Supporters claimed that buildings needed protection after City approved Jamaica rezoning in 2007. On October 26, 2010, Landmarks designated the Jamaica Savings Bank and the Queens General Courthouse as individual landmarks. Both buildings were subjects of public hearings on February 9, 2010, and received broad support from the community and preservationists, who argued that the area’s historic buildings needed protection after the City rezoned the area in 2007.

Constructed in 1939, the onestory Moderne-style Jamaica Savings Bank at 146-21 Jamaica Avenue features limestone cladding and a polished granite base. The Morrell Smith-designed building retains much of its original ornamentation, including decorative entablature bands and an eagle above the castbronze entrance doors. At the hearing, representatives of the building’s owner, Capital One, opposed designation. Capitol One’s attorney, Thomas Wassel, conceded that the bank was “a beautiful building,” but stated that landmarking would be “an infringement, and an inconvenience at best” on the future operations of the bank. The Historic District Council’s Ed Kirkland commended Landmarks for surveying the neighborhood’s historic resources following the 2007 “upzoning.” (more…)

Contextual rezoning establishes new height and bulk regulations in Special Tribeca Mixed Use District’s northern portion. On October 13, 2010, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s North Tribeca Rezoning proposal. The plan impacted a 25-block area generally bounded by Canal Street to the north, Walker and Hubert Streets to the south, Broadway to the east, and West Street to the west.

Planning’s proposal replaced the area’s M1-5 zoning with a C6- 2A contextual mixed-use district to better match the neighborhood’s increasingly residential and commercial character. Newly created subareas within the Special Tribeca Mixed Use District now provide tailored height and bulk regulations to ensure that future development conforms to existing scale. The City’s Inclusionary Housing Program will also now apply to the centrally located A6 subarea that includes the Holland Tunnel rotary. (more…)

Text change establishes clear rules on where car-sharing companies can park vehicles. On September 29, 2010, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s Car- Share Text Amendment. The zoning resolution now recognizes car-share vehicles, such as those offered by ZipCar and Connect by Hertz, and sets out which off-street parking facilities are suitable for car-share storage. The City Planning Commission modified the text amendment during its review of the proposal. 7 CityLand 123 (Sept. 15, 2010).

Car-share vehicles are available to pre-approved, registered members 24 hours a day. Car-share companies allow their members to pick up and drop off the cars through a self-service system. Carshare vehicles are permitted in high-, medium-, and low-density parking facilities that are accessory to commercial, manufacturing, or residential uses. Greater numbers of car-share vehicles are permitted in parking facilities located in higher density districts. (more…)

Leslie Koch

Leslie Koch, president of The Trust for Governors Island, is responsible for the planning, redevelopment, and operation of 150 acres of Governors Island. Located 800 yards off the southern tip of Manhattan, the island is the newest addition to New York City’s real estate portfolio.

Koch, a native New Yorker, draws from her experience in both the private and public sectors in managing the island. After receiving a master’s degree in Public and Private Management from Yale University, she initially worked as a marketing executive for Microsoft. She then worked as CEO of the Fund for Public Schools where her leadership helped secure nearly $160 million of public and private funding for City education-related initiatives.

In 2003, the federal government sold the entire 172-acre island, except for the 22-acre national monument on the island’s northern side, to the people of New York State for one dollar. The Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC) was formed as a City/State partnership to take over the day-to-day operations on the island. GIPEC was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation. In April 2006, Governor George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg formally named Koch as president of GIPEC, citing her strong track record in successful public/private partnerships. (more…)

City can now negotiate to acquire northern section of High Line in order to complete 1.45-mile elevated park. On July 29, 2010, the City Council approved a proposal by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services and the Department of Parks and Recreation to acquire the remaining portion of the High Line elevated rail line and associated easements. This section, currently owned by CSX Corporation, begins at West 30th Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues and runs west before turning north and terminating at West 34th Street. It also includes the “spur,” which extends east off the main structure at West 30th Street and terminates above the intersection of Tenth Avenue and West 30th Street. The easements associated with the structure generally extend below and above the High Line and include property owned by the MTA and the Convention Center Development Corporation. (more…)