Mapping tool provides range of zoning and land use information for individual properties and City at large. On August 25, 2011, the Department of City Planning and the Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications announced the release of the publicly accessible zoning and land use web application known as as ZoLa. The web-based Geographic Information Systems tool provides up-to-date maps with zoning and land use information for New York City properties.

ZoLa is a part of NYC Simplicity, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s plan to use technology to make government more transparent, customer focused, innovative, and efficient.

ZoLa is based on the same platform as the City’s online NYCityMap application and allows users to find land use information in “interactive, highly-readable map layers.” Users can review land use and zoning information for specific properties, neighborhoods, and the City at large. ZoLa’s map layers provide data on zoning designations, area land uses, landmark designations, and boundaries for historic districts and City Council and Community Districts. Users can also highlight locations where the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program, Lower Density Growth Management regulations, and FRESH food store incentives apply.

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Image: courtesy of Chinatown Partnership LDC.

Group of Chinatown property owners cited concerns about the BID’s assessment formula. On May 26, 2011, the City Council’s Finance Committee held a hearing on the Department of Small Business Services’ plan to create the Chinatown Business Improvement District encompassing more than 6,000 commercial businesses in Manhattan’s Chinatown. The BID would comprise 50 blocks generally bounded by Broome Street to the north, Worth and Madison Streets to the south, Allen Street to the east, and Broadway to the west. The BID’s projected first-year budget of $1,300,000 would be used primarily to fund sanitation services and holiday lighting costs.

At the City Planning Commission’s hearing on the proposal, a representative of the Chinatown BID Steering Committee testified that 92 percent of commercial and residential property owners supported the plan. After the hearing, however, the Commission received letters from property owners opposed to the BID’s assessment formula. 8 CityLand 42 (April 15, 2011). (more…)

Council Member Recchia warned BID about working with the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. On April 28, 2011, the City Council’s Finance Committee held  a hearing on the Department of Small Business Services’ plan to create the Atlantic Avenue Business Improvement District for more than 400 commercial businesses in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill and  Boerum Hill neighborhoods. The BID would extend along Atlantic Avenue between Fourth Avenue to the east, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to the west, and  would be located south of the MetroTech and Court-Livingston-Schermerhorn BIDs. The BID’s projected first-year budget is $240,000.

At a City Planning Commission hearing on the  plan, a representative of the BID’s steering committee testified that more than 90 percent of property owners supported the proposal. There were no speakers in opposition and the Commission unanimously approved the plan. 8 CityLand 9 (Feb. 15, 2011). (more…)

Proposal encompasses 50 blocks and more than 6,000 businesses. On March 2, 2011, the City Planning Commission approved the Department of Small Business Services’ plan to create the Chinatown Business Improvement District for more than 6,000 businesses in Manhattan’s Chinatown. The BID would comprise 50 blocks generally bounded by Broome Street to the north, Worth and Madison Streets to the south, Allen and Rutgers Streets to the east, and Broadway to the west. The BID would abut the southern border of the proposed SoHo BID, which the Commission approved in January 2011. 8 CityLand 8 (Feb. 15, 2011).

The BID would allow for an annual assessment on businesses and residents primarily to fund sanitation services and holiday lighting costs. The BID’s first-year budget of $1,300,000 would set aside $1,000,000 for sanitation services, $100,000 for holiday lighting costs, and $200,000 for administrative expenses. Wholly commercial properties would be assessed based on a combination of a linear front footage rate not to exceed $15 per linear foot, and an assessed value rate not to exceed $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value. Residential properties would pay an annual $1 assessment, and government and non-profit uses would be exempt. (more…)

Proposal encompasses 800 businesses and features unique reimbursement plan for certain mixed-use co-ops. On January 26, 2011, the City Planning Commission approved the Department of Small Business Services’ plan to create the SoHo Business Improvement District for approximately 800 businesses and 433 residential units in Manhattan. The BID would include 280 tax lots along Broadway between Houston Street and Canal Street. The BID would include a special reimbursement plan for seven mixed-use co-ops in response to concerns about the annual assessment on those properties.

The BID’s boundaries encompass a mix of uses including art galleries and retail shops. The area is primarily characterized by five- to twelve-story residential loft buildings with ground floor commercial uses and live-work quarters for artists on the upper floors. The BID’s projected first-year budget would be $700,000. Wholly commercial properties and ground floor commercial condominiums would be assessed based on a combination of a linear front footage rate, an assessed value rate, and a base fee of $250. Mixed-use properties, including co-ops, would be assessed the same way in which commercial properties are assessed, but using a reduced assessed value rate to reflect the upper floor residential use. Commercial condos located on an upper floor or below-grade space would be assessed based on an assessed value rate plus a base fee of $250. Wholly residential tax lots would pay an annual one-dollar assessment. (more…)