Kew Gardens Hills Residents Seek Area-wide Rezoning to Allow Home Expansions

The proposed rezoning would allow larger single-family homes than current zoning permits and would bring many overbuilt homes in the area into zoning compliance. On June 19, 2019, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on a proposed rezoning of two areas of Kew Gardens Hills in Queens. The application was brought by Queens Community Board 8 to rezone approximately 378 lots across 16 blocks from the existing residential R2 zoning to residential R2X … <Read More>


LPC Releases Guidelines for Storefront Design in Historic Districts

The document provides text and visual guidance for applicants. On May 6, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission released Guidelines for Storefront Design in Historic Districts. The guidelines are designed to help business and property owners understand the rules and regulations for new storefronts created in historic districts.


Major Staten Island Project OK’d by City Planning Despite Significant Opposition; City Council Up Next

The proposed zoning actions were largely disapproved by the Community Board, the Borough President, and even Staten Island’s appointee to the City Planning Commission. The Department of City Planning, along with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services filed an application requesting several ULURP actions to help implement the goals of the Bay Street Corridor Neighborhood Plan. The Neighborhood Plan is a comprehensive plan to … <Read More>


Public Health: Tobacco, Sugars, Trans Fats and Salt

In the twentieth century, primary causes of death and disability in America changed from communicable diseases to chronic diseases. This shift was in part due to the successes of public health as better sanitary conditions and immunizations reduced the burden of communicable diseases.  The shift, however, was also due to changes in lifestyle and longer life expectancies that caused the rates of chronic diseases to increase.


City Planning Certifies City Applications to Build Borough-Based Jails

The four jails are set to replace Rikers island by 2027. On March 25, 2019, the City Planning Commission certified the City’s application for four borough-based jails as a part of the City’s plan to shut down Rikers Island. The four jails – in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn – will have a total of 5,748 beds and a capacity of 5,000 inmates. The additional 748 beds will be used to account for taking … <Read More>


Private Development of City-Owned, Blighted Property to Bring 54 Units of Affordable Housing

The development seeks to activate the streetscape in the area by removing the existing dangerous condition posed by a long-abandoned railroad trench. On March 27, 2019, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and developer Phipps Houses that will bring 54 units of affordable housing to the Melrose neighborhood of the Bronx. The application calls for the disposition of City-owned property, a rezoning, … <Read More>