New zoning district created to protect existing commercial uses will also facilitate private developer’s mixed-use project. On September 21, 2011, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s proposal to create the new M1- 6D manufacturing zoning district. The Council also approved an accompanying proposal by Edison Properties to apply the new M1-6D district to the mid-block portions of two blocks bounded by West 28th and West 30th Streets and Seventh and Eighth Avenues. The rezoning will facilitate Edison Properties’ proposed two-building mixed-use project on a through-block lot at 249 West 28th Street.

Planning proposed creating the new M1-6D zoning district after Edison Properties expressed interest in redeveloping its property with a residential use prohibited by the area’s M1-5 zoning regulations.

The area was once part of the City’s industrial center and home to a thriving fur industry. Over the years, the area transitioned from manufacturing and production uses into commercial office uses. The rezoning area is characterized by parking lots and a lack of ground floor retail. Recent development in the area includes hotels lacking the setbacks and articulations of the remaining pre-war buildings. Planning proposed the M1-6D district to establish use and bulk regulations that would protect existing office and light industrial uses and encourage new development that would reflect the area’s architectural character.  (read more…)

City-controlled operating entity will be responsible for implementing island’s recently released redevelopment master plan. On April 11, 2010, the City and State announced an agreement that would transfer to the City primary responsibility for operating Governors Island and for implementing the development goals of the Governors Island Park and Public Space Master Plan. The City and State have jointly operated the island since 2003, when the federal government transferred control of the island to the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation. The newly created Governors Island Operating Entity will now oversee the development and operation of the island. The entity’s thirteenmember board will include nine mayoral appointees, and appointees of the Governor, the 64th District State Assembly Member, the 25th District State Senator, and Manhattan Community Board 1.

The 172-acre island’s northern 92 acres were designated as the Governors Island Historic District by Landmarks in 1996 and includes the 22-acre Governors Island National Monument managed by the National Park Service. The island’s remaining 80-acre southern portion, which is closed to the public, is slated for redevelopment and features parking lots, abandoned warehouses, and former military barracks. (read more…)