Council modifies 130-block rezoning in western Queens

Proposed rezoning of Sunnyside-Woodside. Image: Courtesy of NYC City Planning Commission.

Modification established 80-foot building height limit along portion of Queens Boulevard. On June 23, 2011, the City Council’s Land Use Committee modified the Department of City Planning’s rezoning proposal for the Sunnyside and Woodside sections of Queens. The plan would impact 130 blocks in western Queens south of the Sunnyside Rail Yard and east of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

Sunnyside, bisected by Queens Boulevard in … <Read More>


Rezoning in western Queens considered

Proposed zoning of Sunnyside/Woodside, Queens. Image: Courtesy of NYC Department of City Planning.

Contextual rezoning would impact 130 blocks in Sunnyside and Woodside neighborhoods. On May 25, 2011, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone 130 blocks in the Sunnyside and Woodside sections of Queens. The proposal would impact approximately 2,800 tax lots generally bounded by the Sunnyside Rail Yard and 37th Avenue to the north, Roosevelt … <Read More>


Comm. considers its role in Sunnyside Gardens HD

Sunnyside homeowners would no longer need Planning Commission special permits. On February 13, 2008, the Planning Commission heard testimony regarding the Department of City Planning’s proposal to amend the zoning for a 16block area within Sunnyside Gardens. A planned community designed by Clarence Stein and Henry Wright in the 1920s to house work-ing-class families, architecture historians and preservationists have praised Sunnyside Gardens for its large landscaped courtyards and unique mixture of single- and multifamily buildings.… <Read More>


Sunnyside Gardens landmarked

The new historic district becomes the largest in Queens. On October 29, 2007, the City Council approved Landmarks’ proposal to designate Sunnyside Gardens, making it the seventh largest historic district in the city.

In June, Landmarks voted to designate Sunnyside Gardens despite it being zoned as a Special Planned Community Preservation District, which requires local homeowners to apply to the Planning Commisssion for a special permit before altering their building or landscaping. 4 CityLand 92 … <Read More>


City Planning proposes plan for Sunnyside Gardens

Under proposal, Landmarks would be solely responsible for all permits to alter Sunnyside Gardens’ buildings. On August 20, 2007, the Planning Commission sent a proposal to Queens Community Board 2 and Borough President Helen Marshall that would make Landmarks solely responsible for all permits to alter buildings in Sunnyside Gardens, a planned community of single-family homes and apartments built in the 1920s.

Landmarks had voted in June 2007 to designate a 600-building historic district covering … <Read More>


Sunnyside Gardens designated a historic district

Landmarks unanimously designated despite community controversy. On June 26, 2007, Landmarks voted to designate Sunnyside Gardens, Sunnyside, Queens, as a historic district. A planned community designed by Clarence Stein and Henry Wright in the 1920s to house working class families, Sunnyside Gardens’ distinctive characteristics include its large landscaped courtyards and its mixture of single- and multi-family buildings. It was one of the first planned communities built by a private limited-dividend corporation, and, as a non-car … <Read More>