The following Letter to the Editor was published in the New York Daily News on September 30, 2019. You can read the original version here.
Alec Schierenbeck’s op-ed (“End single-family zoning in NYC,” Sept. 18) neglects to mention the legitimate purpose of having single-family zoning restrictions in New York City, which is to curb growth in response to infrastructural limitations.
Simply put, many single-family neighborhoods in the city lack the infrastructure or transit access to support the denser development many advocate for.
As such, it’s up to policymakers and planners to ensure such zoning is used wisely, justifiably and fairly. Zoning is a tool, and its effectiveness is determined by the policymakers who wield it.
Richard Murdocco
