Neighboring member Keith Powers, whose district includes a sliver of the project, has also expressed opposition.)

But member deference has shown signs of waning in recent months, meaning nothing will be certain until the Council casts its vote.

If the project spills over into 2022, Kallos will no longer be on the Council — but the Blood Center will still face resistance from whoever replaces him. All seven Democrats running for the Upper East Side's District 5 seat expressed strong opposition to the development.

Related coverage:

• UES Board Votes Against Blood Center Tower, But Fight Goes On
• 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