Herald Square billboard plan goes to City Planning Wednesday after two ‘no’ recommendations

A plan for a four-story digital advertising sign over Herald Square goes before the City Planning Commission on Wednesday, Oct. 28, amNY reported on Friday. Both local advisory recommendations so far have gone against it.

The sign would sit on the Herald Center, the nine-story commercial building at 1293 Broadway across from Macy's. According to amNY, it would be a 2,333-square-foot LED display made of three connected panels spanning 58 feet, starting about 60 feet above the street and rising another 40. Current rules do not allow advertising signs at the property, so the owner, through an affiliate of JEMB Realty, is seeking a zoning text amendment and a special permit.

For people who live and work around 34th Street, the question is whether Herald Square's lighting rules start to look more like Times Square's.

The votes so far

Community Board 5 voted against the project in September, and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal recommended on Oct. 14 that the city reject it, amNY reported. He wrote that the sign's location "is in direct conflict" with earlier decisions limiting signs in the area. Both recommendations are advisory.

How the Council could get the last word

After the Commission votes, the path depends on the type of application. The Department of City Planning's land use review guide lists zoning text changes among the actions that go to the City Council for automatic review, decided by a majority vote. Special permits approved by the Commission are filed with the Council, which can review them as well. So if the Commission approves, the Council would likely vote on at least the text change.

In practice, Council land use votes start in the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, then the Committee on Land Use, then the full Council.

What our records add

The district. By our map of Council districts, the Herald Center is in District 3, represented by Carl Wilson. Our records show him serving since May 13, 2026. He is not one of the nine members of the Zoning and Franchises subcommittee. He sits on committees including Governmental Operations, Consumer and Worker Protection, and Housing and Buildings.

No Council record yet. We found no Council land use item for the sign in our records, and no discussion of it in the transcripts of Council meetings we index. That is expected at this stage: the Council's formal role begins only after the Commission acts.

What's scheduled. The Zoning and Franchises subcommittee next meets Nov. 10, followed by the Land Use Committee the same day (meeting page). Both agendas say only "See Land Use Calendar." A Herald Square item is unlikely that soon, since the Commission has not yet voted.

What's next

The Commission's hearing Wednesday is public, and testimony is part of the record. The Commission then votes at a later meeting. If it approves, the application moves to the Council, and the item will appear on the subcommittee's agenda and on our meetings calendar.