This is the conventional wisdom surrounding the prospects for this controversial plan, which proposes the liberal sale and geographic transfer of air rights in a rezoned and slightly expanded district, with development planned primarily along Eighth Avenue. In the first two steps of a lengthy approval process, Community Boards 4 and 5 voted against the plan. A third major blow to the proposal came on April 15 at the Manhattan Borough Board meeting. Even so, the Manhattan delegates to the City Council joined in negotiations with the community boards over the language of the resolution. They pushed for a more conciliatory tone and thus kept the door open for a revised, more acceptable version of the plan.
Sources indicate that the city was blind-sided by the degree of opposition it has encountered.
Proponents of the plan say it gives order to existing Eighth Avenue development, bolsters the theatre industry, and directly benefits the Broadway Initiative with a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of air rights. If the City Council votes the theatre rezoning proposal down, it will be a dead issue. This is why the nearly unanimous Manhattan Borough vote, which included the 10 Manhattan delegates from the City Council, is considered such an important signal. The proposal should pass the planning commission, where the Mayor enjoys a political majority, but should the full City Council vote the proposal down, it would not go to the Mayor. They fear that the impact of big development along Eighth Avenue would overburden an already dense area.