As director of the Department of City Planning’s Bronx Office, Carol Samol uses zoning tools to promote sustainable economic development in the Bronx. She has also participated as a leader in a broader City effort to reform the City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure’s pre-certification process.
Journey to the Bronx. Samol grew up in the upper Ohio Valley near Wheeling, West Virginia and studied English at Berea College, a small liberal arts college in Kentucky. … <Read More>
Two sites on Staten Island’s North Shore are currently used as parking lots for ferry terminal and baseball stadium. On August 11, 2011, the City’s Economic Development Corporation issued a request for expressions of interest for the disposition and redevelopment of two waterfront parcels totaling more than fourteen acres near the St. George Ferry Terminals in St. George, Staten Island. A 7.4-acre parcel (the North Site) abuts the Richmond County Bank Ballpark to the … <Read More>
Parks needed Commission’s authorization to develop Phase 1 of Freshkills’ North Park. The City Planning Commission granted the Department of Parks and Recreation’s request for authorization to alter natural features in Staten Island to facilitate the development of Phase 1 of Freshkills Park’s North Park. Freshkills Park, described as a “natural wonder” by Chair Amanda M. Burden at a … <Read More>
Concerns about how big-box retailer would affect small businesses dominated hearing. On February 3, 2011, the City Council’s Community Development Committee, Small Business Committee, and Economic Development Committee held a joint oversight hearing to debate Wal- Mart’s impact on the local community if the big-box retailer opened a store in the City. The Council convened the hearing in response to Wal-Mart’s renewed campaign to open a store in the City. Community opposition caused Wal-Mart to … <Read More>
Four buildings date to 19th century community founded by African- American freedmen. On February 1, 2011, Landmarks celebrated the beginning of Black History Month by designating as landmarks four buildings in the Sandy Ground community of Rossville, Staten Island. Sandy Ground was established in the 19th century as one of the country’s earliest African-American freedmen communities. The community grew when African-American oystermen migrated from the Chesapeake … <Read More>
Plan brings three separate commercial corridors into conformance with zoning regulations. On January 18, 2011, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s proposal to apply commercial overlays to three commercial corridors comprising 28 total blocks in Staten Island: Richmond Avenue from Victory Boulevard to Travis Avenue; Hylan Boulevard between Naughton and Seaver Avenues; and Hylan Boulevard between Richmond Avenue and Goodall … <Read More>