logo CityLand
      • Home
      • About CityLand
      • CityLand Sponsors
      • Filings & Decisions
      • Commentary
      • Archive
      • Resources
      • CityLaw
      • Current Issue

    Council modifies 130-block rezoning in western Queens


    City Council  •  Rezoning/Text Amendment  •  Sunnyside/Woodside, Queens
    07/15/2011   •    Leave a Comment

    Proposed rezoning of Sunnyside-Woodside. Image: Courtesy of NYC City Planning Commission.

    Modification established 80-foot building height limit along portion of Queens Boulevard. On June 23, 2011, the City Council’s Land Use Committee modified the Department of City Planning’s rezoning proposal for the Sunnyside and Woodside sections of Queens. The plan would impact 130 blocks in western Queens south of the Sunnyside Rail Yard and east of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

    Sunnyside, bisected by Queens Boulevard in the western portion of the rezoning area, is predominantly characterized by large residential and commercial buildings. Woodside, in contrast, is characterized by one- and two-family detached and semi-detached homes and low-rise apartment buildings. The populations of both neighborhoods have increased during the past two decades, and subsequent out-of-scale development has disrupted street wall continuity and led to inappropriate commercial uses on residential side streets.

    Planning’s proposal would replace the study area’s 50-year old zoning with contextual zoning districts to establish building heights, reinforce existing development patterns, and provide residential development opportunities along appropriate corridors. Accompanying zoning text amendments would alter sidewalk cafe regulations along Queens Boulevard and Skillman Avenue and apply the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program along a portion of Queens Boulevard in Woodside.

    Queens Community Board 2 and Borough President Helen M. Marshall supported the rezoning, and no one opposed the proposal at the City Planning Commission’s public hearing. 8 CityLand 75 (June 15, 2011). The Commission unanimously approved the rezoning plan.

    At the Council’s Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee hearing on June 21, local Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer announced that the proposal had been modified. Van Bramer stated that the eastern portion of Queens Boulevard would be rezoned R7A rather than R7X, and the western portion of Queens Boulevard would be rezoned C4-4A rather than C4-5X. These modifications would reduce the proposed maximum building height along Queens Boulevard from 125 feet to 80 feet. The Subcommittee unanimously approved the modified proposal, and the Land Use Committee followed suit. On June 29, 2011, the full Council forwarded the modified proposal back to the City Planning Commission for review.

    Review Process
    Lead Agency: CPC, Neg. Dec.
    Comm. Bd.: QN 2, App’d, 38-1-2
    Boro. Pres.: App’d
    CPC: App’d, 13-0-0
    Council: Pending

    Council: Sunnyside-Woodside Rezoning (June 23, 2011).

    Share this:

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Email
    Tags : Queens Community Board 2, Sunnyside-Woodside Rezoning
    Category : City Council

    Comment on this article

    Click here to cancel reply.

    Subscribe To Free Alerts

    In a Reader

    Desktop Reader Bloglines Google Live Netvibes Newsgator Yahoo! What's This?

    Follow Us on Social Media

    twitterfacebook

    Search

    Search by Category

      City Council
      CityLaw
      City Planning Commission
      Board of Standards & Appeals
      Landmarks Preservation Commission
      Economic Development Corporation
      Housing Preservation & Development
      Administrative Decisions
      Court Decisions
      Filings and Decisions
      CityLand Profiles

    Search by Date

    © 1997-2010 New York Law School | 185 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013 | 212.431.2100 | Privacy | Terms | Code of Conduct | DMCA | Policies
    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.