Top Image: Council Member Fernando Cabrera/Image Credit: Jeff Reed
Bottom Image: Council Member Ben Kallos/Image Credit: John McCarten

The four proposed bills would provide the community and elected officials with the tools to make informed decisions about developments in their neighborhoods. On September 26, 2019, the City Council’s Land Use and Governmental Operations Committees held a hearing on four proposed bills that will increase transparency regarding new developments in the City, specifically with the transfer of development rights and testimony at the Board of Standards and Appeals. The four bills are a response to the recent development of supertall out-of-context skyscrapers in the City and the lack of information provided to the community during the development process.

(read more…)

Rendering of the 776-780 Myrtle Avenue development as presented throughout the ULURP process; however, there may be minor aesthetic changes made. / Image Credit: Urban Architectural Initiatives

The new nine-story building would bring approximately 36 housing units for the formerly homeless. On October 17, 2019, the City Council voted to approve a land use application to facilitate the construction of a new nine-story mixed-use residential and commercial building on three vacant City-owned lots at 776-780 Myrtle Avenue in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. To facilitate the project, the application asks for two land use actions. First, the three City-owned vacant lots will be transferred to IMPACCT Brooklyn to develop the building. Second, the development will take advantage of the Urban Development Action Area Program property tax exemption for new development on formerly City-owned land. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development, IMPACCT Brooklyn, and Urban Architectural Initiatives are the applicants.

On August 28, 2019, the City Planning Commission voted to approve the application. For CityLand’s prior coverage on this decision, click here.

(read more…)

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson at the Council Stated Meeting. Image Credit: John McCarten

The Speaker’s bill looks to change the way the entire city shares the streets. On October 30, 2019, the City Council approved Intro 1557-A, a five-year comprehensive plan for city streets, sidewalks and pedestrian spaces. The bill was approved by a vote of 35 in favor to 9 opposed with two abstentions. The bill was first introduced by Speaker Corey Johnson on May 29, 2019, heard by the Committee on Transportation on June 12, 2019, and later amended and approved by the Committee on October 29, 2019.

(read more…)

Rendering of proposed development on Vernon Boulevard./Image Credit: Cipico Construction/CPC

The project will add privately owned public open space and local businesses to service residents and visitors of the neighborhood.  On October 17, 2019, the City Council voted to approve the rezoning of an irregularly-shaped block bounded by Vernon Boulevard and Broadway to the north, 33rd Road to the south, 11th Street to the east, and 10th Street to the west in Astoria, Queens. The applicant proposed to rezone the block from a residential low density district to a residential medium density district. The rezoning would also allow for commercial use on the northern part of the block. The rezoning will facilitate the development of three mixed-use buildings which will have a combination of residential use, commercial use, community facilities, and open space. The block is currently occupied by a one-story garage and warehouse. Cipico Construction is the project’s applicant. On September 11, 2019, the City Planning Commission voted to approve the application. For CityLand’s prior coverage on this decision, click here.

(read more…)

Rendering of proposed flood resiliency infrastructure./Image Credit: DDC, Parks, DOT, DEP, and Mayor’s Office of Resiliency/CPC

Despite the project’s phased construction schedule, concerns with the project still exist among elected officials and community members. On November 4, 2019, the City Council Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting, and Dispositions approved two land use applications for the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, the City’s flood protection plan for Lower Manhattan. The Project will include a system of floodgates and walls along the project area, sewage improvements, and will elevate East River Park eight feet above the flood plain to protect the Park and have it serve as a flood barrier for nearby neighborhoods. The first application is for access onto private property adjacent to the proposed flood protection infrastructure for the City to conduct inspections, maintenance, and repair of the infrastructure. The second application is for a zoning text amendment to allow higher wall heights for the proposed floodwalls and gates at Stuyvesant Cove Park.

(read more…)