City Planning Commission

City Planning approves zoning changes to make it easier for NYC to go green

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

September 12, 2023

City Planning approves zoning changes to make it easier for NYC to go green

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New York City is taking steps to accelerate climate-friendly projects. The City Planning Commission on Monday voted to approve the City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality, a set of 17 citywide zoning changes that will help the five boroughs reach carbon neutrality goals by removing barriers to greener energy, transportation, buildings, and water and waste systems. The changes will help NYC reach its target of reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
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Two major projects that would bring 3,200+ affordable homes to Brooklyn and Queens get key approval

Rendering of the proposed Innovation QNS district. Image courtesy of VERO Digital

November 18, 2022

Two major projects that would bring 3,200+ affordable homes to Brooklyn and Queens get key approval

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Two major housing developments proposed for Brooklyn and Queens are moving forward. The New York City Council Committee on Zoning and Franchises on Thursday voted to approve rezonings Innovation QNS and Innovative Urban Village, which together would create more than 5,000 units of housing, 3,200 of which would be affordable. The two developments also include over 1,600 apartments for extremely or very low-income households.
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Proposed $2B mixed-use district with 2,800 new apartments in Astoria moves forward

Renderings by VERO Digital

September 22, 2022

Proposed $2B mixed-use district with 2,800 new apartments in Astoria moves forward

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A plan to build a large-scale development with 2,800 apartments in Astoria is moving forward. The City Planning Commission on Wednesday voted in favor of Innovation QNS, a $2 billion mixed-use district proposed for five blocks in the Queens neighborhood, spanning 37th Street to Northern Boulevard, between 35th and 36th Avenues. The project will then head to the City Council for a final vote where it may face resistance from the local representative, Council Member Julie Won, who said she wants at least 50 percent of the apartments to be affordable.
Details here
NYC commission kills application for shadow-casting towers next to Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Rendering: NYC Department of City Planning

September 23, 2021

NYC commission kills application for shadow-casting towers next to Brooklyn Botanic Garden

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The City Planning Commission this week voted unanimously to reject a rezoning application that would allow for two high-rise towers in Crown Heights next to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, ending the uniform land use review procedure for the project. First unveiled by developers Continuum Companies and Lincoln Equities in 2019, the plan called for a pair of 34-story towers with over 1,500 units of housing on a lot at 960 Franklin Avenue. The commission's decision came after a more than a two-year campaign against the project by the garden, which claimed the towers would block necessary light from shining on its greenhouses.
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NYC’s plan to rezone Soho and Noho moves forward

A rendering of West Broadway in Soho, looking downtown; courtesy of City Planning Commission

May 18, 2021

NYC’s plan to rezone Soho and Noho moves forward

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A proposal to bring more affordable housing in two of the city's wealthiest neighborhoods is moving forward. The City Planning Commission on Monday certified the application to rezone Soho and Noho, kicking off the public review process. The plan replaces existing 1970s-era zoning rules with medium- to high-density mixed-use districts that could create as many as 3,500 new homes, with 900 units of permanently affordable housing.
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Massive Lenox Terrace redevelopment has been rejected by the City Council Zoning Committee

Rendering credit: Davis Brody Bond

February 27, 2020

Massive Lenox Terrace redevelopment has been rejected by the City Council Zoning Committee

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The City Council's Zoning Committee voted unanimously to reject a proposed redevelopment of Harlem's Lenox Terrace housing complex on Wednesday. The site's owner, the Olnick Organization, has been seeking approval for a mixed-use development with five 28-story towers to be constructed at the complex. This week's decision is expected to be a sign of what's to come when the project comes to a vote before the full City Council next month. But Olnick has already signaled that they have a scaled-down backup plan for the site that won't require a rezoning.
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Alternative plan for Harlem’s massive Lenox Terrace development gets rid of affordable units

Rendering courtesy of the Olnick Organization

February 12, 2020

Alternative plan for Harlem’s massive Lenox Terrace development gets rid of affordable units

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Amidst pushback from locals and activists, the Olnick Organization has released a Plan B proposal for its Lenox Terrace expansion, reports the Post. Last week, the City Planning Commission approved an application from the complex's owner to rezone part of the neighborhood and allow five 28-story towers with a mix of market-rate and affordable units to be built at the site. The alternate plan unveiled on Tuesday presents a scaled-down version that wouldn't require a zoning change but also wouldn't include any of the affordable units or public amenities in the original plan.
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Lenox Terrace rezoning in Harlem gets green light from City Planning

Photo: Lenox Terrace Aerial; Credit: Davis Brody Bond

February 4, 2020

Lenox Terrace rezoning in Harlem gets green light from City Planning

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A plan to bring a mixed-use development with five buildings and 1,600 apartments to Central Harlem got a much-needed approval on Monday. The City Planning Commission voted in favor of an application from the Olnick Organization to rezone part of the neighborhood, clearing the way for five 28-story luxury towers to be constructed at the existing Lenox Terrace complex.
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Staten Island’s Bay Street Corridor rezoning proposal moves forward

Rendering via Department of City Planning

April 22, 2019

Staten Island’s Bay Street Corridor rezoning proposal moves forward

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Update 4/23/19: The City Planning Commission voted on Monday to approve the Bay Street Corridor rezoning plan, despite opposition from Staten Island Borough President Jimmy Oddo and local community groups, City Limits reported. As the plan now goes in front of the City Council, housing advocates will continue to push for the rezoning to include deeply affordable units. The City Planning Commission will vote Monday on the rezoning proposal for Staten Island's Bay Street Corridor, an area between Tompkinsville Park and Tappan Park. Ahead of the agency's vote, questions remain about the plan's affordable housing portion, expected to bring 1,800 new residential units to the area. According to a report from Clifford Michel of THE CITY, the rezoning sets aside affordable housing for middle-class professionals, allowing developers to build units for households earning as much as $127,000 per year for a family of three. Based on that income requirement, the "affordable" apartments would rent for more than $3,000 per month.
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235-unit affordable building with farm and fresh food market coming to Atlantic Avenue in Bed-Stuy

Rendering of 1921 Atlantic Avenue via Dabar Development Partners.

April 4, 2019

235-unit affordable building with farm and fresh food market coming to Atlantic Avenue in Bed-Stuy

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On March 27 the City Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve an application for a 14-story affordable development that will bring 235 residential units to 1921 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, New York Law School's CityLand reports. The mixed-use project is funded by private developers Dabar Development Partners and Thorobird in partnership with a program run by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development that creates affordable housing and set-asides for the formerly homeless. The proposed project, which will be located on city-owned vacant land and three adjacent private lots, will feature a community facility run by Oko Farms and NHS as well as a fresh food grocery store.
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Developers of controversial Two Bridges towers pitch $55M in transit and open space improvements

Via Handel Architects

October 18, 2018

Developers of controversial Two Bridges towers pitch $55M in transit and open space improvements

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During a City Planning Commission hearing on Wednesday, local residents and officials of the Two Bridges community voiced their strong opposition to four towers planned for the Lower Manhattan neighborhood. Those who testified against the buildings questioned the developer's draft environmental impact study (DEIS), which found the projects would not cause displacement, amNY reported. Developers also announced measures to mitigate the potential adverse effects on the neighborhood, which include upgrading the F train station at East Broadway, improving public parks, and implementing flood protection measures.
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Merchant’s House Museum files petition in court against construction of adjacent eight-story hotel

The museum via Google street view

July 27, 2018

Merchant’s House Museum files petition in court against construction of adjacent eight-story hotel

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The Merchant's House Museum and its supporters filed a petition on Monday in New York Supreme Court against the construction of an eight-story hotel planned next door. The 186-year-old East Village home at 29 East Fourth Street belonged to hardware merchant Seabury Tredwell, who bought the 10,000-square-foot residence for $18,000 in 1832. The museum, which has been remarkably preserved since then, became the first property in Manhattan to be designated a New York City landmark in 1965. But landmark status does not guarantee protection from any adjacent construction projects. The museum is now taking legal action against the hotel project because, as its executive director, Margaret "Pi" Halsey Gardiner, told the WSJ: "It's not going to be able to survive construction next door, I guarantee you."
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Rezoning plan for Sunset Park’s Industry City set into motion

Photo courtesy of Industry City

October 24, 2017

Rezoning plan for Sunset Park’s Industry City set into motion

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The public review process for the rezoning of Industry City begins Tuesday, an effort to boost total capital investment of the sprawling campus to $1 billion and generate 13,000 on-site jobs and 7,000 off-site jobs over the next decade. Currently, Industry City sits on 35 acres with 16 buildings in its waterfront Brooklyn neighborhood of Sunset Park. The rezoning would restore the century-old campus and increase total usable square footage from 5.3 million to 6.6 million square feet. After presenting plans to the City Planning Commission and creating an environmental statement, the project will then enter the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) this Spring, followed by the public review process.
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City Planning Commission approves East Harlem rezoning plan

Photo via Wikimedia

October 3, 2017

City Planning Commission approves East Harlem rezoning plan

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The City Planning Commission approved on Monday Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposal to rezone East Harlem. With this crucial approval, the plan moves to the City Council for the last stage of the public review process, which began in April (h/t City Limits). The de Blasio administration’s rezoning efforts, run by the city’s Department of City Planning, aim to create affordable housing, create economic opportunities and restore East Harlem’s role as a major transit hub and job center. Over a decade, the plan hopes to create about 122,000-square-feet of stores and restaurants and 275,000-square-feet of office and industrial space.
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City Planning Commission Approves Controversial East New York Rezoning Plan in 12-1 Vote

Map of proposed rezoning via Department of City Planning

February 25, 2016

City Planning Commission Approves Controversial East New York Rezoning Plan in 12-1 Vote

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The New York City Planning Commission voted 12-1 in approval of Mayor de Blasio's controversial rezoning plan for East New York, Gothamist reports. It's the first of 15 low-income neighborhoods scheduled for rezoning as part of the Mayor's affordable housing plan, which promises to create or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the rezoning this spring. As part of what is known as Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH), rezoning plans for East New York's Cypress Hills neighborhood and adjacent Ocean Hill in Bed-Stuy would have 7,000 new apartments built by 2030, 3,447 of which will be designated affordable, in addition to one million square feet of commercial space. Of those affordable units, 80 percent would be reserved for families (defined as a household of three, with any number of earners) making no more than 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), or $46,000; 27 percent would go to families making 40 percent of the AMI or $31,000.
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Caveat to DeBlasio’s Grand Central Terminal Area Rezoning Would Require Special Permit for New Hotels
June 18, 2014

Caveat to DeBlasio’s Grand Central Terminal Area Rezoning Would Require Special Permit for New Hotels

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The impetus behind the rezoning plan allowing taller towers in the blocks surrounding Grand Central Terminal - specifically the five blocks of Vanderbilt Avenue from East 42nd Street to East 47th Street - is to keep New York competitive with office development in other major cities like London and Shanghai. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, the hotel-workers union, which had a key role in the demise of a similar proposal under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has flexed its muscles once again, seeking a concession that would require any new hotels to receive a special permit from the City Planning Commission and the City Council.
More details on the rezoning here
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