Manhattan BP Urges City to Reject 4-Story LED Billboard at Herald Square

What happened

A developer wants to put a four-story LED billboard on Herald Center, a nine-story commercial building at 1293 Broadway that overlooks Herald Square. JEMB Realty is seeking the change through an affiliated company. The developer's family also owns Herald Towers, a residential building at 48 West 34th Street with roughly 690 apartments directly across Sixth Avenue. amNY reported the plan on Oct. 23, 2026.

Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal has urged the city to reject the proposal. Community Board 5 voted against it in September. The borough president wrote that city zoning generally seeks to limit light from commercial signs entering homes, and that a sign directly next to a 691-unit residential building conflicts with that approach. The proposed zoning language would apply to properties in a particular commercial district with frontage on Broadway, Sixth Avenue and West 34th Street. According to Community Board 5, the developer's attorney acknowledged those criteria would apply only to Herald Center.

At the community board, Jerome, who testified for the developer, said the family's financial stake in Herald Towers far outweighs what it expects to earn from the billboard. He said he was open to further compromises. He also cited retail struggles on West 34th Street and said H&M, a major Herald Center tenant, was looking to leave. amNY said H&M's plans have not been independently confirmed. Several Herald Towers residents spoke in support. Separately, an Oct. 9 complaint filed with the Department of Buildings under the Herald Towers address alleges that light from an existing digital sign near West 34th Street and Sixth Avenue already enters an apartment and disrupts the occupant's sleep.

The City Planning Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The community board and borough president recommendations are advisory, and the proposal has not received final approval. The borough president asked JEMB to return with a plan for Herald Square as a whole rather than an exception for one building. He cited Times Square and the Penn Center Subdistrict as places where special sign rules came as part of larger neighborhood plans.