Community groups had claimed City should have conducted a detailed environmental review for 128-block rezoning. In April 2009, the Department of City Planning proposed a 128-block rezoning in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The rezoning sought to prevent out-of-scale development in the residential neighborhood by applying contextual zoning districts, establishing height limits, and mapping commercial overlays on appropriate blocks to match the area’s built character. The plan included applying the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program provisions to create affordable housing and increase residential density along two targeted corridors.

Planning conducted an environmental assessment of the proposal and issued a negative declaration. Planning determined that the rezoning would have no significant effect on the environment, and on September 30, 2009, the City Council approved the rezoning. (read more…)

Sanitation proposed to reopen marine waste transfer station near Asphalt Green and Bobby Wagner Walk. After the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island closed in 2001, the Department of Sanitation contracted with privately-owned transfer stations, landfills, and waste-to-energy facilities to dispose of residential waste. Sanitation now delivers a large percentage of waste to transfer stations within the City, where tractor- trailers pick up the waste and drive it to landfills in other states.

In 2004, Mayor Bloomberg announced a new 20-year solid waste management plan. The City’s marine waste transfer stations would containerize solid waste onsite, and private companies would transport it by barge or rail, thereby reducing truck traffic and long-term costs. The marine waste transfer station at East 91st Street, bounded by the East River to the north and east, Carl Schurz Park to the south, and FDR Drive to the west, would be redeveloped to containerize waste generated in Manhattan. Sanitation trucks would access the transfer station using an elevated ramp that crossed over Asphalt Green, a sports and recreational complex located between York Avenue and FDR Drive. (read more…)

The NYPD to house Joint Operations Command Center in building adjoining One Police Plaza. In 2000, the New York Police Department planned to demolish a two-story building at 109 Park Row in Manhattan and replace it with a nine-story building. After September 11, 2001, the NYPD decided instead to renovate the existing building and create a $13.8 million, 22,000 sq.ft. Joint Operations Command Center. The command center would operate as a state-of-the-art crisis response situation room that would enhance the NYPD’s ability to respond effectively to emergency situations. The building, previously used as a 911 call center, parking garage, and storage facility, was vacated in 2000 to make way for the original construction project.

Chinatown residents, concerned about the project’s effect on traffic and parking, filed an Article 78 petition. They argued the project was subject to the City’s land use review process because it qualified as a site selection for a capital project. They also argued that the NYPD failed to prepare an environmental assessment statement as required by the State’s and City’s environmental review laws. (read more…)