Proposal praised as valuable for Flushing’s commercial growth. On March 24, 2015 the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises voted to approve a zoning map amendment facilitation construction of an eleven-story mixed-use building at 137-61 Northern Boulevard in Flushing, Queens. The proposal was recently approved by the City Planning Commission, and would offer commercial retail, residential, hotel, community facility, and parking space.
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Plan builds on several 2006 Queens downzonings. On July 29, 2009, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s 300-block rezoning proposal for the three west-central Queens neighborhoods of Middle Village, Maspeth, and Glendale. The plan seeks to decrease future out-of-character development and builds on several 2006 rezoning plans within the area.
Characterized by detached and semi-detached single- and two-family housing, the area’s R3-2, R4, and R5 zoning, which was largely unchanged since 1961, allowed for inconsistent development. The Council’s approval rezoned the area to a mix of contextual zoning districts — R3A, R4A, R4B, R4-1, R5B, and R5D — found to more closely match the neighborhood’s built character. Also rezoned were several manufacturing-zoned blocks within west-central Queens where Planning found illegal residential construction. The plan brings these blocks into compliance. (more…)

- Mixed-use development near Brooklyn Navy Yard. Image: Courtesy FXFOWLE Architects.

- Proposed Navy Green development along Vanderbilt Avenue between Flushing and Park Avenues. Image: Courtesy FXFOWLE Architects.
Located on former prison site, the complex will provide affordable and special needs housing. On September 30, 2009, the City Council approved the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s proposal to facilitate the construction of a 455- unit complex, known as Navy Green, in Brooklyn’s Wallabout neighborhood. The 461,449 sq.ft. mixed-use development will be located on most of the block bounded by Flushing Avenue to the north, the Brooklyn- Queens Expressway to the south, Vanderbilt Avenue to the east, and Clermont Avenue to the west. During World War II, the Navy operated a prison on the site and the City’s Department of Correction used the structure before its 2005 demolition.
Dunn Development and L&M Development Partners’ proposal for the site includes four multi-family buildings and 23 four-story townhouses. The developers will build two 12-story structures on Flushing Avenue that will step down to eight-stories as they wrap around the corners of Clermont and Vanderbilt Avenues, respectively. The plan calls for constructing 10 four-story townhouses along Clermont Avenue, and 13 townhouses on Vanderbilt Avenue. An eight-story structure will be built on the southern portion of Clermont Avenue, and another eight-story building will be located along the southern portion of Vanderbilt Avenue. This building will provide 95-units of housing for low-income singles and special needs housing, targeting formerly homeless adults who suffer from mental illness. (more…)