Three Bronx neighborhoods rezoned

New plan for Pelham Gardens, Laconia and Baychester. The City Council approved the proposed rezoning of 163 blocks in the Bronx, covering portions of Pelham Gardens, Laconia and Baychester located north of Pelham Parkway and east of Williamsbridge and Boston Roads. The new zoning is designed to preserve the existing neighborhoods’ character with lower density and contextual zoning districts and to prevent out-of-character development.

The neighborhoods’ zoning (R3-2, R4 and R5) has allowed for rowhouse … <Read More>


Out-of-date zoning modified to preserve community

Queens community rezoned at request of residents. On July 27, 2005, the City Council approved a 103-block rezoning in East Flushing. The proposed rezoning was initiated by the Planning Department in response to requests of the East Flushing Civic Association, the Off-Broadway Homeowners’ Association, Community Board 7 and a zoning task force created by Borough President Helen Marshall’s office. The groups raised concerns that the 1961 zoning did not reflect building patterns in the area … <Read More>


New bridge for East 153rd Street approved

Bridge will provide four traffic lanes, two bike paths, two walkways and a needed cross-town connection. The Department of Transportation sought a City Map amendment for the construction of a new East 153rd Street bridge in the Bronx to span the Metro North railroad tracks and reconnect the east-west linkage of East 153rd, between Morris Avenue and the Grand Concourse. DOT closed the original 1899 two-lane bridge in 1988, due to safety concerns, and demolished … <Read More>


DUMBO BID approved

BID will encompass 366 properties and address sanitation, security and marketing needs. The Planning Commission unanimously approved an application by the Department of Small Business Services to create a DUMBO Business Improvement District. The proposed BID would encompass 366 properties containing 575 existing businesses bounded by DUMBO’s York, Old Fulton, Gold, and Bridge Streets and extending to the East River.

Under the proposed BID, businesses and industrial uses would be assessed $.05 per-square-foot and $.004 … <Read More>


Sanitation’s four marine transfer stations approved

Council unable to override Mayor’s veto. The proposed sites of three marine waste transfer stations were approved after the City Council failed to get sufficient votes to override Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s veto.

The Department of Sanitation had sought separate site selection approvals through ULURP applications to construct four new marine transfer stations. The four transfer stations were a component of Mayor Bloomberg’s 20-year Solid Waste Management Plan, which at the time of the applications was … <Read More>


Signs ok’ed for Rockefeller Center’s new observation deck

Full Council approved zoning amendment granting special authority to Planning Commission Chair. On June 23, 2005, the City Council unanimously approved an amendment to the zoning resolution allowing the Chair of the Planning Commission to authorize the use of illuminated signs in lots occupied by a landmark. The amended zoning resolution applied only to the Fifth Avenue Subdistrict of the Special Midtown District, and impacts the New York Public Library, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and St. … <Read More>