Elected Officials Oppose Salvation Army’s Plan to Sell Williams Memorial Residence

Elected officials join senior residents to protest sale and relocation of Upper West senior home to Harlem.  On June 18, 2014, elected officials and senior residents held a rally outside the Williams Memorial Residence, a 15-story independent senior living facility, located at 720 West End Avenue, in Manhattan. The rally, attended by nearly 200 people, was held in protest of the Salvation Army’s plan to sell the property, which it has owned and … <Read More>


Council Member Stephen Levin: Bringing the City Council to the People

District 33 – Brooklyn Heights, Greenpoint, parts of Williamsburg, Park Slope, Boerum Hill

Council Member Stephen Levin grew up just outside of New York City, in Plainfield, New Jersey. He knew he wanted to be in Brooklyn even while he was attending Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. To get there though, he dabbled with various jobs including working as a waiter (he was fired), a book store clerk, and an artist’s assistant. About a … <Read More>


Astoria rezoning approved

Astoria’s 238-block contextual rezoning received strong support from Council Member Vallone. On May 25, 2010, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s contextual rezoning plan for Astoria, Queens. The plan impacts 238 blocks bounded by 20th Avenue to the north, Broadway to the south, Steinway Street to the east, and the East River and Vernon Boulevard to the west. The rezoning replaces the area’s predominant R5 and R6 zoning with contextual zoning districts, … <Read More>


Height limits for Astoria considered

Proposed Astoria rezoning map used with permission of the New York City Department of City Planning. All rights reserved.

Local Council Member and residents supported the proposed 248-block contextual rezoning, but two property owners requested modifications. On March 24, 2010, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on the Department of City Planning’s contextual rezoning plan for Astoria, Queens. The 248-block study area is generally bounded by 20th Avenue to the north, Broadway to the south, … <Read More>


Staten Island’s Sandy Ground area downzoned

Rezoning proposed to prevent attached homes in area settled by freed slaves in 1827. On February 3, 2010, the City Council approved State Senator Andrew J. Lanza’s rezoning proposal for the Sandy Ground neighborhood of Staten Island. Sandy Ground, also known as Rossville, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and recognized as one of the country’s oldest communities established by freed slaves. The rezoning impacts 35 blocks generally bounded by the West … <Read More>


EDC plan for 30-acre waterfront development approved

Council approved plan after EDC made further concessions on affordable housing. On November 13, 2008, the City Council voted to approve the NYC Economic Development Corporation’s Hunter’s Point South plan, a mixed-income 30-acre waterfront development in Long Island City, Queens. The project met with controversy at Council’s October 24th Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee public hearing and at the City Planning Commission’s August 13th public hearing. Opponents testified that the project lacked a sufficient amount of … <Read More>