Rendering of proposed development Image Credit: City Planning
City Council Subcommittee announces modification to Mega LLC’s proposed development. On January 30, 2020 the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises approved Mega LLC’s ULURP application to rezone Block 769 in Astoria, Queens with a modification to the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing component. The rezoning would help facilitate the construction of an 8-story, mixed-use development. Block 769 in Queens is bounded by Ditmars Avenue to the north, 23rd Avenue to the south, 46th street to the east and 45th street to the west. The subcommittee held a public hearing on the application on January 14, 2020 and City Planning approved this application on January 8, 2020. To read Cityland’s prior coverage of this application click here. (read more…)
Rendering of Proposed La Hermosa Building/Image Credit: Department of City Planning/CPC
Council makes modifications to include only MIH Option One and a partnership with JOENYC to fund repairs and renovations for existing affordable units in La Hermosa’s district. On December 19, 2019, the City Council voted to approve a land use application that will facilitate the construction of a new 30-story mixed-use residential and community facility building. The new building will replace the existing three-story La Hermosa Church building at 5 West 110th Street in Harlem, Manhattan. The Council voted on the application with modifications made at the December 3 Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee vote.
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Council Member Inez Barron/Image Credit: John McCarten
The development will bring 503 permanent housing units, both affordable and supportive, to East New York. On December 10, 2019, the City Council approved a land use application for the development of four mixed-use buildings to replace a three-story homeless shelter at 515 Blake Avenue in East New York, Brooklyn. The buildings will be a combination of residential use, commercial use, and community facilities. The land use application, submitted by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, includes a rezoning to a residential district that allows taller and wider buildings to support the project’s size, a transfer of formerly City-owned land to HELP-USA, the project’s developer, a modification of bulk regulations, and a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing designation. The Council modified the project from providing temporary and permanent housing to providing only permanent housing.
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Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver Image Credit: John McCarten
Other agencies still missing from Council’s hearing on Park’s capital process. On November 12, 2019, the City Council’s Committee on Parks, Committee on Contracts, and Subcommittee on Capital Budget held a joint oversight hearing titled “Improving the Efficiency of Parks Department Capital Projects.” The hearing was chaired respectively by Council Members Peter Koo, Ben Kallos and Vanessa L. Gibson. This hearing was held in order to create a dialogue about the state of the capital process. In Fiscal 2020, the Parks Department has 619 active capital projects and anticipates spending almost $2.7 billion. These numbers have steadily increased since Fiscal 2016.
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Council Members Ydanis A. Rodriguez, Rafael Salamanca Jr., Ben Kallos and Mark Levine Image Credit: City Council
The additional bills should help the public and City administration react in the fight against Legionnaire’s disease. On March 28, 2019, the City Council approved Int. No 1158, 1149-B, 1164-A and 1166-A, a package of bills regarding the maintenance and inspection of cooling towers. The bills assist in the implementation and enforcement of Local Law 77 of 2015, which was enacted in response to an outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease. The bills respectively address public information availability, electronic reminders for inspection and certification, annual reporting and future assessments of cooling towers.
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