Mayor Boosts PlaNYC Via Rezonings
The branding continues

Mayor Bloomberg trumpeted the passage of three rezonings encompassing five city neighborhoods by City Council yesterday, saying in a release, "The three city rezoning proposals approved by the City Council today for the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton, and the Bronx neighborhood of Wakefield will help us to make progress towards fulfilling PlaNYC's key sustainable planning goals."

At first the connection to PlaNYC seemed disingenuous, considering the mayor has been strategically rezoning the city along with City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden since 2002. Given that all three rezoned areas were certified in March or April of this year, the mayor could be telling the truth about this link, though it also demonstrates his savvy for binding his small projects together under a massive brand that can be used to promote those projects against public and private objection.

Just look at congestion pricing. The contention was as much about blocking that plan as the "sustainability" of the city, via PlaNYC. The same goes for the New Housing Marketplace Plan, which has been used to justify projects great and small as the mayor bulldozes towards 165,000 new affordable units in the city. Oh, and here is another smart example of branding to justify policies.

MATT CHABAN

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