New zoning designed to protect Bay Ridge from high-density development. On March 23, 2005, the City Council approved the Planning Department’s rezoning plan for a 249-block area within Brooklyn’s Special Bay Ridge District, bounded by 65th Street to the north, Seventh Avenue to the east and Shore Road to the south and west. In 1978, after neighborhood residents protested the development of three large residential buildings, the twin 30-story Bay Ridge Towers and the 13-story Shore Hill Apartments, the City established the Special Bay Ridge District. The 1978 zoning generally restricted construction to three stories on residential streets and eight stories on the avenues.

The current down-zoning resulted from additional lobbying by Bay Ridge residents who, even after the special district was established, felt that it was not enough to protect their neighborhood from over-development and the proliferation of “Fedders houses,” named after the air-conditioning units that protrude from the outside walls. In February 2003, residents sought support of newly elected Council member Vincent Gentile, who developed a Preservation Task Force to address their concerns. (more…)

140 blocks rezoned to stop out-of-character development. The Planning Commission unanimously approved an extensive rezoning of two of Queens oldest residential neighborhoods; Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill, both of which have seen a measurable increase in out-of-character development over the past four years. A lot-by-lot analysis completed by the Planning Department found an inconsistency between the existing building types and the zoning, which was unchanged since the City’s initial adoption of zoning districts in 1961. Some districts permitted large 13 to 17-story apartment buildings in areas with single-family, detached homes.

Designed as a contextual rezoning based on the areas’ prevailing building types, the proposal sought to down-zone areas characterized by one and two-family detached homes, such as in Kew Gardens south of Maple Grove Cemetery and west of the Van Wyck Expressway, and increase the permitted size of development in areas that could support it, like the Jamaica Avenue corridor from 102nd to 130th Street in Richmond Hill. The final application covered 140 blocks. (more…)

129-lot area rezoned to permit residential, live-work and retail. The Planning Commission approved the proposed rezoning of a 129-lot area of Port Morris in the South Bronx that altered the area’s manufacturing zoning to mixed-use, facilitating increased live-work, residential and small commercial business development. The proposed new zoning builds on a 1997 zoning action that established the Port Morris Special Mixed-Use District – the city’s first mixed-use district – within a five-block area of Port Morris to permit diverse as-of-right uses, facilitate legalization of illegal conversions and support the continued expansion of Bruckner Boulevard’s string of antique shops. In the eight years following the 1997 rezoning, 185 new residential units were developed in the five-block area.

The new zoning would extend the mixed-use district to an 11- block area generally bounded by Park Avenue on the west, Willow Avenue on the east, the Major Deegan Expressway on the north and south to the Harlem River and the Harlem River Yards. The Department found that illegal conversions were prevalent in the area and over 40 percent of the lots were vacant, nderutilized or contained abandoned manufacturing structures. Three separate mixed-use zones (M1-2/R6A, M1-3/R8 and M1-5/R8) would be created to allow a large range of uses – residential, community facility and small commercial – while also restricting the height and size of development to more closely match the area’s existing scale. (more…)

Owner built glass-enclosed stairwell after receiving approval from Buildings and Landmarks. In 1999, George Pantelidis, owner of a four-story townhouse at 116 East 73rd Street in Manhattan’s Upper East Side Historic District, obtained a Buildings permit to build a glass-enclosed stairwell in the rear yard of the townhouse. The stairwell allowed the Pantelidis family, who resided on the first two floors, to go from one floor to another without using the public stairs. Prior to construction, Pantelidis also obtained the required approvals from Community Board 8 and Landmarks. In 2001, eighteen months after the $200,000 stairwell was completed, neighbors challenged the issuance of the permit by asking Buildings to update the permit, which is common practice. Although Buildings updated without any changes and affirmed the permit, the update allowed the neighbors to appeal to BSA.

BSA granted the neighbor’s appeal and revoked the permit, finding that the glass-enclosed stairwell was taller than the 14-foot limit in the zoning resolution for “greenhouses” and, although the permit referred to it as a greenhouse, it did not meet the definition for one. BSA also found that the stairwell further decreased the building’s compliance with the rear yard limits. (more…)

Two 24-story towers and a mixed-use building approved for two large City-owned parcels. On February 2, 2005, the City Council unanimously approved the joint application of the Dermot Company and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development for a 609,000 sq.ft., three-building development in the Clinton district of Manhattan on two large City-owned parcels. The two sites span from West 51st to West 53rd Streets at the mid-block between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues and partially front Tenth Avenue. The parcels contain a portion of the functioning, open-air Amtrak rail cut, which will be covered with a development platform.

Dermot Company, chosen in 2003 by HPD, will construct a 24- story, 324-foot residential tower with 325 units, a health club, and retail space on the 22,900 sq.ft. south parcel. Two buildings will be built on the 47,061 sq.ft. north parcel: a 325-unit, 24-story residential tower will be built in the mid-block and a lower, 111-foot mixed-use building will front Tenth Avenue and West 53rd Street. The lower building will have retail and four not-for-profit theaters at street level with residential townhouses above. Six buildings will be demolished, including an existing not-for-profit theater. (more…)