Proposed rezoning of the Water Street POPS. Image credit: Department of City Planning
The modified version requires a full public review process in order to infill the largest arcades covered by the proposed zoning text amendment. On June 15, 2016, the City Council Committee on Land Use voted unanimously to approve a modified version of an application submitted by the Alliance for Downtown New York, the NYC Economic Development Corporation, and the Department of City Planning to rezone the privately owned public space—colloquially known as “POPS”—on and surrounding Water Street, located on the east side of lower Manhattan. The modified proposal requires the Alliance for Downtown New York to commit to providing programming on the public plazas, re-instates public review as a requirement to infill the larger buildings affected by the rezoning, and places further restrictions on the infill of the arcades.
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Proposed rezoning of the Water Street POPS. Image credit: Department of City Planning
Council Members voiced concerns over the proposal’s provisions stripping the City Council of its review over future applications brought pursuant to the proposal. On May 4, 2016, the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises held a public hearing on an application submitted by the Alliance for Downtown New York, the NYC Economic Development Corporation, and the Department of City Planning to amend the zoning text controlling the Water Street corridor in lower Manhattan. For CityLand’s previous coverage on the proposed rezoning of the Water Street POPS, click here.
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Proposed rezoning of the Water Street POPS. Image credit: Department of City Planning
The proposed zoning text amendment would facilitate the replacement of sheltered outdoor space with commercial storefronts. On March 30th, 2016, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application submitted by the Alliance for Downtown New York, the NYC Economic Development Corporation, and the Department of City Planning to amend the zoning text regulating Manhattan Community District 1’s Special Lower Manhattan District, which includes property sites located within the area bounded by Pearl Street and South William Street to the west, South Street to the east, Fulton Street to the north, and Whitehall Street to the south. The rezoning seeks to activate the neighborhood by filling empty, outdoor space with retail units.
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Four-foot tall iron fence blocked access to public plaza. After the Dept. of City Planning received complaints about an obstruction to a public plaza, a Buildings inspector was sent to the site at 733 Park Avenue in Manhattan. The inspector observed a four-foot tall iron fence surrounding the entire plaza and separating the public sidewalk from the garden area and the plaza’s walkways. The inspector issued a violation to the owner, charging it with failing to comply with the terms of an as-of-right plaza bonus by not providing 24-hour public access to the plaza in violation of the City’s Zoning Resolution.
An ALJ upheld the violation, ruling that the owner was obstructing access to the public plaza with a four-foot tall fence. The ALJ found that the owner was supposed to provide a plaza for public use in exchange for a floor area bonus that it received in connection with construction. (read more…)
