City Planning Certifies City Applications to Build Borough-Based Jails

The four jails are set to replace Rikers island by 2027. On March 25, 2019, the City Planning Commission certified the City’s application for four borough-based jails as a part of the City’s plan to shut down Rikers Island. The four jails – in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn – will have a total of 5,748 beds and a capacity of 5,000 inmates. The additional 748 beds will be used to account for taking … <Read More>


Blocked Brooklyn Bridge View Claim Defeated

Development corporation constructed buildings in Brooklyn Bridge Park that blocked view of the Brooklyn Bridge from the Brooklyn Promenade. In 2005 Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation and Empire State Development Corporation adopted a general project plan for Brooklyn Bridge Park that included the development of a hotel, restaurant, and residential units upland of Brooklyn’s Pier 1. Community members demanded during the initial environmental review that the new buildings not block the view of the Brooklyn … <Read More>


CPC Approves South Avenue Retail Development

City Planning approved a special permit and City Map amendment to allow for the development of 5 one-story retail establishments in Mariner’s Harbor, Staten Island. On September 6, 2017, the City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on the South Avenue Retail Development. The South Avenue Retail Development involves 2 land use actions: a special permit to allow retail establishments above 10,000 square feet, and a City Map amendment to alter and remove unbuilt streets … <Read More>


City Planning Holds Hearing on Skyscraper East Harlem Development [UPDATE: Application Found to be Appropriate]

UPDATE: On June 21, 2017, the City Planning Commission the application from the New York City Education Construction Fund and AvalonBay Communities to redevelop a city block in East Harlem to be appropriate. The proposed development would shift the Marx Brothers Playground to the center of the block and facilitate the construction of two buildings at either end. The eastern building would rise eight stories and contain two public high school relocated from other <Read More>


Hudson River Park Pier 54 Re-construction Approved

Hudson River Park Trust agreed with Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg to reconstruct Pier 54 with a larger footprint and with performance spaces that could charge market fees. Pier 54 is a part of the Hudson River Park and is located on West Street and West 13th Street, Manhattan. The pier was built in 1906 for the Cunard Steamship Company, became deteriorated, and was partially dismantled by the Hudson River Park in 2013. … <Read More>


City Planning Commission Approves Modified Affordable Housing Proposals

Despite expressing broad support for proposals, City Planning calls on City Council to make further modifications.  On February 3, 2016, the City Planning Commission voted to approve the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Zoning for Quality and Affordability proposals, which are two of the major programs to be implemented under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York plan.  This was the first opportunity for City Planning to present its modified versions of the MIH and ZQA … <Read More>