Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel/Image Credit: John McCarten/NYC Council

The bill will help protect community gardens and allow them to remain in the City. On March 29, 2020, Introduction 1652-A was enacted into Local Law 46 of 2020. Local Law 46 requires the Department of City Planning to reclassify tax lots currently used as GreenThumb community gardens on the Primary Land Use Tax Lot Output (“PLUTO”) database. The PLUTO database has information on the City’s tax lots. Currently, tax lots with GreenThumb community gardens are classified on PLUTO as “vacant lots.” Under Local Law 46, these tax lots will be reclassified under a new category that indicates that the lot is being used as a community garden. The law, sponsored by Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel, was proposed to protect community garden tax lots from being used for development.

(more…)

Sendero Verde Rendering. Image Credit: Handle Architects.

A three-building mixed-use project will create 655 affordable housing units, 4 community gardens, an elevated public courtyard, space for Mt. Sinai medical offices and a DREAM charter school in East Harlem. On October 2, 2017, the City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on the Sendero Verde application submitted by NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (“HPD”). The application will facilitate the development of three mixed-use buildings containing 655 affordable units, commercial and community facilities, community gardens, and publicly accessible open space. The project will be developed between 112th Street to the north, 111th Street to the south, Park Avenue to the east, , and Madison Avenue to the west. (more…)

Site contains six community gardens. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development fIled an application for the disposition of City-owned land and designation of an Urban Development Action Area for the construction of the Courtlandt Avenue Apartments, a five-story, 1 67- unit, low-income housing project in the Bronx.

The 55,980 sq.ft. project site, bounded by Courtlandt and Park Avenues and East 158th and 159th Streets, is comprised of 16 lots, of which 1 1 are vacant, two contain abandoned buildings, and three contain six community gardens. The six gardens are part of the 543 City community gardens subject to a 2002 settlement agreement between the City and the State Attorney General. 8 CityLaw 116 (2002) . Under the agreement, 198 gardens became permanent open spaces, 38 were set for development, and 114 became subject to a review process that could ultimately lead to development. (more…)

Hans S. Christian Memorial Kindergarten, at 236 President Street. Image credit: LPC.

Carroll Gardens newest landmarks are a preservation of a rich history of service to the neighborhood. On September 18, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously approved individual landmark designation of the Hans S. Christian Memorial Kindergarten at 236 President Street and adjacent 238 President Street House in the Carroll Gardens community in Brooklyn. The approvals came following strong appeal from the community to designate the properties as landmarks in order to preserve not only their rich cultural history and architectural heritage, but to help shield them from the threat of redevelopment. (more…)

Council Speaker Corey Johnson speaking at Center for CityLaw Breakfast at New York Law School. Image Credit: CityLaw.

The renovated community centers will provide after-school activities, arts programming, and job skills training. On July 11, 2019, Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Committee on General Welfare Chair Stephen Levin, Committee on Public Housing Chair Alicka Ampry-Samuel, and Council Member Brad Lander announced that the City’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget includes funding to reopen the Gowanus Houses Community Center. Speaker Johnson and Council Member Levin also unveiled capital funding in Fiscal Year 2020 budget for the expansion and renovation of the NYCHA Wyckoff Gardens Community Center. (more…)