The Long Island Rail Road site along the Hudson River will be redeveloped by the Related Companies, now that MTA has approved the $1 billion project. The Related Companies will pay $20 million upon closing the contract with MTA, and another $21.7m over the next year.

The Hudson Yards district will be the first neighborhood in the City subject to a tracking system and a strict limit on the number of parking spaces that can be built.

Goldman Sachs will no longer be partnering with Related Companies on the Hudson Railyard project. In addition, Related has failed to enter an official contract with a developer, slated to build $15 billion worth of commercial and residential properties on top of the railyards. Despite the setbacks, Related remains confident that the project will move forward.

The City Council approved the West Side Rail Yards rezoning, which will cover 13 yards of a 26-acre complex with commercial and apartment buildings. The approval was made after the developer struck a deal with the City Council to include affordability requirements. At least 431 units will be set for low-income families.

Representatives from Community District 4, the Hells Kitchen Neighborhood Association, and Friends of the High Line, are all expected to testify Monday at the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchise’s on the proposed Hudson Yards rezoning.

City officials and community board members discussed and debated the future of affordable housing development in the Hudson Yards redevelopment. Representatives from Manhattan Borough President’s office claimed that there is no affordable housing unit that is guaranteed in the Western Rail Yards redevelopment.

Staff from the Regional Plan Association (RPA) testified during a hearing in support of the redevelopment and rezoning plans for the Hudson Rail Yards. The RPA stated that rezoning the area for mixed-use development would better connect the area to the waterfront, cultivate economic growth, and provide additional mixed-income residential units to the neighborhood.

Developer the Related Companies is making progress in plans to redevelop the Hudson Rail Yards, despite an economic slump that has hindered the revitalization of Manhattan’s West Side.

Members from Friends of the High Line, a group in charge of running the High Line, provided testimony at a City Council hearing in support of preservation the northern end of the High Line. The group proposes that the City take over the High Line at the Western Rail Yards (also known as the Hudson Rail Yards) instead of selling the rights to a private developer.

Seventy supporters of the High Line attended the City Council’s Zoning and Franchises subcommittee hearing concerning two zoning amendments to the adjoining rail yards being developed by the Related Companies in a call for the City to take possession of the High Line’s northern spur.