Last week, the Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association sued New York City and State in the first federal case against the city’s Far West Side development plans. Numerous other cases have been brought in state court.

The suit argues the West Side rezoning plan the city has adopted violates the U.S. Clean Air Act. That is so because its parking provisions contradict restrictions that are part of the state’s implementation plan to meet federal pollution reduction targets. For more than 20 years, the clean air plan has imposed a limit on parking spaces in buildings in Manhattan south of 60^th street. New parking spaces for buildings are limited to 20% of the number of residential units, or 200 spaces, whichever was less, and 100 spaces for each commercial building. The newly approved Hudson Yards rezoning, by contrast, requires parking for 33% to 40% of residential units. Commercial construction will also require one space for 3,000 square feet. This could mean hundreds of new spaces for large buildings.

The suit says the zoning plan will more than double the amount of parking permitted under old rules and encourage the construction of public garages, attracting motorists who will create "unprecedented" traffic jams and pollution. In crowded cities, parking availability is a key determinant of the choice to drive. Parking capacity limits directly promote mass transit use.

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