Added public space that was part of the 2004 Hunts Point Vision Plan. Public feedback is now being requested to update the plan. Image Credit: NYCEDC

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) selected a team at the Pratt Center for Community Development to facilitate community outreach for a plan to redevelop Hunts Point. Starting this spring, NYCEDC and the Pratt Center for Community Development will host public workshops and meetings for the Hunts Point community as part of its engagement plan. Over the next 18 months, residents and businesses will share their opinions on the current state of Hunts Point and where they want improvements, which will help to inform City investments in parks, street safety, pollution reduction and job opportunities. The Pratt Center has 30 years of experience working in the South Bronx, facilitating workshops with local stakeholders to identify community needs including affordable housing, commercial corridors infrastructure, public health and environmental sustainability. (more…)

Rendering of First Proposed Lenox Terrace Development Image Credit: City Planning

Modifications leave community and Council Member Perkins still unconvinced. On February 26, 2020, the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises voted to disapprove an application by the Olnick Organization to rezone and redevelop a superblock in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, containing the Lenox Terrace apartments. The 12 acre superblock is located between 135th Street to the north, 132nd street to the south, 5th Avenue to the east, and Malcom X Boulevard to the west. The application was approved by City Planning with modifications on February 3, 2020. To read CityLand’s prior coverage and the applicant’s earlier proposal click here.

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A rendering of the redesign of Montefiore Square, which will now extend into what was formerly Hamilton Place on the right. Image Credit: NYC DDC

The project will provide space for community events and green markets. On October 23, 2019, the New York City Department of Design and Construction announced a joint effort to restore and expand Montefiore Square into what is now Hamilton Place between Broadway and West 138th Street in West Harlem, Manhattan. (more…)

Rendering of proposed flood resiliency infrastructure./Image Credit: DDC, Parks, DOT, DEP, and Mayor’s Office of Resiliency/CPC

The agreement was announced two days before the City Council’s approval of the project’s land use applications. On November 12, 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Council Member Carlina Rivera, Council Member Margaret Chin, and Council Member Keith Powers reached an agreement on community investments and commitments relating to the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, the City’s flood protection plan for Lower Manhattan. The agreement addresses the concerns raised by local elected officials and the community throughout the public review process for the project’s two land use applications. Following the announcement of the agreement, the City Council approved the project’s land use applications on November 14, 2019. For CityLand’s coverage on the land use applications, click here. (more…)

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson at the Council Stated Meeting. Image Credit: John McCarten

The Speaker’s bill looks to change the way the entire city shares the streets. On October 30, 2019, the City Council approved Intro 1557-A, a five-year comprehensive plan for city streets, sidewalks and pedestrian spaces. The bill was approved by a vote of 35 in favor to 9 opposed with two abstentions. The bill was first introduced by Speaker Corey Johnson on May 29, 2019, heard by the Committee on Transportation on June 12, 2019, and later amended and approved by the Committee on October 29, 2019.

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