
40-31 82nd Street Rezoning. Image credit: CPC.
Mixed-use building seeks to bring residential and commercial space, but residents do not agree. On May 23, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on the 40-31 82nd Street Rezoning application by The Heskel Group under representation by Nora Martins of Akerman LLP. The application seeks a zoning map amendment and zoning text amendment to develop a mixed-use building with residential, commercial, and community facility space in a currently vacant lot. The project site is located along Ithaca Street, Baxter Avenue and 82nd Street in Elmhurst, Queens. (more…)

P.C. Richard & Son Building. Image credit: DCP.
Proposed zoning protections expect to preserve the residential area between Union Square and Astor Place from rapid developments. On February 28, 2018, Manhattan Community Board 3 unanimously voted to include proposed zoning protections for the 3rd/4th Avenue corridors between East 8th and 14th Streets in Manhattan. The corridors are one of the areas between Union Square and Astor Place that will be impacted by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Tech Hub Plan. The protections are one of the conditions for approval of the 14th Street Tech Hub. The plan calls for the development of a 21-story tech hub at 124 East 14th Street, currently the P.C. Richard & Son building. (more…)

Former Webber Packing House.
The landmarking of two buildings constructed as schools and a former meatpacking plant receive support at public hearing. On February 13, 2018, Landmarks held hearings on the potential designations of three structures as individual City landmarks in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. The three buildings are the former Richard Webber Harlem Packing House, at 207 East 119th Street; the former Public School 109, at 215 East 99th Street; and the former Benjamin Franklin High School, at 260 Pleasant Avenue. The buildings were identified by landmarks staff in a survey of the area’s historical and architectural resources as part of the East Harlem Neighborhood Plan and anticipated East Harlem Rezoning. (more…)

Council member Vanessa Gibson and Chair Francisco Moya. Image Credit: New York City Council.
Amidst opposition from community members and organizations, the Jerome Avenue Rezoning plan had its day at the City Council. On February 7, 2018, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises held a public hearing on the application by the Department of City Planning and Department of Parks and Recreation for a zoning text amendment, zoning map amendment, and City Map amendment to de-map a portion of Corporal Fischer Place and to map new parkland along Jerome Avenue in the Bronx. The application was submitted in conjunction with several related actions to facilitate land use modifications associated with the Jerome Avenue Neighborhood Plan (Plan). The Plan’s aim is to foster a vibrant mix of residential, commercial, and community facility uses along the two-mile Jerome Avenue corridor in Bronx Community Boards 4, 5, and 7 in the southwest Bronx. (more…)

Webber Packing House. Image Credit: LPC.
Potential individual landmarks added to the Commission’s calendar include two schools and a former meat packing plant. On November 14, 2017, Landmarks voted to add three items in East Harlem to its calendar for consideration as individual City landmarks. The three buildings are: The Richard Webber Harlem Parking House, at 207 East 109th Street; the former Public School 109, at 215 East 99th Street; and the former Benjamin Franklin High School, at 260 Pleasant Avenue. The identification of the properties were done through a survey undertaken as part of a comprehensive plan to bring affordable housing and other public benefits to East Harlem. (more…)