City Council Subcommittee Chided EDC over Downtown Brooklyn Development [UPDATE: Committee Approves Application With Conditions]

Subcommittee raised concerns about the aggregate effect the mass development of Downtown Brooklyn will have on school resources. On October 5, 2016, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises heard testimony on an application to construct a new 49-story mixed-use building at 141 Willoughby Street in Downtown Brooklyn. The site is a triangular-shaped zoning lot bounded by Flatbush Avenue Extension, Willoughby Street and Gold Street. Currently the space is occupied by a three-story private … <Read More>


Land Use Committee Approves Brooklyn CB10’s Application; Subcommittee Expresses Concern About BSA [UPDATE: City Council Unanimously Passes Application]

The approved proposal would remove Brooklyn Community District 10 from applicability under Section 73-622, while allowing three applications to go forward. On October 5, 2016, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises heard testimony on an application from Brooklyn Community Board 10 to amend the New York City zoning text relating to special permits issued by the Board of Standards and Appeals. These special permits allow property owners in R2 zoning districts to … <Read More>


Developer Withdraws Proposal Following Public Controversy over Affordable Housing

Phipps Houses withdrew its application for its ten-story, Barnett Avenue development following a lack of community support. On September 20, 2016, Phipps Houses, the oldest and largest not-for-profit developer of affordable housing in New York City, withdrew its Barnett Avenue development proposal—the day before its scheduled public hearing in front of the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises. Phipps Houses had sought a zoning map change and two zoning text amendments to … <Read More>


City Council Subcommittee Hears Testimony on Adorama Site [UPDATE: Subcommittee Approves Adorama Application]

The proposal would allow for a two-wing through block building with two floors of retail in the Ladies Mile Historic District. On September 7, 2016, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises heard testimony on an application for a special permit to facilitate the development in Chelsea neighborhood. The developer would restore and maintain two landmark buildings on site—one of which contains the Adorama camera store. The remainder of the lot—currently a parking lot … <Read More>


City Council Rejects Proposed Rezoning of Inwood Site Needed for New Development with 50 Percent Affordable Housing

City Council rejected the first private application of Mandatory Inclusionary Housing. On August 16, 2016, the City Council rejected a proposal to rezone a large corner lot in order to construct a new mixed-use development located at 4650 Broadway in Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood. Currently a two-story commercial building operating as a parking garage and U-Haul truck rental facility occupies the site. The original proposal from the developer, Acadia Sherman Avenue LLC, was to build a … <Read More>


City Council Subcommittee Hears Testimony on East Houston Street Rezoning

The proposal seeks to re-zone two and a half residential blocks from solely residential to mixed-use with ground floor commercial space. On August 9, 2016, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises heard testimony on an application to re-zone residential space to provide for mixed residential and commercial space for two-and-a-half blocks on the south side of Houston Street, spanning from Norfolk Street to halfway between Clinton Street and Attorney Street, located on the … <Read More>