Ikea to build a 346,000-square-foot waterfront store in Red Hook. The City Planning Commission approved an application by Ikea Property, Inc., for the development of a 346,000-square-foot furniture store and three ancillary buildings on a 22-acre site along the Red Hook, Brooklyn waterfront. The store, Ikea’s first in New York City, will be its largest store in the United States. The Commission also approved 70,000 sq.ft. of retail and restaurant space and a 6.3-acre public esplanade/bikeway.

Red Hook is primarily zoned M3-1 for heavy manufacturing. Recently, the neighborhood has begun a slow revitalization with the opening of the Community Justice Center in 2000 and with increasing private renovations to its residential and neighborhood retail buildings. (more…)

Universities, medical centers, museums, and religious buildings face tighter restrictions. The City Council approved amendments to 64 sections of the zoning text that control placement, size, and parking for community facilities. The Planning Department and the Council’s Land Use Committee conducted a joint study of existing zoning controls of community facilities. This is the first amendment to the relevant text since 1961.

The revision impacts community facilities such as universities, houses of worship, medical facilities, dormitories, libraries, museums, schools, and day-care centers. The amendment is intended to restrict the permitted floor area and potential sites for community facilities in single-family or small multi-family areas, as well as increase the ability of community facilities to locate in more suitable, higher density areas. (more…)

Council vote completes 4-year push to prohibit large apartment buildings. The City Council approved the Planning Commission’s comprehensive down-zoning proposal of 88 blocks in Brookville, north of JFK International Airport in Queens. The Council’s vote completes a four-year-long initiative, which started with a community letter to the Queens Borough President in 2000 and led to the creation of a joint Community Board, Borough President, and City Planning Department Task Force.

The Brookville residents, pointing to a rising number of out-of-character developments in the area, asked that steps be taken to prohibit large developments. Concern arose from construction of several as-of-right 12-unit apartment buildings and one 25-unit apartment building directly adjacent to Brookville Park at 145-33 and 145-37 232nd Street. Prior to these developments, Brookville was characterized by one and two-family homes and small semi-detached dwellings. (more…)