Bisnow

“I do think there’d be as much pushback if it wasn’t a lab project,” New York Blood Center Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff Rob Purvis said. “Everyone against the project recognizes how important the lab aspect is. Opposition would be the same.”

But the way this development has been debated, and the issues it raises, make it a cautionary tale for life sciences developers, regardless of the outcome of an expected mid-November vote in front of the entire New York City Council.

“It’s been handled poorly the entire way,” Council Member Ben Kallos said of the proposal, which is in his district. “If [life sciences developers] want a lesson on what not to do and what malpractice looks like, this is it.”

The expanding demand for life sciences space, especially in dense urban markets like New York City, San Francisco and Boston, suggests there will be more instances where life sciences developers aggressively seek new opportunities and come into contact with community groups.

New York City is racing to add more lab space — the city has devoted $1B to help develop new facilities — to meet rising demand and counter perceptions that it’s punching below its weight.  

Thousands of New York City building owners are now operating under a new set of ramped-up rules governing how they maintain building facades after two people were killed a month apart by falling debris.

With increased inspection requirements and higher fines for noncompliance, landlords have to quickly prepare to meet the new standards or face stiff penalties.

“People are going to have to be ready for it, [they] realize this is a big change,” said CTA Architects principal Daniel Allen, who carries out facade inspections. “It's going to cost them.”

Owners of buildings taller than six stories have been required since the 1980s to report the conditions of their facades to the city every five years. But under the Department of Buildings’ ramped-up rules that came into effect last week, the changes to the Facade Inspection & Safety Program — known as Local Law 11 — owners will have to inspect their exteriors more intensely and have to display information about the safety of their buildings in their lobbies.

A stunning decision from the New York State Supreme Court that could force developers to tear down already-built floors from their Manhattan skyscraper could have massive implications for other buildings in the city under construction — and possibly some that are already built.