Council modifies street trees and yards specs.

Council Members Tony Avella and Melinda Katz secure exemption for certain one- and two-family homes from new street tree requirements. On April 30, 2008, the City Council modified the Department of City Planning’s proposals to amend the zoning requirements for street trees and yards. The proposals are designed to create green streetscapes, increase open space, and ameliorate storm water runoff problems.

Under the old zoning, property owners were required to plant street trees in a … <Read More>


Council negotiates modifications to 125th Street rezoning

Council Members Dickens and Jackson defend plan despite vocal opposition from local residents. On April 30, 2008, the City Council modified the Department of City Planning’s plan to rezone the 125th Street corridor, a 24-block area in the Harlem section of Manhattan.

The plan will rezone large portions of the east and west ends of the corridor to encourage arts, entertainment, and retail uses. The plan will also impose height limits, street wall continuity requirements, … <Read More>


Grand Street rezoning advances to Council

Developer of 14-story tower fought to delay rezoning; residents urged speedy approval. The Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone 13 blocks along Grand Street and adjoining areas in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. The area overlaps with the southern boundary of the extensive Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezoning, which the City adopted in 2005. 2 CityLand 67 (June 15, 2005).

Currently, the rezoning area is characterized by low-rise, mixed-use three- … <Read More>


Testimony heard on Solow East Side project

Council Member Daniel Garodnick concerned over Solow project’s height and density. On February 25, 2008, two City Council subcommittees held a joint public hearing regarding Solow Properties’ plan to construct a mixed-use development at the former Con Edison site, located along First Avenue between East 38th and 41st Streets. The subcommittees also heard testimony regarding Manhattan Community Board 6’s 197-a plan, which covers the same area.

The Planning Commission significantly modified both plans on January … <Read More>


Special Hunts Point District plan starts public review

Plan strives to encourage growth in food service industry. On January 7, 2008, the Planning Commission launched public consideration for the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone portions of the Hunts Point peninsula. The proposal is now with Bronx Community Board 2 for its review.

City Planning seeks to downzone 70 blocks of industrial land to M1-2 for light manufacturing. The area surrounds a 22-acre residential district and is roughly bounded by Bruckner Boulevard, … <Read More>


Trinity Real Estate’s Carl Weisbrod Reflects on Revitalizing Urban Areas

Carl Weisbrod’s office at One Hudson Square is emblematic of the changes Trinity Real Estate is bringing to Hudson Square—a neighborhood on the west side of Manhattan nestled between SoHo, Tribeca, and the West Village. A modern office space with advanced technological amenities, the building was actually designed in 1930 to accommodate printing companies. Much like the building, Mr. Weisbrod, as President of Trinity Real Estate—the real estate development arm of Trinity Church, one of … <Read More>