Mixed-use project near Navy Yard approved

Mixed-use development near Brooklyn Navy Yard. Image: Courtesy FXFOWLE Architects.
Proposed Navy Green development along Vanderbilt Avenue between Flushing and Park Avenues. Image: Courtesy FXFOWLE Architects.

Located on former prison site, the complex will provide affordable and special needs housing. On September 30, 2009, the City Council approved the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s proposal to facilitate the construction of a 455- unit complex, known as Navy Green, in Brooklyn’s Wallabout neighborhood. The 461,449 … <Read More>

Sunset Park rezoning approved

Community groups expressed concern that 128-block rezoning would displace low-income residents. On September 30, 2009, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone 128 blocks of Brooklyn’s Sunset Park in order to address recent out-of-scale development inconsistent with the area’s predominantly residential character. The plan replaces the neighborhood’s R6 zoning with contextual zoning districts — R4A, R4-1, R6B, R6A, and R7A — that match the area’s context and also establish maximum … <Read More>

Yankee Stadium area rezoning approved

161 Street/River Avenue proposed rezoning.

Approved plan rezones 161st Street and River Avenue corridor and establishes new C6-3D commercial zoning district. On September 30, 2009, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone areas along 161st Street and River Avenue in southwest Bronx. The rezoning impacts portions of eight blocks in three separate areas within the heart of the borough’s civic center, described as the Residential, Civic, and Transit Nodes. The … <Read More>

Joshua Benson on DOT’s Bicycle Program

Joshua Benson, the 33-year-old Acting Director of Bicycle & Pedestrian Programs for the New York City Department of Transportation, admits to being particularly fond of the basket sitting at the front of his simple single-speed bike, noting how it allows him to carry anything from groceries to his laptop and projector on the bike. Benson started riding a bike as a student at NYU and now commutes to Downtown Manhattan every weekday from his home … <Read More>

HPD’s Cornerstone Housing Program audited

Comptroller found that HPD was successful in ensuring that the primary housing goals of the Cornerstone Program were met. In 2000, HPD established the Cornerstone Program, a new construction initiative designed to expand private housing and increase the City’s affordable unit housing stock. The primary goals of the Cornerstone Program are two-fold: sell City-owned land, usually for a small fee, to encourage private residential development, and create affordable rental and homeownership units in specific neighborhoods. … <Read More>

Demolition of Leaning SoHo Building Approved

Owner will store cast-iron facade after damaged building is demolished. On September 22, 2009, Landmarks approved SoHo Equities Inc.’s application to demolish a George DaCunha-designed five-story loft building at 74 Grand Street, in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. According to Landmarks Deputy Counsel John Weiss, for many decades 74 Grand Street’s five-story building leaned approximately 10 inches to the west. In 2004, as a result of excavation and construction work at the neighboring site at … <Read More>