Howard Slatkin. Image Credit: DCP.

Howard Slatkin, the director of sustainability for the New York City Department of City Planning, was a frequent visitor to NYC while growing up in New Jersey, but it was not until he moved to the City after studying history at Brown University, that he became interested in architecture and the social life of places. He earned a master’s degree in urban planning at Columbia University in 2000. At that time the concept of sustainability, though embedded in the course curriculum, had not yet gained the notoriety it has today.

From City planning to City sustainability. Slatkin joined the Department of City Planning immediately after graduation in the summer of 2000; he started as the community planner for Brooklyn Community District 1. His first task was to look closely at the Williamsburg, Brooklyn area and how the community was changing around the L subway line. His work eventually became part of the 2005 Greenpoint-Williamsburg Rezoning. The rezoning addressed population growth in the area and the disparity between the actual and legal uses of industrial buildings that were increasingly being used as residential and commercial spaces. The experience exposed Slatkin to many important issues including mixed-use development, waterfront redevelopment, and affordable housing, which became one of Slatkin’s areas of expertise and focus. The Greenpoint-Williamsburg Rezoning created the City’s current tool for affordable housing development – the Inclusionary Housing Program, which allows developers to take advantage of a floor area bonus in exchange for creating or preserving units of affordable housing for targeted income levels. The program has been used to encourage affordable housing development in many of City Planning’s rezoned areas, including Hudson Yards, West Chelsea/High Line, and West Harlem. From there, Slatkin became increasingly involved with the policy side of city planning and eventually became deputy director of strategic planning, where he oversaw the special projects, and in particular the green initiatives, for all of City Planning’s divisions.

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Credit: Karl Fischer Architect

Developer’s two-building, 69-unit project will include 14 units of affordable housing. On September 12, 2012, the City Council approved Walton Realty Associate’s proposal to rezone a three-block area in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn to permit residential uses. The rezoning impacted portions of three blocks located just outside the Broadway Triangle Urban Renewal Area and generally bounded by Middleton and Wallabout Streets and Union and Marcy Avenues. Walton Realty requested the rezoning in order to develop a two-building residential project at 59 Walton Street. The buildings will rise eight stories and provide a total of 69 rental units, and is expected to include 14 units of affordable housing built using the Inclusionary Housing Program’s floor area bonus.

Brooklyn Community Board 1 and Borough President Marty Markowitz supported the proposal but asked that Walton Realty guarantee that it would provide the affordable housing component.

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Credit: Karl Fischer Architect

Developer plans to build two, eight-story buildings on Walton Street between Union and Marcy Avenues. On July 25, 2012, the City Planning Commission approved Walton Realty Associates’ proposal to develop a two-building residential project at 59 Walton Street in South Williamsburg. Walton Realty would demolish a low-rise storage and distribution facility on Walton Street between Union and Marcy Avenues and build two, eight-story buildings. The buildings would rise up to 80 feet and provide a total of 69 apartments, including 14 units of affordable housing.

To facilitate the development, Walton Realty requested that the City rezone three blocks bounded by Middleton Street and Union and Marcy Avenues. The northern block between Middleton and Lorimer Streets and Union and Marcy Avenues would be rezoned from M1-2 to R6A. The two southern blocks, which include the project site on Walton Street would be rezoned from M3-1 to R7A and R7A/C2-4. Walton Realty also requested that the City apply the inclusionary housing program to the R7A and R7A/C2-4 district on the block bounded by Lorimer and Walton Streets in order to use the inclusionary housing floor area ratio (FAR) bonus for the project.

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Mapping tool provides range of zoning and land use information for individual properties and City at large. On August 25, 2011, the Department of City Planning and the Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications announced the release of the publicly accessible zoning and land use web application known as as ZoLa. The web-based Geographic Information Systems tool provides up-to-date maps with zoning and land use information for New York City properties.

ZoLa is a part of NYC Simplicity, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s plan to use technology to make government more transparent, customer focused, innovative, and efficient.

ZoLa is based on the same platform as the City’s online NYCityMap application and allows users to find land use information in “interactive, highly-readable map layers.” Users can review land use and zoning information for specific properties, neighborhoods, and the City at large. ZoLa’s map layers provide data on zoning designations, area land uses, landmark designations, and boundaries for historic districts and City Council and Community Districts. Users can also highlight locations where the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program, Lower Density Growth Management regulations, and FRESH food store incentives apply.

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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 and Woodside Avenues to the south, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and 72nd Street to the east, and 39th Place to the west.

The Sunnyside and Woodside neighborhoods were established after the opening of the Queensboro Bridge in the early 1900s and the subsequent extension of what became the elevated No. 7 subway line. Sunnyside, located in the western portion of the study area, is predominately characterized by large, multi-family apartment buildings. Woodside is primarily characterized by one- and two-family homes and small apartment buildings. (read more…)

Eighty-block rezoning encourages residential development along Webster Avenue and limits out-of-character development in Norwood and Bedford Park neighborhoods. On March 23, 2011, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s 80-block Webster Avenue/Bedford Park/Norwood Rezoning plan. The rezoning affected thirteen blocks along Webster Avenue between 193rd and 211th Streets and the surrounding residential side streets of Bedford Park and Norwood. Webster Avenue is characterized by low-rise buildings, heavy commercial uses, parking lots, and vacant lots. Bedford Park and Norwood are developed with a mix of attached, semi-detached, and detached homes, along with five- and seven-story apartment buildings.

The plan replaced the majority of Webster Avenue’s C8-2 zoning with residential districts and commercial overlays to encourage mid-rise residential development and promote new commercial uses. The City’s Inclusionary Housing Program will now apply along sections of Webster Avenue. Bedford Park and Norwood’s R7-1 zoning was replaced with residential districts that include height limits to ensure that future development matches existing scale. (read more…)