Long View Rendering of 126th Street and Citi Field. Image Credit: NYC EDC.

Council Member Julissa Ferreras praised for her successful efforts in the negotiations for a balanced transformation of the Valley of the Ashes. On October 9, 2013, the Land Use Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises voted unanimously to approve the Willets Point Development Project application. The application was a modification of the original 2008 Willets Point application. (See CityLand’s past coverage here).  Before the Subcommittee vote, Council Member Julissa Ferreras gave a statement highlighting all of the items that were finalized after extensive negotiations with the City and developers.

Council Member Ferreras began by thanking everyone involved in this lengthy process, and stated that “this deal is a win for her constituents, a win for Willets Point, and a win for New York City.” Willets Point, known as the “Iron Triangle” or the “Valley of Ashes,” has gone “for years without many of the resources that the rest of the City has received, such as sanitation, paved roads, sewage, and flood drainage.” As a result of negotiations from this application, in addition to the 35% of housing dedicated to be affordable, the City has now “agreed to release a request for proposals for two lots of land” in and around her district to construct additional affordable housing. This will bring the total affordable housing number to just over 1,000 units. Council Member Ferreras noted that this is the largest dedication of affordable housing that  Queens City Council District 21 has seen. (more…)

Aerial view of St. Francis Preparatory School. Image Credit: Google.

City Council approved rezoning amendment to expand music and science programs at St. Francis Preparatory School. On August 19, 2013, the City Council’s Land Use Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises held a public hearing on St. Francis Preparatory School’s rezoning application. The school, located at 6100 Francis Lewis Boulevard in Fresh Meadows, Queens, filed an application on January 24, 2013, for an amendment of the zoning map. The proposed action would allow the school to build additional classrooms, science laboratory, art and musical performance facilities, as well as a chapel. (more…)

The site is currently occupied by the Maple Lanes Bowling Alley. Photo: Melissa Murphy.

Demolition of bowling alley will lead to construction of 112 dwelling units and a two-story synagogue. On October 20, 2008, an application for a zoning map amendment was filed to rezone property located at 1560 60th Street in Brooklyn. The location has been occupied by Maple Lanes Bowling Alley for more than 50 years. The application calls for the demolition of the one-story, 35,000-square-foot bowling alley.

The application, filed by Fairmont Lanes LLC, would rezone the location from M1-1 to R6A to facilitate construction of a mixed-use development. The proposed rezoning would cover the entire 72,704-square-foot, irregularly shaped lot. The residential component of the proposal consists of 24 attached and semi-detached four-story buildings, 21 of which would be townhouse-style buildings containing four dwelling units each. At the corners of 16th Avenue and 60th Street, and 16th Avenue and 61st Street, larger residential buildings with seven dwelling units each would be constructed. The project also includes a two-story synagogue that would serve area residents. Accessory parking would be provided for 56 cars in a below-grade parking garage. The overall floor area ratio for the project would be 2.52.

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Credit: Google maps

City will convey waterfront property to Kristal Auto Mall and an existing Toys ‘R’ Us retail store on Flatbush Avenue. On May 15, 2012, the City Council approved the Department of Small Business Services’ plan to facilitate the relocation of Kristal Auto Mall to a site on Flatbush Avenue abutting Mill Basin in Brooklyn. The City-owned project site is occupied by a 45,000-square-foot Toys ‘R’ Us store and a 400-space accessory parking lot used by surrounding businesses. To the south of the site is another City-owned parcel consisting of 400,000 sq.ft. of undeveloped land abutting Four Sparrow Marsh. The proposal called for, among other things, disposing of nearly 240,000 sq.ft. of City-owned property, demapping an unimproved strip of Flatbush Avenue, and rezoning the project site from C3 to C8-1.

Under the plan, Kristal Auto Mall will purchase a 110,000-square-foot portion of the parking lot in order to move from its current location at 5200 Kings Highway. Kristal plans to redevelop the property with a 114,000-square-foot facility housing a showroom, offices, and a service facility. A second 4,000-square-foot building will be used for used-car sales.

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Two-story retail complex on Gravesend Bay peninsula will feature BJ’s Wholesale Club. On September 21, 2011, the City Council approved Thor Equities LLC’s proposal to build a two-story retail development at 1752 Shore Parkway in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn. The 1,200-foot long project will be located on a peninsula in Gravesend Bay adjacent to the Belt Parkway. The 214,000 sq.ft. complex will include a three-level, 690-space parking garage and a 103,000 sq.ft. public waterfront esplanade. Thor Equities plans to lease the property to BJ’s Wholesale Club, which will then develop the site. BJ’s plans to occupy the complex’s ground-floor space and lease the second-floor space to smaller retail tenants.

The site was zoned as an M3-1 manufacturing district, and existing nearby commercial uses operate pursuant to BSA variances. Thor Equities submitted multiple applications, including a request to rezone the peninsula to an M1-1 district and for a special permit to build a retail use in a manufacturing district.  (more…)