Community group challenged City’s 47-acre Coney Island rezoning. In 2007, the City unveiled a comprehensive rezoning plan for the redevelopment of a 47-acre portion of Coney Island, Brooklyn. The plan sought to revitalize the iconic beachfront amusement area by transforming it into a year-round amusement and entertainment destination alongside new residential and retail uses. The proposal included rezoning nineteen blocks in order to permit new residential and hotel development around a 27-acre amusement and entertainment district. The plan also called for demapping nine acres of parkland to provide new housing and for creating fifteen acres of newly mapped parkland.

During the plan’s environmental review, the City revised the proposal by reducing the amount of new parkland from fifteen to nine acres. The City Planning Commission approved the plan and a final environmental impact statement in June 2009, and the City Council approved the plan the following month. 6 CityLand 104 (Aug. 15, 2009). (read more…)

Residents and community groups unsuccessfully challenged the City’s 111-block rezoning. In May 2008, the Department of City Planning proposed a 111-block rezoning in the East Village and Lower East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan. The rezoning sought to preserve the area’s low- and mid-rise character by applying contextual zoning districts establishing maximum building heights and channeling new construction to areas suitable for development. The proposal included applying the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program provisions to certain zoning districts to promote the development of affordable housing.

The City Planning Commission prepared a final environmental impact statement, which concluded that the rezoning would not result in any significant adverse socioeconomic impacts, and the City Council approved the rezoning. 5 CityLand 165 (Dec. 2008). (read more…)