Proposed 1,300-unit project near the Bronx River led by Gifford Miller would include a mix of affordable and market-rate apartments. On October 5, 2011, the City Council approved Signature Urban Properties’ proposal to build a ten-building mixed-use project overlooking the Sheridan Expressway and the Bronx River in the Crotona Park East and West Farms sections of the Bronx. To facilitate the approximately 1,300- unit project, Signature submitted multiple applications including a proposal to rezone an eleven-block area generally bounded by Boston Road to the north, Freeman Street to the south, West Farms Road to the east, and Boone Avenue to the west. Signature proposed rezoning the primarily industrial area from M1-1 to R6A, R7A, R7X, and R8X districts with C2-4 commercial overlays.

Signature proposes to build seven buildings along two blocks of West Farms Road and Boone Avenue between East 173rd and Jennings Streets and divided by East 172nd Street. Signature first plans to develop two buildings on the northern portion of the block bounded by East 172nd and Jennings Streets. The buildings will range in height from three to nine stories along Boone Avenue and from nine to fifteen stories along West Farms Road, and will include 237 residential units and 130 underground parking spaces.

Five buildings will be developed on the block to the north, which will be divided by a 60-foot wide landscaped open space. To the south, two buildings will range in height from six to thirteen stories and include 288 apartments, ground floor commercial space along Boone Avenue and a central courtyard with a public playground. Signature will provide space for a six-story elementary school in one of the three buildings on the block’s northern portion. If the School Construction Authority elects to build the school, Signature would create a total of 317 apartments in the remaining floor area. The three buildings would include a total of 370 apartments if the SCA does not build the school.  (more…)

Parks needed Commission’s authorization to develop Phase 1 of Freshkills’ North Park. The City Planning Commission granted the Department of Parks and Recreation’s request for authorization to alter natural features in Staten Island to facilitate the development of Phase 1 of Freshkills Park’s North Park. Freshkills Park, described as a “natural wonder” by Chair Amanda M. Burden at a review session special presentation, will be a naturally vegetated park built over the former Fresh Kills Landfill on the western shore of Staten Island.

In 2001 the City closed the Fresh Kills Landfill. Five years later the City released a draft master plan for Freshkills Park. The 2,200-acre park will be nearly three times the size of Central Park and the largest park developed in the City in the last century. Freshkills Park will comprise five main areas: North Park; South Park; East Park; West Park; and a central area on the north and south sides of Fresh Kills Creek, known as the Confluence. The park will be developed in phases over the next 30 years, and each area will have a distinct character and programming. (more…)

Rezoning of 75 blocks along the Third Avenue and Tremont Avenue corridors will expand permissible uses to reflect existing development. On October 13, 2010, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s 75-block rezoning in central Bronx. The plan impacts the east-west commercial Tremont Avenue corridor bounded by Daly and Webster Avenues, and the north-south industrial Third Avenue corridor which is generally bounded by East 189th and East 175th Streets. A third area, the Neighborhood Preservation Area, borders Third Avenue to the west and extends to Park Avenue between Cyrus Place to the north and Tremont Avenue to the south.

Planning proposed the rezoning to encourage development along the two mixed-use corridors while preserving the residential character of the Neighborhood Preservation Area. The proposal applied commercial and special mixed-use districts in the industrial corridor, which allows new residential and commercial uses on vacant and underutilized lots while also protecting existing light manufacturing uses. (more…)

Rezoning would impact 75 blocks along the Third Avenue and Tremont Avenue corridors. On September 15, 2010, the City Planning Commission approved the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone 75 blocks along the intersecting Third Avenue and Tremont Avenue corridors in central Bronx. The L-shaped rezoning area comprises three sections. The east/west Tremont Avenue corridor is bounded by Daly Avenue and Webster Avenue. The industrial Third Avenue corridor, running north/south, is generally bounded by East 189th Street and East 175th Street. A third section, the Neighborhood Preservation Area, borders the Third Avenue corridor to the west and extends to Park Avenue between Cyrus Place to the north and Tremont Avenue to the south.

Planning seeks to expand the development potential along the mixed-use corridors while preserving the existing residential character of the Neighborhood Preservation Area. To promote the creation of affordable housing, the proposal would apply the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program to the Third and Tremont Avenue corridors. The rezoning would also apply three mixed-use districts to the Third Avenue corridor in order to preserve existing light industrial uses and encourage the redevelopment of vacant and underutilized lots. (more…)

Accessory garage’s 1973-issued certificate of occupancy permitted transient parking as secondary use. On March 10, 2010, the City Planning Commission approved Central Parking Systems’ application for a special permit to convert an existing 213- space accessory parking garage at 159 West 48th Street in Manhattan into a 220-space public parking garage. Central Parking would also provide 23 bicycle parking spaces.

The garage occupies six floors and the roof of a seven-story building with ground floor retail. The facility was built in 1973 as an accessory parking garage for an office building located at 1185 Sixth Avenue. Its certificate of occupancy permits transient parking as a secondary use. In October 2009, Buildings issued Central Parking a notice of violation for operating the garage as a public parking facility contrary to its certificate of occupancy. (more…)