Carol Samol

As director of the Department of City Planning’s Bronx Office, Carol Samol uses zoning tools to promote sustainable economic development in the Bronx. She has also participated as a leader in a broader City effort to reform the City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure’s pre-certification process.

Journey to the Bronx. Samol grew up in the upper Ohio Valley near Wheeling, West Virginia and studied English at Berea College, a small liberal arts college in Kentucky. Berea College admits academically promising students who are able to attend for free so long as they work in some capacity for the school. After graduation, Samol moved to the Bronx where she earned a Master’s Degree in Philosophy from Fordham University. Philosophy served as an extension of Samol’s English studies, allowing her to expand her analytic skills. Samol searched for a practical application of her studies, ultimately developing an interest in urban planning. She attended New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and earned a Master’s in Urban Planning. Samol says that she felt an instant and personal connection to the Bronx, the borough where she continues to reside. Ultimately, Samol knew that she would help work towards the borough’s redevelopment.

(more…)

Attorney Jesse Masyr brings unique expertise from the public sector to help developers navigate the City’s public review process. CityLand spoke with Masyr at his Midtown office about his career in land use law.

Masyr, who grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, attended Tulane School of Law in New Orleans. Masyr majored in American history as an undergraduate at Harpur College (now SUNY Binghamton) and was fascinated by the antebellum period. Masyr figured that if he did not complete law school, New Orleans would be a great place to continue studying history. Masyr’s backup plan was unnecessary, and he earned his J.D. in 1975. After returning to the City, Masyr acted as Carol Bellamy’s press secretary during her run for City Council President. Bellamy’s election was certain after the primary, so Masyr joined the campaign of Andrew Stein, who was still facing a general election fight in his bid for Manhattan Borough President.

(more…)

Ocean Dreams development along Coney Island’s Reigelmann Boardwalk. Image: Courtesy of Dattner Architects.

Multi-building project will create 415 rental units along Coney Island’s boardwalk. On September 8, 2011, the City Council approved John Catsimatidis’s proposed 415- unit, mixed-use project on two vacant parcels on the western end of Riegelmann Boardwalk in Coney Island. The project site consists of an eastern and western parcel separated by West 36th Street and bounded by Surf Avenue to the north, the boardwalk to the south, West 35th Street to the east, and West 37th Street to the west. The site is located nine blocks west of the Coney Island Special District which the City created in 2009 to revitalize the area. 6 CityLand 104 (Aug. 15, 2009).

The 428,000 sq.ft. project, known as Ocean Dreams, will include both low- and high-rise structures to provide 415 market-rate apartments, 418 parking spaces, and up to 24,750 sq.ft. of commercial space. In 2005, the site’s former owner received City approval for a 313-unit project, also known as Ocean Dreams, which was never developed. 2 CityLand 137 (Oct. 15, 2005).

On the western parcel, Catsimatidis will build a three- to five story L-shaped building with a fourteen-story tower rising to 164 feet. The building will include 104 apartments and 3,640 sq.ft. of groundfloor retail space along Surf Avenue. The eastern parcel will feature a U-shaped building with a three- to six-story base opening to the boardwalk. The building will include an eighteen-story tower on the east side of the parcel and a 22-story tower on the west side of the parcel. This building will provide 311 apartments with 11,570 sq.ft. of retail space along Surf Avenue and up to 9,580 sq.ft. of potential retail space along the boardwalk. The fourteen-story building will house a 149-space enclosed parking garage, and the multi-tower building would include a 269-space enclosed garage. The garages will be built above grade due to the area’s high water table. Landscaped courtyards above the garages will feature recreational facilities for the buildings’ residents.

(more…)

Image Credit: Mayor’s Office.

On January 9, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams announced a set of recommendations from the Office Adaptive Reuse Task Force for changes to state laws and city zoning requirements to make it easier for the conversion of underused office space to housing. The COVID-19 pandemic transformed how many companies operate, transitioning to work-from-home or hybrid structures that require less office space, while the city experiences an ongoing affordable housing crisis. (more…)

Mayor Adams holds a copy of “Get Stuff Built,” the administration’s proposal for streamlining parts of the land use process and Buildings requirement. Image Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office.

On December 8, 2022, Mayor Eric Adams unveiled New York City’s latest land use roadmap, Get Stuff Built, a complement to his City of Yes zoning proposals announced earlier this year. Get Stuff Built represents a collaborative effort among more than two dozen agencies serving on the Building and Land use Approval Streamlining Taskforce (BLAST), which held 18 working group sessions and four roundtable discussions with more than 50 external stakeholders. Designed to address housing affordability, support small businesses, and facilitate capital projects, Get Stuff Built lays out 111 initiatives to streamline development in the City in three categories identified for reform: environmental review, land use processes, and building permitting. (more…)