Planning unveils online land use and zoning tool

Mapping tool provides range of zoning and land use information for individual properties and City at large. On August 25, 2011, the Department of City Planning and the Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications announced the release of the publicly accessible zoning and land use web application known as as ZoLa. The web-based Geographic Information Systems tool provides up-to-date maps with zoning and land use information for New York City properties.

ZoLa is a part … <Read More>


New shopping center proposed near the Belt Parkway

Thor Equities’ proposed 214,000 sq ft Gravesend Bay retail complex would feature BJ’s wholesale store as anchor tenant. On July 13, 2011, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on Thor Equities LLC’s proposal to construct a 214,000 sq.ft. two-story retail building on a vacant lot at 1752 Shore Parkway in the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn. The project site sits on a peninsula that protrudes into Gravesend Bay, adjacent to the Belt Parkway. The site is … <Read More>


Council Member Brad Lander on Current Initiatives Affecting Land Use in the City

Council Member Brad Lander, chair of the City Council’s Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses Subcommittee, draws from his experience as a public policy advocate when executing his duties.

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Lander in 1991 earned a liberal arts degree from the University of Chicago. He then earned a master’s degree in Social Anthropology at the University College London in the United Kingdom, where he worked with community groups to research how a … <Read More>


Douglas Durst Discusses Current Projects and Sustainable Development in the City

Douglas Durst, Chairman of The Durst Organization, originally planned to join the U.S. Foreign Service as a career path. Today, Durst is charged with leading one of New York City’s most respected real estate development companies. He represents the third generation of the Durst family to chair the company that was founded by his grandfather in 1915.

Born in New York City, Durst graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1966 with a degree … <Read More>


EDC seeks developer for Bush Terminal Complex site

Waterfront site is occupied by three buildings that EDC will demolish prior to execution of ground lease. On November 1, 2010, the City’s Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals seeking developers to lease and redevelop a 130,000 sq.ft. portion of the Bush Terminal Complex along the Gowanus Bay in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The redevelopment site is generally bounded by 44th and 47th Streets to the north and south and is adjacent to … <Read More>


Large Williamsburg project approved by split vote

Opponents of proposed Williamsburg waterfront development wanted more affordable housing. On March 8, 2010, the City Planning Commission approved Rose Plaza on the River LLC’s proposed mixed-use development along Williamsburg’s East River waterfront at 470 through 490 Kent Avenue in Brooklyn. The project, known as Rose Plaza on the River, would provide approximately 800 residential units in three towers on a site currently occupied by storage and wholesale distribution businesses, and a lumber yard.

A … <Read More>