A recent proposal to build a 65-story tower directly adjacent to Grand Central Terminal has reawakened the broader Midtown East Rezoning plan. During the Bloomberg Administration’s waning days, a previous version of the proposal was halted by the City Council due to its failure to adequately address infrastructure needs before more intense development arrived. The new plan has yet to be fully developed, but for now, a short term zoning change could clear the way for the first tower in the area and offer a blueprint for how infrastructure improvements could be made in tandem with development.

It’s not that the previous proposal ignored infrastructure needs. The Bloomberg proposal read that a District Improvement Fund (DIF) would be dedicated to transit and pedestrian improvements throughout the area, paid for by contributions funneled through a District Improvement Bonus (DIB). Developers would be able to build higher density for contributions into the DIF. The problem is that these improvements would be made after the fact – infrastructure improvements would not be made until there was enough money in the pot to cover costs. Meanwhile, an enormous influx of new employees would exacerbate the already-congested Metro-North and subway platforms and entrances, as well as strain public spaces, sidewalks and streets.

This plan was vocally criticized by local community boards, planning organizations, transportation advocates and community leaders such as Councilmember Daniel Garodnick, who is now spearheading the effort to require more community consultation in the revised process. In response to this opposition, the Bloomberg administration promised to pay for infrastructure improvements up front using city funds with the expectation that costs would be repaid as development occurs. This didn’t pass muster with local officials, who maintained that the plan was being rushed and lacked community consensus.

The current project up for review, One Vanderbilt – just one piece of a larger rezoning proposal – is starting off on the right foot. The City has required the developer, SL Green, to provide specific upfront public infrastructure upgrades such as an underground connection between One Vanderbilt and Grand Central Terminal, a public “waiting room” in the lobby of the tower for commuters and a pedestrian plaza on Vanderbilt Avenue. SL Green told the Times they’ll commit $100 million to transit and public infrastructure upgrades, to be made simultaneous to the building of the tower so that additional public space is available upon the arrival of new visitors and employees to the development.

Although it’s too early to tell what the larger picture will reveal, One Vanderbilt may serve as an outline for a more ambitious proposal that aligns the timing and funding for transportation infrastructure improvements with development. The de Blasio administration must continue to require transit and street safety improvements up front from developers in order to prevent straining the East Side’s already congested infrastructure—and that process should include ample community engagement.