
Rendering of proposed Development at 3 St. Marks Place Image Credit: City Planning
Community questions benefits received and context of development. On March 4, 2020, the City Planning Commission heard an application by Real Estate Equities Corporation for a special permit to transfer development rights from a landmarked site and construct a ten-story commercial building in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan. The development site is located at 3 St. Marks Place, on the northeast corner of Third Avenue and St. Marks Place and is currently vacant. The special permit would transfer approximately 8,336 gross feet of floor area from the landmarked “Hamilton-Holly House,” across the street at 4 St. Marks Place.
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Map of Industry City Complex/Image Credit: Industry City Brochure
Despite two years of discussion, Industry City ownership unable to convince Council Member Menchaca and Community Board 7 to support expansion. On February 19, 2020, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application for four land use actions to expand bulk and use requirements for Industry City, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Industry City is a 5.3 million square feet mixed-use complex comprised of sixteen buildings with commercial, manufacturing, and community facility uses. Industry Park is located in an area bounded by 32nd Street to the north, 41st Street to the south, Third Avenue to the east, and the Brooklyn Waterfront to the west. The proposed actions will facilitate and support the redevelopment and expansion of Industry City. Industry City plans to construct three new buildings on the complex and include hotels, office spaces, academic centers, and more large scale retail establishments.
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Rendering of the new eight-story building on 52nd Street./Image Credit: Albo Liberis and CPC
The proposed development would bring 60 residential units to Sunnyside, Queens. On On February 19, 2020, the City Planning Commission approved an application to rezone a block in Sunnyside, Queens from a low density residential zoning district that allows three-story buildings to a medium density residential zoning district that allows eight-story buildings. The rezoning would affect all the addresses on the east side of 52nd Street and 52-06, 52-08, and 52-10 Roosevelt Avenue bounded by Roosevelt Avenue to the north and Queens Boulevard to the south.
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Rendering of Proposed Development at 35-37 Rochester Avenue Image Credit: City Planning
Affordable homeownership project receives generally positive feedback. On January 22, 2020, the City Planning Commission heard an application by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development for the disposition of city-owned property and to designate three areas in the southern portion of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn as Urban Development Action Areas. The UDAAP designation would help facilitate the construction of seven new buildings and 78 affordable homeownership units. Felipe Cortez, a borough planner at HPD and Jack Heaney from Fulcrum Properties presented the application.
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90 Sands Street Building/Image Credit: Breaking Ground/CPC
The conversion of the former Watchtower hotel will bring 508 residential units to DUMBO, Brooklyn. On February 19, 2020, the City Planning Commission approved an application to rezone a block in DUMBO, Brooklyn from a light manufacturing district to a mixed-use residential and commercial district. The block is bounded by High Street to the north, Sands Street to the south, Jay Street to the east, and Pearl Street to the west. The rezoning would facilitate the conversion of a 29-story former hotel building at 90 Sands Street to a mixed-use residential, commercial, and community facility building. The applicant does not have plans to demolish the existing building or make changes to the building’s height or bulk. The applicant only plans to convert the existing hotel rooms into apartment units. After conversion, the building will have a total of 415 studios and 93 one-bedroom units.
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