A 620-unit complex and neighboring 140-unit affordable housing project would replace a 5.5-acre municipal parking lot. On May 12, 2010, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on the Rockefeller Group Development Corporation and TDC Development Corporation’s joint proposal to build a 1.89 million sq.ft. mixed-use project in downtown Flushing, Queens. The City Economic Development Corporation selected the proposal, known as Flushing Commons, through a formal RFP process. It would replace a 5.5-acre, 1,101-space municipal parking … <Read More>
Bank building plan rejected
Residents argued that proposed bank would be out of character with residential block. On May 25, 2010, the City Council denied Jom Tob Gluck’s proposal to rezone a portion of 18th Avenue between 48th and 49th Streets in Brooklyn’s Borough Park. Gluck proposed applying a C1-3 commercial overlay to a 20,000 sq.ft area currently zoned R5. The rezoning would have facilitated the development of a one-story bank building on a 3,615 sq.ft. lot currently occupied … <Read More>
Astoria rezoning approved
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, … <Read More>
West Park church designated
Opponents argued designation would prevent congregation from restoring the deteriorating building. On May 12, 2010, the City Council approved Landmarks’ designation of the West Park Presbyterian Church at 165 West 86th Street in Manhattan. The red sandstone-clad building is considered one of the City’s best examples of Romanesque Revival-style religious structures. Landmarks unanimously designated the building in January 2010 despite opposition from West Park leaders and its congregation, who claimed that designation would prevent the … <Read More>
Car-share parking proposal begins public review
Proposal would establish off-street parking regulations for car-share vehicles, such as those offered through Zipcar. On April 26, 2010, the City Planning Commission announced that the Department of City Planning’s proposed car-share parking zoning text amendment would begin a public review process. Car-sharing companies like Zipcar and Connect by Hertz provide vehicles to registered members on an as-needed basis for a fee. The vehicles are typically available 24 hours a day. Members can reserve cars … <Read More>
Midtown’s Springs Mills Building designated
Green glass skyskraper was built on L-shaped lot between 1961 and 1963. On April 13, 2010, Landmarks voted unanimously to designate the Springs Mills Building at 104 West 40th Street as an individual City landmark. The Springs Mills linen company hired the firm of Harrison & Abramowitz to construct a 21-story building on an L-shaped through-block lot in 1961. The architects submitted building plans just before the City implemented its comprehensive overhaul of … <Read More>