Four-Corners Wednesday: The Urbanist’s Edition July 2, 2025
For those who read zoning text amendments for fun and may be tempted to name their next pet ULURP.
(Oh! the joy of saying: ULURP, Sit! )
📝Quote I’m Pondering:
”We have found a way to beat organized money, which is organized people.”
- Zohran K. Mamdani
🛠️The Tool I’m Obsessed with:
An interactive 3D model of the future Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea.
Urban planners George Janes and Alihan Polat have modeled every alternative contemplated for the sites. you can play with the model, view it from above or street level. You can experience the scale and bulk of what is coming. Let’s just say it is more Hudson Yards than contextual Chelsea.
🗂️What I am Reading:
When everyone was entering weekend mode, checking the NYTimes best summer books list, NYCHA dropped The Final Environmental Impact Statement for Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea demolition project (Friday at 5pm exactly!). The comment section alone is 2400 pages. Close to 300 people submitted objections: tenants, neighbors, urban planners, environmental experts, architects. So if someone tells you this project has “community support,” they may also be trying to sell you a bridge, or the soul of public housing for 99 years.
The Word I’m Thinking About
🔤 Bypass.
As in: the proposed NYCHA redevelopment plan now includes a new alternative under the City of Yes zoning initiative that would bypass ULURP entirely. No public land use review. No City Council vote. Just a zoning loophole big enough to drive a bulldozer through.
🥒 What I’m Making in My Kitchen:
Pickles. Persian cucumbers, fennel bulbs seeped in rice vinegar and flavored with herbs. Perfect to pair with your traditional 4th of July party fares. Just enough sour to match the vibe of the moment. Here’s the No Recipe recipe.
🎧 What I’m Listening to:
Yaya Bey new album Do It Afraid. Especially Dream Girl and Ask the Questions. Listen here.
Til next week, keep the July 4 celebrations festive, and your Independence fiercely intact.
Layla