Waldorf-Astoria Interior. Image Credit LPC.

Art Deco lobbies, galleries, staircase, a ballroom and their connecting spaces over three floors of iconic hotel to be considered for interior landmark status. On November 1, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission added interior spaces of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel at 301 Park Avenue to its calendar, the first formal step in the path to designation. The 1931 hotel, designed by the firm Schultze and Weaver, is already an individual City landmark, but its interiors are unprotected. The proposed designation encompasses select spaces on ground floor, first floor, and third floor, as well as the connecting spaces between them. (more…)

Rendering of the interior of the Museum. Image Credit: LPC.

Approved addition, occupying a quarter acre of parkland, will increase connections for better museum circulation, provide additional space to store collection materials, and allow visitors to watch scientists at work. At its meeting on October 11, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to issue a binding report for the construction of an addition, and associated demolition, to the American Museum of Natural History, an individual landmark on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The addition, to be named the Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation, will be the first significant intervention on the museum campus since the completion of the Rose Center for Earth and Space in 2000. The addition would be sited on the western side of the museum, and would create new Columbus Avenue public entrance. (more…)

Mayor Bill de Blasio delivers the 2015 State of the City address at Baruch College. Image Demetrius Freeman/Mayoral Photography Office

Affordable housing issues, including rent-regulation, mandatory inclusionary zoning, and more were highlighted in the speech.  On February 3, 2015 Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered his second State Of The City address from Baruch College.  The Mayor spoke at length about the affordable housing crisis facing New York City and the programs his administration has begun or will propose to address the problem.

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East Fordham Road Rezoning Project Area. Image Credit:Pictometry International Corp.

Central Bronx area rezoned is adjacent to the Bronx Zoo, the Bronx Botanical Garden, and Fordham University. The Council approved the Bronx Planning office’s proposed zoning map amendments affecting a 12 block area in the Central Bronx. The new zoning established height limits, protects neighborhood character, and reinforces existing commercial character. A major goal of the rezoning is to stimulate revitalization of the area through private investment, the construction of affordable housing and to create an attractive gateway to important Bronx cultural institutions.

On September 30, 2013, the Bronx Borough Office of the Department of City Planning (DCP) testified before the City Council’s Land Use Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises in support of the proposal to rezone an area along East Fordham Road, a major east-west thoroughfare passing through the central Bronx.  The rezoning area is generally bounded by East 191st Street to the north, East 187th Street to the south, Southern Boulevard to the east, and Bathgate Avenue to the west. (more…)

Regional Plan Association event featured a variety of discussions on how the New York metropolitan region might face climate change, tackle transportation advancements. The Regional Plan Association, a non-profit urban research and advocacy organization, focuses on planning for economic competitiveness, quality of life, and long-term sustainability in the region that includes New York City, Long Island, Westchester and Orange counties, western Connecticut and northern New Jersey. On April 19, 2013, the Association held its 23rd Annual Assembly to discuss the challenges the region faces, and to plan a livable, sustainable, and economically strong future for the area. The Association recently commenced work on its regional plan, which will be the fourth since the organization’s inception in 1929. The plan will address climate change, deteriorating infrastructure, population increases in urban centers, and the lack of affordable housing, among other issues.

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