Developer obtained rezoning in order to build a ten-story tower on top of a three-story medical facility currently under construction. On June 29, 2010, the City Council approved Sean Daneshvar’s rezoning proposal to facilitate the development of a thirteen-story building at 621 East Fordham Road in the Belmont section of the Bronx. The site is occupied by a one-story medical facility that Daneshvar is currently enlarging to three stories pursuant to a BSA variance. The lot’s southern two-thirds is zoned C8-1, while the northern portion is zoned R6. Daneshvar requested that the City extend the R6 district to include the lot and apply a C2-4 overlay in order to build a ten-story residential tower on top of the three-story medical building. The thirteen-story project would provide 58 market- rate units, 22,800 sq.ft. of ground floor retail space, and a 134-space underground garage with an entrance on Hughes Avenue. The surrounding area is characterized by a range of residential, commercial, and institutional uses, including the nearby 29-story Keith Plaza Apartments and Fordham University’s Rose Hill Campus.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. supported the project on the condition that Daneshvar promise to build the underground garage and provide an alternate garage entrance along the site’s western edge on Belmont Avenue. Daneshvar owns a 96-space parking lot across the street from the site, and Diaz requested that the lot remain available for the project’s accessory use. (more…)

Planning proposed contextual rezonings in Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. On May 24, 2010, the City Planning Commission certified the Department of City Planning’s contextual rezoning proposals for sections of Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. The Queens rezoning would impact a 418-block portion of northeast Queens and would be the City’s largest rezoning. The Bronx plan would rezone 75 blocks along the central Bronx’s Third Avenue and Tremont Avenue corridors. The Manhattan proposal, referred to as the Third Avenue Corridor Rezoning, would impact an eight-block section of the East Village bounded by East 13th and East 9th Streets and Third and Fourth Avenues.

The Auburndale, Oakland Gardens, and Hollis Hills neighborhoods of northeast Queens have recently experienced development out of scale with the area’s residential character. The rezoning would replace the area’s zoning, which has remained unchanged since 1961, with contextual zoning districts, including R1-2A, R2A, and R3X districts. The plan would also modify commercial overlays to more closely match current use patterns and to Borreduce off-street parking requirements. Planning would broadly apply R2A zoning to 295 blocks (most of Hollis Hills and portions of Auburndale and Oakland Gardens) in order to reinforce the area’s existing detached single-family and two-family housing. Queens Community Boards 7, 8, and 11 must vote on the plan by August 2, 2010. (more…)

Developer requested rezoning in order to provide additional residential units. On February 3, 2010, the City Council approved Webster Commons LLC’s proposal to rezone a section of Webster Avenue in the Bronx from R6 to R7X to facilitate the development of a 393-unit affordable housing project. The rezoning impacts an unimproved portion of Webster Avenue 800 feet north of East Gun Hill Road and east of Woodlawn Cemetery. Webster Commons requested the up-zoning in order to add 125 additional residential units.

Webster Commons intends to construct a four-building residential complex, varying in height from nine to thirteen stories, on a two-acre parcel purchased from Woodlawn Cemetery. The project will include 10,000 sq.ft. of community facility space and 94 below-grade parking spaces. The developer will market 148 units as affordable to households making 60 percent of area median income, 191 units to households making between 80 and 130 percent of area median income, and 54 units as affordable senior housing. A small ravine that crosses the property, providing groundwater drainage for the cemetery, will be maintained as a natural area for the project’s residents. (more…)

Buildings lining the “Grand Boulevard and Concourse”represent a variety of architectural styles, including Art Deco and Moderne structures. On December 15, 2009, Landmarks moved to calendar 73 properties along the Bronx’s Grand Concourse, the first step toward designating the proposed Grand Concourse Historic District. The proposed district would include a section of the Grand Concourse between East 167th and East 153rd Streets and properties along Walton Avenue, west of Franz Sigel and Joyce Kilmer Parks. Significant structures within the proposed district include the Thomas Gardens apartments, the Concourse Plaza Hotel, and the Bronx County Building.

French engineer Louis Reiss envisioned the “Grand Boulevard and Concourse” as a thoroughfare connecting Manhattan’s residents to the Bronx’s expansive parks. Reflecting the urban planning ideals of the City Beautiful movement, the Grand Concourse featured landscaped medians and waysides, and ornate overpass bridges. The Grand Concourse developed rapidly as the City expanded the subway and elevated rail line to reach the area’s relatively inexpensive and undeveloped property. Revivalist architectural styles dominated the Grand Concourse’s initial development, but by the mid-1930s, Art Deco and Moderne style apartment buildings characterized the area. Developers took advantage of the area’s large lots to build block-sized apartment complexes organized around large, landscaped courtyards, referred to as “garden apartments.” (more…)

FRESH program would create incentives to encourage developing full-line grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods. On October 26, 2009, the City Council’s Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee heard testimony on the City’s proposed Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program. The program would provide zoning and financial incentives to encourage grocerystores in neighborhoods identified in a 2008 study as being underserved by stores offering a full range of fresh food. These neighborhoods are located primarily in northern Manhattan, southern Bronx, central Brooklyn, and areas of Queens.

The program would apply to manufacturing and commercial districts within the underserved communities. Stores qualifying for benefits would be required to provide at least 6,000 sq.ft. of space for food and non-food products, and at least 2,000 sq.ft. or 30 percent of space, whichever is greater, for perishable goods. Currently, grocery stores up to 10,000 sq.ft. are permitted in M1 districts, but under the proposal stores up to 30,000 sq.ft. would be permitted as-of-right. (more…)