The East Side Esplanade Gap Closure proposal aims to raise $200 million over 10 years to construct an esplanade from 38th to 61st street, funded by a land value tax that incentivizes development on underused land. This tax structure is designed to improve property values in the area, drawing on successful precedents like the High Line project that boosted surrounding investments. The proposal seeks a minor increase in tax rates, ensuring that those who benefit from the improvements contribute to their funding.

1. Common Ground – NYC
Scott Baker, President: SSBAKER305@YAHOO.COM
http://www.commongroundnyc.org/
East Side Esplanade Gap Closure Proposal
11/07/2013
For a relatively small cost, East Midtown could have an enjoyable completed esplanade - a vital and safe passageway for
bikers, park-goers, and other New Yorkers. This proposal does not depend on the UNDC, state or city funding.
Our proposal would raise $200 million over 10 years, to fund the construction of a new Esplanade (aka Greenway) to run
from the current north end of Glick Park on the East River at 38th street, to the south end of the Esplanade at
approximately 61rst Street. It takes into account current cost estimates to complete this “last mile.”
A proven approach to collecting money for infrastructure projects is one that also fosters growth - the Land Value Tax.
This is a tax on land, not on improvements. The tax incentivizes landowners to build on underused land, or to sell to
someone who can. Developers are rewarded for improving their sites by leaving those improvements untaxed.
A new Esplanade would directly improve the neighborhood from 38th – 61st, east of Second Avenue, so this area was
used when calculating the Land Value Tax to be collected. Different borders would yield different results. Examples
abound:
- Collecting $2B in taxes from the Hudson Yards Project is funding the #7 train line extension,
(http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20131014/REAL_ESTATE/131019954)
- A recent neighborhood tax proposal would have paid for maintaining the west side esplanade,
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20110812/chelsea-hells-kitchen/hudson-river-park-tax-plan-could-affect-more-properties:
The plan — which has to be approved by the City Council before it can go forward —…would have
assessed a small fee of about five cents per square foot on property owners in order to raise up to $10
million a year.
There is ample evidence for substantial ROI in similar projects. This story on the booming success of the Highline,
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/06/nyregion/with-next-phase-ready-area-around-high-line-is-flourishing.html showed:
…the High Line as a public park revitalized a swath of the city and generated $2 billion in private investment
surrounding the park….Amanda Burden, the city’s planning director, emphasized the boost to property values,
saying that in one building that abuts the lower section of the High Line, the price of apartments had doubled
since the park opened, to about $2,000 a square foot.
At the Hudson Yards area, The NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/04/realestate/commercial/developmentflourishes-in-manhattans-hudson-yards-district.html) reports:
…that more than 5,000 apartments have been built and more than $5 billion in private development has been
invested in the area between 28th and 43rd Streets west of 8th Avenue since it was rezoned in 2005.
Clearly, property owners would benefit far more in the long run than they would pay out in the short run. Those who
benefit from improvements should pay for them.
Currently, the average tax paid on both building and land values is 4.69% for this area. The proposal seeks to increase
the total tax by .32% to 5.01% (a 14.6% increase) but since the tax would be on land only, the land value tax would go up
by .93% and the building tax by 0%. This would add $4.20/square foot to the total 4,765,802 square feet for all 38 taxable
blocks in the designated area.
We used New York City’s GIS mapping system (http://gis.nyc.gov/doitt/nycitymap/) and Common Ground-NYC’s
proprietary database, with data from NYC’s Department of Finance, to calculate total square footage, total taxable
building and land values, and the current tax bill and percentages paid.
Tax Land Not People

2. Close the East Side Esplanade Gap
Esplanade Gap Zones
9/16
NYCityMap

3. East Midtown Close the Gap Calculations
Years to pay off Esplanade
Cost of Esplanade $
Amount to be paid in LVT annually for 10 years $
Additional Cost per square foot of Land per year $
Proposed Increased %
Current Avg. Taxes
taxes
10
4.69% +
0.32% =
200,000,000
20,000,000
4.20
0.93%
{
New Total
taxes
5.01%
increase on
land value
taxes alone
All blocks from 38-61, East of First Avenue
Block
Comments
count Block #
United Nations
1
1354
Bridgemarket
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
1361
1362
1363
1364
1365
1366
1367
1368
1369
1370
1371
1372
1454
1455
1474
Totals
Block Square
footage (not
including building
footage)
659,375
127,570
70,650
127,334
137,938
123,078
130,623
123,107
123,100
123,157
123,103
70,863
68,550
123,109
123,143
16,067
2,270,767
Total taxable Building Total Taxable Land
Value{BV}
Value {LV}
$
17,072,329 $
19,057,990
$
124,134,187 $
100,745,715
$
63,980,829 $
52,226,172
$
98,278,000 $
50,910,757
$
133,405,000 $
61,266,170
$
176,524,422 $
81,985,023
$
120,569,619 $
52,108,725
$
125,680,000 $
50,136,056
$
138,922,202 $
54,323,223
$
130,304,024 $
67,329,452
$
186,947,662 $
73,110,707
$
128,100,000 $
25,693,513
$
93,180,000 $
137,008,746
$
10,730,119 $
15,896,430
$
105,508,178 $
42,849,354
$
2,300,000 $
7,000,000
$
1,655,636,571 $
891,648,033
Current %
paid in taxes
0.77%
3.18%
3.49%
5.03%
5.37%
5.31%
5.43%
5.76%
5.43%
4.98%
5.23%
5.26%
2.47%
1.49%
5.33%
4.64%
4.68%
Current Tax Bill
$
279,522
$
7,146,419
$
4,049,880
$
7,509,871
$
10,455,326
$
13,722,925
$
9,373,410
$
10,130,901
$
10,489,908
$
9,833,367
$
13,597,452
$
8,086,803
$
5,680,060
$
396,463
$
7,905,502
$
431,557
$
119,089,366
All blocks from 38-61, Between First & Second Avenues
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Grand totals
38
944
945
1333
1334
1335
1336
1337
1338
1339
1340
1341
1342
1343
1344
1345
1346
1347
1348
1349
1350
1351
1435
Totals
122,890
47,696
111,745
11,652
95,428
130,501
129,154
130,556
65,337
124,901
132,909
130,487
130,638
130,425
130,351
123,064
130,355
130,540
130,295
120,443
120,506
115,162
2,495,035
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
157,598,093
106,638,500
148,895,000
138,510,000
47,590,768
91,154,408
78,679,353
157,134,173
53,557,220
164,364,210
194,121,363
91,759,855
98,921,330
87,191,606
67,623,742
113,034,582
81,251,062
161,776,000
146,975,018
128,867,000
85,419,000
72,570,525
2,473,632,808
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
63,600,434
37,893,163
38,248,276
53,652,056
22,445,374
31,409,182
75,622,399
60,123,699
35,992,966
73,177,581
68,377,635
62,246,654
80,958,880
91,166,188
77,321,727
58,360,953
49,551,410
65,049,900
62,863,035
49,724,525
54,332,243
38,769,449
1,250,887,729
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
11,406,946
6,156,039
10,373,213
9,444,904
3,388,985
6,513,181
6,614,959
11,979,156
4,132,641
13,133,377
13,106,503
6,181,472
5,552,599
5,679,043
4,441,825
7,640,855
5,483,622
12,260,219
10,989,634
9,731,679
6,042,315
4,602,474
174,855,641
4,765,802
$
4,129,269,379
$
2,142,535,762
$
293,945,007
Avg.
%
5.16%
4.26%
5.54%
4.92%
4.84%
5.31%
4.29%
5.51%
4.61%
5.53%
4.99%
4.01%
3.09%
3.18%
3.06%
4.46%
4.19%
5.41%
5.24%
5.45%
4.32%
4.13%
4.69%
4.69%