City Planning Approves Modified Rezoning of Summit Street in Brooklyn

The applicant’s proposed rezoning received strong pushback from the community. On January 9, 2019, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on a proposed rezoning in the Columbia Street Waterfront District in Brooklyn. The applicant, 41 Summit Street LLC, sought a zoning map and a zoning text change to facilitate the development of a seven-story, approximately 10,000 square foot residential building at 41 Summit Street. The application was presented to the City Planning Commission … <Read More>


HPD Announces Plans for Two Mixed-Use Affordable Housing Developments on City-Owned Sites in Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen

The new buildings will provide affordable housing, space for businesses, and social services from partnering non-profits in the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen community. On February 13, 2019, Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer announced the selection of development teams to build approximately 260 affordable housing units on two City-owned sites in the Clinton and Hell’s Kitchen neighborhoods of Midtown Manhattan. The sites were identified for development into affordable housing through the Hudson Yards Plan<Read More>


City Planning Approves Affordable Housing and Demapping in Westchester Square

Critics raised concerns over more traffic due to larger number of parking spaces. On February 27, 2019, the City Planning Commission voted to approve an application for a nine-story mixed-use residential and commercial building at 1346 Blondell Avenue in the Westchester Square section of the Bronx. To facilitate this development, named Blondell Commons, the application calls for rezoning a portion of a larger manufacturing district that mainly features auto repair shops along Blondell Avenue. Blondell … <Read More>


City Planning Commission Proposes Zoning Changes to Limit Overuse of Excessive Mechanical Voids

The proposal discourages clustering mechanical voids in a way that inflates building heights. On January 28, 2019, the CPC announced the beginning of public review of the proposed rezoning plan to limit the use of excessive voids that artificially inflate tower heights in residential buildings. Currently, these voids, or multiple floors of empty space, are not counted as zoning floor area in the Zoning Resolution.


Amazon Cancels Plans for Long Island City Headquarters in Sudden Announcement

The new headquarters would have brought at least 25,000 jobs in exchange for nearly $3 billion in tax incentives. On February 14, 2019, Amazon announced the company was canceling its plans to open a new headquarters located in Long Island City, Queens after political pressure from local and state lawmakers.


City Planning Creates Online Platform for Zoning Resolution

The City’s zoning laws are now instantly accessible to New Yorkers. On February 6, 2019, Department of City Planning Director Marisa Lago announced the release of the City’s digital Zoning Resolution online platform. The online platform will serve as a green replacement for the 1,570-page physical copy of the Resolution, which will no longer be printed to save money, increase government transparency, and fight climate change. It will also be a more interactive replacement … <Read More>