Westchester Square BID enters objection period

At hearing, concerns raised about whether public notice requirements were met for proposed BID. On October 17, 2011, the City Council’s Finance Committee held a public hearing on the Department of Small Business Services’ plan to create the Westchester Square Business Improvement District in the Bronx.

The BID would be within Bronx Community Boards 10 and 11 and extend along portions of East Tremont Avenue, Williamsbridge Road, and Westchester Avenue. The district would include 90 … <Read More>


Special 4th Avenue district in Brooklyn approved

Proposed special district would require active ground-floor commercial uses and establish transparency requirements. On October 19, 2011, the City Planning Commission modified the Department of City Planning’s proposed Special 4th Avenue Enhanced Commercial District in Park Slope and South Park Slope, Brooklyn. The district would encompass 56 blocks along 4th Aveenue between Atlantic Avenue and 24th Street. The west side of 4th Avenue between Douglass and 6th Streets and between the Prospect Expressway and 24th … <Read More>


Increase proposed for Theater Subdistrict Fund

1998 zoning amendment required contribution to theater fund for transfer of development rights from certain theaters. On October 19, 2011, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the City rules that would increase the contribution to the Theater Subdistrict Fund connected to the transfer of development rights from 46 listed theaters in Manhattan’s Theater Subdistrict. The proposal was published in the City Record on September 15, 2011.

The City … <Read More>


Supportive housing project in Bronx approved

El Rio Residence on East 179th Street. Image: Courtesy of Gran Kriegel Associates Architects + Planners.

Disposition of City-owned property will facilitate development of eightstory, 65-unit project for low-income seniors and special needs residents. On October 19, 2011, the City Planning Commission approved the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s proposal to facilitate the construction of a 65-unit supportive housing project, known as El Rio Residence, in the West Farms section of the Bronx. Comunilife <Read More>


Ten-building project approved in Central Bronx

Crotona Park East. Image: Courtesy of Dattner Architects.

Proposed 1,300-unit project near the Bronx River led by Gifford Miller would include a mix of affordable and market-rate apartments. On October 5, 2011, the City Council approved Signature Urban Properties’ proposal to build a ten-building mixed-use project overlooking the Sheridan Expressway and the Bronx River in the Crotona Park East and West Farms sections of the Bronx. To facilitate the approximately 1,300- unit project, Signature submitted … <Read More>


Split court upholds Sunset Park rezoning plan

Dissent argued that City only belatedly added consideration of rezoning’s impact on low-income residents. In April 2009, the Department of City Planning proposed a 128-block contextual rezoning of Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Planning sought to preserve the residential neighborhood’s built character while allowing new construction at a height and scale consistent with existing development. The proposal called for establishing height limits, mapping new commercial overlays to allow a wider range of uses, and applying the … <Read More>