
Special Garment Center District, Fashion Avenue. Image Credit: City Planning
Zoning changes will bring many buildings into compliance and will lift manufacturing space preservation requirements. City officials step in to ensure garment manufacturing has a continuing place in the district. On September 26, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on a proposed rezoning of the Special Garment Center District by the Department of City Planning, in conjunction with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC). The Special Garment Center District encompasses approximately 13 blocks between West 35th and West 40th Streets, west of Broadway. (more…)

Rendering of 29-37 Jay Street in Brooklyn. Image Credit: CPC/Marvel Architects
Borough President is critical of the proposed residential upzoning as part of zoning changes to build an office building. On October 17, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application for 29-37 Jay Street in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn. The applicant is the Foreman family, who have had a multi-generational history in DUMBO as manufacturers of decorative pressed metal products. The applicant was represented by Melanie Meyers of Fried Frank and Jonathan Marvel of Marvel Architects. The applicant is proposing to build an 11-story office building with a lobby and three retail stores on the ground floor, at the corner of Jay and Plymouth streets. The proposed building would be 148 feet tall, without a setback, and an approximate 189,000 square feet. (more…)

Rendering of Marcus Garvey Expansion. Image Credit: L+M Development/CPC
The expansion will add 724 affordable units, retail, and community space along Livonia Avenue. On September 5, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on a rezoning application for an extension of the Marcus Garvey Village in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. Marcus Garvey Village is generally bounded by Blake Avenue to the north, Newport Street to the south, Rockaway Avenue to the east, and Thomas S. Boyland Street to the west.
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Broadway Triangle. Image credit: Google Maps.
Local residents and community activists brought an action to stop a rezoning that would encourage gentrification and racial disparity. Churches United for Fair Housing, along with local residents and other local groups, brought an action against the City in the Supreme Court of New York County to stop the construction of a housing development in the Broadway Triangle section of Brooklyn. Churches United is a local grassroots organization that seeks to preserve communities by advocating for non-exclusive and affordable housing. Churches United claimed that rezoning the area without evaluating segregation would result in discrimination against people of color, and violate the Fair Housing Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. (more…)

Rezoning area and project site. Image credit: CPC.
New development will include both residential and commercial uses. On August 8, 2018, the City Planning Commission approved a rezoning application by Quentin Plaza LLC for 1881-1883 McDonald Avenue in the Homecrest neighborhood of Brooklyn. The proposed zoning map and zoning text amendment will facilitate a new mixed-use building. The rezoning area is bounded by Avenue P to the north, East 2nd Street to the east, Woodside Avenue to the south, and McDonald Avenue to the west. (more…)