Council Members Dickens and Jackson defend plan despite vocal opposition from local residents. On April 30, 2008, the City Council modified the Department of City Planning’s plan to rezone the 125th Street corridor, a 24-block area in the Harlem section of Manhattan.

The plan will rezone large portions of the east and west ends of the corridor to encourage arts, entertainment, and retail uses. The plan will also impose height limits, street wall continuity requirements, and measures to preserve nearby brownstone neighborhoods.

At the Council’s public hearing before the Zoning and Franchises subcommittee, Amanda Burden, Chair of the City Planning Commission, testified that the plan will create Upper Manhattan’s first inclusionary housing bonus, and the City’s first Arts Bonus to encourage developers to provide space for arts and entertainment uses. Burden also testified that the plan would result in 2 million sq.ft. of office space and 8,200 new jobs. Burden concluded her testimony by noting that the three Council Members who represent the area, the affected Community Boards, Congressman Charles Rangel and Governor David Paterson all backed the plan. (more…)

Council Member Reyna raised concerns over loss of light industrial space. On March 20, 2008, Gerald Goldman, the owner of a former factory building at 70 Wyckoff Avenue, filed a motion to withdraw his application to rezone a four-story, 62,000- square-foot commercial loft building for residential use.

Goldman had originally sought to rezone ten lots on Wyckoff Avenue between Suydam Street and Dekalb Avenue, from M1-1 to R6, in order to legalize 70 Wyckoff’s current use. Brooklyn Community Board 4, the Brooklyn Borough President, and the Planning Commission approved the application. (more…)

Rezoning passed despite strong opposition by developers. On March 26, 2008, the City Council modified the Department of City Planning’s proposal to downzone 13 blocks along Grand Street and adjoining areas in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.

The area currently consists of three- and four-story buildings, many of which have ground-floor retail and residential use on upper floors. The contextual R6B zoning would limit building heights to either 40 feet at the street or 50 feet with a setback. 5 CityLand 25 (Mar. 15, 2008). It will affect some planned developments for the area, including a 14-story tower at 227 Grand Street. (more…)

Four billion dollar project includes over four million sq.ft. of develop-able space. On March 26, 2008, the City Council approved developer Sheldon Solow’s plan to build seven towers on the 9.2-acre, former Con Edison site along the East River, just south of the United Nations, from 35th to 41st Streets. The plan also includes public open space, community facility space, and parking facilities. The Council approved Manhattan Community Board 6’s 197-a plan as well, which covers the Solow site and the surrounding area.

At the Land Use committee’s public hearing, Council Member Daniel Garodnick, who had participated in negotiations involving the proposal and whose district includes the Solow site, announced significant modifications to the project. Solow will reduce the heights of all of the proposed towers on the site’s northern portion. The tallest tower will now be 595 feet, down from the originally proposed 830 feet. Partly to address the community’s concerns over commuter traffic to and from the project’s commercial building, Solow agreed to reduce the number of parking spaces serving the building from 400 to 197, and to deploy an on-site traffic coordinator. (more…)

Universities, medical centers, museums, and religious buildings face tighter restrictions. The City Council approved amendments to 64 sections of the zoning text that control placement, size, and parking for community facilities. The Planning Department and the Council’s Land Use Committee conducted a joint study of existing zoning controls of community facilities. This is the first amendment to the relevant text since 1961.

The revision impacts community facilities such as universities, houses of worship, medical facilities, dormitories, libraries, museums, schools, and day-care centers. The amendment is intended to restrict the permitted floor area and potential sites for community facilities in single-family or small multi-family areas, as well as increase the ability of community facilities to locate in more suitable, higher density areas. (more…)