Astoria’s 238-block contextual rezoning received strong support from Council Member Vallone. On May 25, 2010, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s contextual rezoning plan for Astoria, Queens. The plan impacts 238 blocks bounded by 20th Avenue to the north, Broadway to the south, Steinway Street to the east, and the East River and Vernon Boulevard to the west. The rezoning replaces the area’s predominant R5 and R6 zoning with contextual zoning districts, including lower density R5B, R5D, R6A, and R6B districts that establish height limits and reinforce the residential neighborhood’s development patterns. Planning applied commercial zoning districts to 67 blocks developed with mixed uses, including the 31st Street corridor, which includes the elevated N and W subway lines. The City’s Inclusionary Housing Program will now apply to seventeen blocks rezoned to R7A.
At the City Planning Commission’s hearing, residents were supportive of the proposal, noting that the rezoning was necessary to prevent out-of-scale development and protect the area’s infrastructure. Two property owners, however, asked the Commission to modify the rezoning to accommodate their lots. (more…)
- Proposed Astoria rezoning map used with permission of the New York City Department of City Planning. All rights reserved.
Local Council Member and residents supported the proposed 248-block contextual rezoning, but two property owners requested modifications. On March 24, 2010, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on the Department of City Planning’s contextual rezoning plan for Astoria, Queens. The 248-block study area is generally bounded by 20th Avenue to the north, Broadway to the south, Steinway Street to the east, Vernon Boulevard and the East River to the west, and is divided by the Grand Central Parkway. The proposal builds on three smaller rezonings adopted in the area between 1989 and 2001.
The majority of the area’s northern blocks are currently zoned R5 and characterized by two- and three-story rowhouses and semi-detached homes with consistent building heights and front yards. The area’s southern blocks are predominantly zoned R6 and characterized by large prewar apartment buildings between three and seven stories tall. There are no established height limits in R6 zoning districts, and the maximum FAR for residential uses is 2.43 while community facility uses are permitted to build up to a maximum of 4.8 FAR. As a result, the area has recently experienced development out-of-scale with the neighborhood’s built character. (more…)
Residential uses found infeasible due to the site’s odd shape and Astoria Boulevard frontage. Showky Kaldawy, owner of four vacant lots in East Elmhurst, sought a variance to allow his residentially-zoned lots to be used as a 33-space accessory parking lot for an adjacent rental car company. Three of the four lots comprising the 17,866 square-foot site front 110th Street, and the fourth fronts Astoria Boulevard, one of Queens’ major commercial arteries.
Kaldawy argued that the site had been used for industrial purposes or as accessory parking for Astoria Boulevard’s manufacturing uses for over 50 years. He stated that the site’s odd shape, its location along Astoria Boulevard and the high cost of remediation rendered residential uses infeasible. Kaldawy submitted studies showing that a small apartment development and three single-family homes would not yield a reasonable return due to East Elmhurst’s low rents and the $150,000 estimated cost to remove 12 gasoline tanks on the site. (more…)
Render of Halletts North. Image Credit: CPC.
On September 29, 2022, the City Council approved a rezoning for the Halletts North development in Astoria, Queens. The mixed-use development, located at the intersection of 27th Avenue and 3rd Street, consists of three towers with 46,509 square feet of waterfront public access area along the East River. The development will be 986,000 square feet total, with 962,800 square feet of residential space, 1800 square feet of commercial space, and a 21,500 square foot community facility. (more…)
Enclosed bicycle parking pods will temporarily be located at five different locations in a pilot program between Oonee, the creator of the pods, and the Department of Transportation. Image Credit: NYC DOT.
The pods are enclosed to provide secure bicycle parking. On March 11, 2022, the New York City Department of Transportation announced the launch of a bicycle parking pilot program which will provide protected curbside biking corrals in five locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. As more New Yorkers choose cycling as a mode of transportation, secure bike parking options will be in greater demand. (more…)
