Image of current districts under the FRESH program. One of the Mayor’s proposed zoning amendments will expand the FRESH program in outer boroughs. Image Credit: NYC DCP

Commissioners raised concerns about the removal of special permits as a way to vet out illegitimate massage parlors. On October 20, 2021, the City Planning Commission voted to approve two applications proposed by the City to support small businesses and promote healthy food options and fitness. The two applications, the FRESH Program Expansion and the Health and Fitness Text Amendment, were part of a series of zoning proposals proposed earlier this year. 

FRESH Expansion

The Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program offers zoning and tax incentives to encourage the development of accessible stores for fresh meats and produce, perishable goods and other grocery products. FRESH zoning incentives include an additional square foot of residential floor area for a mixed building for every square foot provided for a FRESH food store and a possible increase in maximum building height by 15 feet authorized by the City Planning Commission to accommodate the extra floor area. FRESH food stores can be built as-of-right in FRESH eligible districts instead of seeking out a special permit. 

Currently, the FRESH program operates in specific districts, including portions of Manhattan Community Districts 9 through 12, portions of Bronx Community Districts 1 through 7, portions of Brooklyn Community Districts 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 16 and 17, portions of Queens Community districts 1 and 12 and the Special Downtown Jamaica District. The proposed zoning change expands the FRESH program in Bronx Community Districts 8 and 9; Brooklyn Community Districts 1, 2, 12 and 13; Queens Community Districts 1, 3, 4 and 14 and Staten Island Community District 1.

The commissioners unanimously voted in favor of the amendment, and did not issue any comment on it. 

Health and Fitness Text Amendment

The Health and Fitness text amendment would allow gyms, martial arts studios, spas, massage therapy businesses and other health related businesses to open as-of-right where zoning permits. Currently, these health related businesses must first seek special permission from the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA), which can add months in the timeline and thousands of dollars of upfront costs to open these kinds of businesses. During this time of economic recovery, the City wanted to remove the significant barriers that prevent these small businesses that provide health benefits from opening. 

Commissioner David J. Burney raised concerns that this would enable massage parlors that allow for illegal sex work to operate or open when they would have otherwise been avoided through the previous approval process, but believed that the benefit to small businesses outweighed the small risk that could be offset with increased enforcement and voted yes. 

Commissioner Alfred C. Cerullo III was the sole no vote, stating that “it’s clear that the health and fitness industry is an important one in the lives of all New Yorkers. The testimony provided at the public hearing also affirmed the fact that so many of those who make up the industry are talented, hard-working and dedicated businesspeople who help create neighborhoods and support a healthy lifestyle for those who interact with them. But for me, this issue is never about that category of professional. . . The permit exists for many reasons, not the least of which is to enable communities to participate in the process of siting and enabling them to contribute to the planning process of what they need most and what they don’t.” He continued on to say the permits haven’t been a hindrance to legitimate businesses on Staten Island, and taking away the special permit takes away the opportunity for elected officials and community members to help vet out the illegitimate businesses. 

The applications will now be heard by the City Council at a later date.

By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the CityLaw fellow and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)

The vacant lot and future site of the Stapleton Site A project. Image Credit: NYC HPD.

The project is in the area of the Bay Street Corridor Plan. On October 13, 2021, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced the development team for the Stapleton Site A project. The city-owned site located south of Hannah Street in Stapleton, Staten Island, will be transformed into a mixed-use development with 100 percent affordable housing. The site is currently a vacant lot.

The exterior of Calle Dao Chelsea in 2017, approximately a year prior to the application for a sidewalk cafe permit. Image Credit: Google Maps.

Owner of West 23rd Street restaurant sought to extend seating outside. In May 2018, Maxver LLC applied to the City Department of Consumer Affairs for consent to open an unenclosed sidewalk café outside of Calle Dao Chelsea, the Cuban-Chinese fusion restaurant that Maxver operates on Manhattan’s West 23rd Street. The application called for four tables, each seating two people. Consumer Affairs forwarded the application to Community Board No. 4, which, after a public hearing, unanimously voted against the application. Residents of the building that housed the restaurant opposed the sidewalk café based upon their negative experience with a previous sidewalk café at the same location. Maxver had also breached past agreements with the residents and the Community Board, including serving bottomless brunch (i.e., unlimited quantities of alcohol for a set price), despite promising not to, and by violating the condition of its liquor license that it would not apply for a sidewalk café.

Image credit: New York City Council.

On October 7, 2021, the City Council voted to approve a new zoning text amendment that would help make public transportation more accessible. The Elevate Transit: Zoning for Accessibility text amendment allows the MTA to leverage private development in order to add elevators or other station access to New York City Transit, Staten Island Railway, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Stations across the city. 

Illustrative Bird’s Eye View of the Pfizer Rezoning Site from 2017. Image Credit: Pfizer Sites Rezoning EIS.

Old Pfizer Facility Rezoned for mixed uses. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer operated out of a modest red-brick building located at the intersection of Harrison Avenue and Bartlett Street in the Broadway Triangle neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn until Pfizer relocated in 2007. In 2012, Harrison Realty, LLC. purchased Pfizer’s Brooklyn real estate for $12,750,000. Since purchasing the Pfizer Site, the building has been demolished and the site officially designated a ‘brownfield.’ Harrison rented the site out as short-term equipment and vehicle storage for nearby construction sites.

Construction workers creating wave patterns in concrete exterior of the floodwall. Image Credit: NYC DDC.

The phased construction of the project ensures there will still be parkspace and waterfront accessible to residents during the duration of the project. On October 6, 2021, the NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) announced the completion of 500 feet of floodwall as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR). The new floodwall has been installed in the area north of Stuyvesant Cove Park along the East River. The ESCR project is City’s most complex coastal resiliency project so far, which will improve flood protection, waterfront access, parks, playgrounds, and other recreation facilities along the East River between East 25^th Street to Montgomery Street. For CityLand’s prior coverage of the ESCR project, click here.