Developers built over-sized homes using floor area exemptions. On April 5, 2006, the City Council approved the 83-block rezoning designed by City Planning for Utopia Estates, Fresh Meadows and West Cunningham Park in Queens. As older homes were replaced by newly constructed mini-mansions, residents of the three Queens neighborhoods, Borough President Helen Marshall and Council Member James F. Gennaro raised concerns to the City that the zoning was not sufficiently restrictive.

The entire 83-block area was within one zoning district, an R2 district, which restricted construction to single-family, detached homes. The larger, out-of-character homes popping up in the area took advantage of exceptions written into the zoning resolution that allowed some attic and garage space to be exempt from a home’s floor area calculation. (read more…)