Special district created to eliminate blank walls and curb cuts and promote pedestrian uses. On November 29, 2011, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s proposal to establish the Special 4th Avenue Enhanced Commercial District in Brooklyn. The special district encompasses portions of 56 blocks along 4th Avenue between Atlantic Avenue and 24th Street in Brooklyn’s Park Slope and South Park Slope neighborhoods.

The 4th Avenue commercial corridor was historically characterized by auto-oriented businesses and low-rise rowhouses with ground floor retail. Recent rezonings in the area included portions of 4th Avenue and led to the development of higher density residential buildings along the corridor. Many of the buildings include parking garage entrances or blank walls on their ground floors, creating an uninviting streetscape. Planning proposed the special district to establish regulations designed to create a more appealing streetscape for pedestrians.  (more…)

Proposed special district would require active ground-floor commercial uses and establish transparency requirements. On October 19, 2011, the City Planning Commission modified the Department of City Planning’s proposed Special 4th Avenue Enhanced Commercial District in Park Slope and South Park Slope, Brooklyn. The district would encompass 56 blocks along 4th Aveenue between Atlantic Avenue and 24th Street. The west side of 4th Avenue between Douglass and 6th Streets and between the Prospect Expressway and 24th Street would not be included within the district. Planning proposed the district to encourage active, pedestrianfriendly uses along the evolving 4th Avenue mixed-use corridor.

Fourth Avenue is a wide commercial thoroughfare historically characterized by auto repair shops and low-rise rowhouses with ground floor retail. The blocks within the proposed special district are zoned R8A, with all but four blocks mapped with a C2-4 commercial overlay. The blocks had been included in several recent rezonings of Park Slope and South Park Slope. The area has shifted towards residential uses as developers have built higher density apartment buildings up to twelve stories in height. Although some new buildings include active ground floor uses, many contain blank walls and parking garage entrances. Planning proposed the district to ensure that future development along 4th Avenue provides a pedestrian-friendly streetscape with an appropriate mix of commercial and community facility uses.  (more…)

Applicant claimed that a conforming residential development would not yield a reasonable return given the lot’s irregular shape, location, and sloping grade. Joseph Maza applied to BSA for a variance to build a one-story commercial building with 21 accessory parking spaces at 4553 Arthur Kill Road in Charleston, a Staten Island neighborhood located just north of the Outerbridge Crossing. The site was located within the Special South Richmond Development District, a district established in 1975 to guide the development of the southern portion of Staten Island. The proposal required a variance since Maza intended the building to be occupied by retail stores, which are prohibited within the R3-2 residential zoning district.

Maza claimed that the lot’s irregular triangle shape made it difficult to construct a conforming residential development, and that the lot’s 15-ft. upward slope, beginning at its Arthur Kill Road frontage, would increase sewer line installation costs. The proposed commercial development avoided these added costs since an on-site septic system would be utilized, eliminating the need for a new 700-ft. sewer line. Maza also claimed that a nearby 87,000 sq.ft. bus depot would render the site unmarketable for residential use given the depot’s task of servicing several hundred buses daily, seven days a week. The depot, Maza added, would increase traffic around Arthur Kill Road, a 60- ft. wide arterial road that provided access to New Jersey by way of the Outerbridge Crossing. The traffic-choked road, which touched the site, would further lessen the prospect of successfully marketing a conforming residential development. (more…)

Maximum height limit reduced from 150 to 120 ft. in portions of proposed C4-5X district. On March 24, 2009, the City Council approved, with one modification, the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone and create the Special Forest Hills District within a 10-block area in Forest Hills, Queens. The rezoning area, roughly bounded by Queens Boulevard to the north, the Long Island Rail Road to the south, Ascan Avenue to the east, and Yellowstone Boulevard to the west, had originally been zoned C8-2, C4-2, and R7-1 in 1961. The C8-2 and C4-2 districts allowed for further development of the predominant uses in the area, which were automotive, commercial, and mixed-use. Over time, the auto repair shops and gas stations gave way to retail businesses and restaurants, and the area transformed into the commercial core of Forest Hills. Despite the change in neighborhood character, the outdated zoning remained, and developers increasingly sought variances from BSA to construct large, residential and commercial buildings.

Local residents and elected officials became increasingly concerned with the possibility of haphazard, out-of-character development. They feared developers applying for variances would endeavor to construct buildings that did not reflect the current neighborhood context. Council Member Melinda R. Katz and Queens Community Board 6 requested that Planning devise a rezoning for the commercial core that better reflected current uses and development patterns in the area. Two years later, Planning proposed to rezone the area to R5D/C2-3, C4- 4A, and C4-5X, and to establish the Special Forest Hills District within the entire 10-block area. (more…)

Alterations are designed to restrict big-box retail and hotel developments. On May 21, 2008, the City Planning Commission voted to approve, with modifications, the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone a 70-block area in the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx. The area City Planning proposes to rezone is bounded by the Bruckner Expressway, Halleck Street, and Ryawa and Oak Point Avenues.

Consisting of 690 acres, the Hunts Point peninsula is characterized by a 22-block residential district that is surrounded by more industrial uses. The industrial area of Hunts Point is developed by such facilities as the Fulton Fish Market, the 329-acre Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, and a number of waste-treatment centers.

The proposed rezoning would create a buffer between the residential and industrial areas. The rezoning would also prohibit new wasterelated uses from entering the area, a measure intended to encourage the further growth of food industries in Hunts Point. (more…)