Dept. of City Planning Releases New FRESH Program Report

On February 1, 2023, the Department of City Planning updated the progress of the Food Retail Expansion to Support Health program with a new report, “FRESH By the Numbers.”. The Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (“FRESH”) program gives property owners the ability to construct slightly larger buildings in certain districts if the building includes a FRESH supermarket. The program targets neighborhoods that often lack access to fresh produce and other groceries, which <Read More>


DCP Launches Citywide Map for Supermarkets

Newest interactive tool helps communities evaluate supermarket needs. On August 2, 2019, the Department of City Planning launched the Supermarket Needs Index, a new interactive online map that shows fresh food store access across New York City. The map highlights which neighborhoods are underserved or lacking grocery store options.


City Planning Hears Application for New Mixed-Use Building in Belmont

The building would be the first to offer inclusionary housing along this section of East Fordham Road. On January 5, 2022, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing for a special permit application for 660 East Fordham Road that would facilitate the construction of an eleven-story mixed use commercial and residential building in the Belmont section of the Bronx. The current site features a parking lot, and one-story underused commercial space, including a vacant <Read More>


CityLaw Profile – City Council Zoning Chair Donovan Richards on Improving Sustainability

Donovan Richards was elected to the City Council from the 31st District in February 2013.  When you speak with City Council member Donovan Richards, two things become readily apparent:  an encyclopedic knowledge of the needs of his Southeast Queens Council district and the drive to pursue solutions for each of those needs simultaneously.


Two new Bronx grocery stores win tax exemptions

IDA approved $8.6 million in real estate and tax benefits for the first two supermarkets under the recently-created FRESH program. On February 9, 2010, the New York City Industrial Development Agency, a component of the City’s Economic Development Corporation, approved tax incentive packages to assist in the development of two new Bronx supermarkets. The financial incentives are the first awarded under the City’s Fresh Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program approved by … <Read More>


Bronx’s Kingsbridge Armory plan heads to Council

Proposed redevelopment of the Bronx’s Kingsbridge Armory. Image: Courtesy of Related Companies.

City Planning Commission approved Related Companies’ Kingsbridge Armory plan,with four Commissioners voting against proposal. On October 19, 2009, the City Planning Commission approved Related Companies’ proposal to redevelop the landmarked Kingsbridge Armory in northwest Bronx. The plan is a result of the combined efforts of the EDC and the Kingsbridge Armory Task Force, which was established by the City in 2006 to facilitate … <Read More>