Avella critical of Community Board 7’s representative. On September 24, 2008, the City Council approved the 44-block rezoning plan for Waldheim, a neighborhood immediately southeast of Downtown Flushing. The plan incorporates lower- and medium-density contextual zoning for 43 blocks, an upzoning of one block from R6 to R7-1, and commercial overlay modifications to stop commercial development from spilling over into residential midblocks. The rezoning area is generally bounded by Sanford and Franklin Avenues to the north, 45th Avenue to the south, 156th Street to the east, and Colden Street and Kissena Boulevard to the west.

Local residents, concerned with overdevelopment, petitioned the Department of City Planning seeking changes to preserve Waldheim’s housing character. In response, Planning offered a proposal that limits development to one- and two-family detached homes in most of the rezoning area, allows for semidetached homes and small apartment buildings in fewer areas, and encourages high-rise apartments near Kissena Boulevard, a primary thoroughfare that extends toward Downtown Flushing. The plan also includes a revamping of the commercial overlay scheme, adding new overlays to bring existing uses into conformance and reducing portions of existing overlays to restrict uses to local service and retail. (read more…)