DCP released a new interactive tool to identify areas in need of supermarkets. Image Credit: NYC DCP
Newest interactive tool helps communities evaluate supermarket needs. On August 2, 2019, the Department of City Planning launched the Supermarket Needs Index, a new interactive online map that shows fresh food store access across New York City. The map highlights which neighborhoods are underserved or lacking grocery store options. (more…)
City Planning Commission hearing testimony at December 16th meeting. Image credit: CityLand
CPC held the hearing at the National Museum of the American Indian in an attempt to accommodate the large number of guests, however an overflow of testifiers waited on lines outside as the hearing began. On December 16, 2015, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, and Zoning for Quality and Affordability proposals, which are two components of the Mayor’s Housing: New York plan. The public hearing was the latest step in the review process for these two plans, and followed up on the Citywide Community Boards’ votes from last month.
(l to r) Councilmembers Rosie Mendez, Ben Kallos, and Corey Johnson speak at a rally against Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposed citywide rezoning plan. Image credit: William Alatriste/New York City Council
Speakers argued the plan eliminates residential zoning protections with little affordable housing benefit. On March 25, 2015 the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation held a press conference on the steps of City Hall to protest Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposed citywide rezoning plan, “Zoning for Quality and Affordability”. According to the Department of City Planning, the plan was created in response to zoning barriers identified by DCP and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development that constrain new housing creation and impede Mayor de Blasio’s Housing New York plan to create and preserve more affordable housing in the city.
Roadway cafe in Brooklyn. Image Credit: NYC DOT.
Community boards in support and against the application had concerns about quality of life issues and community board involvement in future reviews. Last year’s Open Restaurants program was established to allow restaurants to operate sidewalk or roadway cafes without the extensive approval process to provide safe outdoor dining options during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the program was enabled through an emergency executive order that temporarily suspended the sidewalk café application process, a permanent program would require changes to laws and agency rules. The first step is a proposed zoning text amendment to get rid of the geographical restrictions of where sidewalk and roadway cafes can be located. While zoning text amendments do not need to go through the full ULURP process, it is customary for the Department of City Planning to seek the feedback of community boards for these applications. (more…)
Why did ULURP remain suspended when so many City agencies and public bodies took to virtual operations? On March 16, 2020, the Department of City Planning announced that, pursuant to an executive order from Mayor Bill de Blasio, the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure and all relevant public hearings and votes were suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the suspension, Community Boards, Borough Presidents, and the City Council have virtually convened to tend to other matters but have not addressed any new or pending ULURP applications. Meanwhile, City Planning has accepted filings, but has yet to certify any new applications until the suspension is lifted. To read CityLand’s initial coverage of the ULURP suspension, click here.
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