Bridge spanning Harlem River to be built adjacent to outdated bridge. DOT sought a City Map amendment to delineate a new bridge easement and bridge corridor facilitating construction of the Willis Avenue Bridge replacement, connecting First Avenue and East 125th Street in Manhattan with Willis Avenue and East 132nd Street in the Bronx. The replacement bridge will be located directly adjacent to and south of the existing bridge and will also require landfill removal along … <Read More>
134-block rezoning approved
Planning Department proposed application of inclusionary housing text to Queens neighborhoods. On May 24, 2006, the Planning Commission unanimously approved a rezoning impacting 134 blocks of the Maspeth and Woodside neighborhoods. The rezoned area is comprised mostly of one- and two-family homes as well as a few walk-up and elevator apartment buildings, and includes higher density development along Queens Boulevard. A steady increase in out-of-scale residential development triggered the City’s action.
Density would be decreased … <Read More>
75-unit affordable housing project approved
HPD project approved after sponsor redesigned building. The City Council approved an application by the Department of Housing and Preservation for disposition of three Cityowned lots at 1510 Jesup Avenue in Morris Heights in the Bronx, for construction by Highbridge Community Development Corporation of a six-story, residential building for low-income seniors and the physically disabled.
The project required modification to obtain the Planning Commission’s approval. At the Commission hearing, Chair Amanda M. Burden and Commissioner … <Read More>
Mixed public school/ residential development approved
New public school will be among first built since 1970s without City funding; school construction program amended to increase flexibility. The City Council’s Land Use Committee voted yes on two applications that would enable private development of a 520-seat City middle school on the Upper East Side at no cost to the City.
In 1966, the City created the New York City Educational Construction Fund, a public benefit corporation, to allow the leasing of City … <Read More>
Williamsburg East River towers advance
Two Williamsburg residential towers near approval after City acts to apply 20 percent inclusionary affordable housing text to development. On June 5, 2006, the Council’s Land Use Committee voted to approve a 591,138-square-foot residential and retail development along the East River waterfront in Williamsburg, outside of the City’s recent rezoning. Along with the development, the Land Use Committee approved a separate zoning amendment application initiated by the Planning Department that would apply the City’s Inclusionary … <Read More>
DOB’s General Counsel and Deputy Commissioner Discuss the Endeavor to Adopt a Revised Model Building Code
In December 2005, Mayor Bloomberg signed Local Law 99, the first significant step towards the City’s goal of replacing the current Building Code, unrevised since 1968, with a national model code. Local Law 99 selected the International Building Code as the City’s model code and directed the Department of Buildings with preparing, and presenting to the City Council, modifications to the IBC making it responsive to New York’s unique construction, density and safety issues. As … <Read More>