Conversion of Flushing’s municipal parking lot OK’d

After the City agreed to set aside $6 million for a small business assistance program, the Council approved the redevelopment of a 5.5- acre municipal parking lot. On July 29, 2010, the City Council approved two proposals related to the development of a large mixed-use project on a 5.5-acre municipal parking lot in downtown Flushing, Queens. The 1,101-space lot is bounded by 37th and 39th Avenues and Union and 138th Streets, and is also occupied … <Read More>


Fordham expansion plan modified by Council

Fordham University expansion plan approved. Image: Cooper, Robertson & Partners. Image is for master planning purposes only and does not represent completely designed buildings.

Changes to height and bulk of buildings along Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues among modifications. The City Council modified Fordham University’s long-term master plan to expand its Lincoln Center Campus in Manhattan. Located on a superblock bounded by Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues and West 60th and 62nd Streets, the existing campus consists … <Read More>


Bed-Stuy Gateway BID awaits Council vote

Establishment of BID in Bedford- Stuyvesant appears successful. On February 11, 2009, the City Council’s Finance Committee held a hearing on the Department of Small Business Services’ plan to create a new Bed-Stuy Gateway Business Improvement District for 357 tax lots and 267 property owners. The BID’s boundaries would extend along Brooklyn’s Nostrand Avenue, from Halsey Street to Atlantic Avenue, and on Fulton Street, from Classon to Troy Avenues. The BID’s first year budget would … <Read More>


East New York shopping center gets OK from Council

Project approved after concerns over potential adverse effects on small businesses addressed. On February 26, 2009, the City Council approved a special permit application to facilitate construction of The Shops at Gateway, a retail shopping center at the corner of Flatlands and Fountain Avenues in East New York, Brooklyn. The developer, Morgan B. Realty LLC, intends to build three one-story buildings with about 230,000 sq.ft. of retail space for approximately 25 commercial tenants. The development … <Read More>


Council negotiates modifications to 125th Street rezoning

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, … <Read More>


Columbia University’s and CB9’s plans approved

Last minute effort to delay vote until disclosure of community benefit package was defeated. On December 19, 2007, the City Council voted to approve Columbia University’s and Manhattan Community Board 9’s development plans for West Harlem after the Planning Commission modified both plans the month before. The approval clears the way for Columbia to move forward with its campus expansion into the traditionally industrial neighborhood of Manhattanville.

Columbia’s plan called for a Special Manhattanville Mixed-Use … <Read More>