Commission votes to end commercial option

Twenty-one areas to lose commercial zoning overlay. In 2003, Mayor Michael Bloomberg formed the Staten Island Growth Management Task Force to examine over-development in the borough. The Task Force’s recommendations resulted in new zoning controls adopted in 2004 restricting the size and density of Staten Island residential development. A loophole remained for lots within residential zones that were also subject to commercial district overlays. Along with allowing commercial uses on these lots, the commercial overlays … <Read More>


Staten Island Greenbelt adds 1.65 acre City park

New park would preserve natural features. The Department of Parks and Recreation sought a map amendment and approval of the acquisition of a 1.65-acre wooded parcel of private land to facilitate the creation of Manor Park on the southeasterly corner of Altamont Street and Manor Road in Staten Island.

The proposed park site, currently owned by Kanaga Corporation, includes a series of kettle ponds, vernal ponds, and young and mature trees. The site is used … <Read More>


City increases zoning protection for Bay Ridge

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 … <Read More>


City provides alternative sites for Bronx Gardeners

Settlement came after gardeners filed Article 78 petition. As reported in the November issue of CityLand, the City Council’s October 13, 2004 approval of the Courtlandt Avenue Apartments, a 167-unit, affordable housing development slated for Melrose Commons, would result in the demolition of several Bronx community gardens. The development site, comprising 16 lots, occupies most of the block between East 158th and East 159th Streets, and Park and Courtlandt Avenues.

On November 23, 2004, gardeners … <Read More>


Council modifies hotel height; Commission to review

Height of Harlem hotel reduced to 478 feet. On October 27, 2004, the City Council approved, subject to a 40 ft. height reduction, the development of an iconic Harlem building for hotel, residential and commercial office space at 125th Street and Park Avenue in East Harlem. The Council modification, which was approved by a vote of 47 to 2, reduced the building’s height by 40 ft. from 518 ft. to 478 ft. Council’s modification is … <Read More>