Department Of City Planning

The city this week released updated text for its major housing reform proposal, with new mandates for deeper affordability levels. The Department of City Planning (DCP) on Thursday released the annotated draft zoning text of the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, Mayor Eric Adams' plan to add housing in every neighborhood through various zoning changes. The text includes revising the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) program to allow for the deep affordability choice to be a standalone option. Plus, under the proposal, developers who utilize the Universal Affordable Preference to make their buildings bigger must make all additional homes permanently affordable.
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Midtown South rezoning plan could create 4,000 new homes

Photo © 6sqft

March 8, 2024

Midtown South rezoning plan could create 4,000 new homes

The city released new details for its plan to create thousands of new homes in a predominantly commercial area of Midtown. The Department of City Planning on Friday released the Midtown South draft zoning plan, which details a 42-block rezoning to allow for high-density, mixed-use districts with 4,000 new homes, up to 1,110 of which would be income-restricted. The zoning changes would permit new housing in areas previously designated solely for commercial and manufacturing uses.
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NYC to pay 15 homeowners up to $400K to build apartments on their properties

Image courtesy of the NYC Department of City Planning

November 21, 2023

NYC to pay 15 homeowners up to $400K to build apartments on their properties

The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) on Tuesday launched the "Plus One ADU" pilot program to help qualifying homeowners add an additional small home on their properties, known as an accessory dwelling unit. The city will pay 15 owners of single-family homes up to $395,000 to build the units, which could be backyard cottages, attic conversions, garage studios, basement apartments, or in-law suites. The pilot program aims to spur the creation of affordable housing amid the city's current crisis while also providing homeowners with extra income.
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Adams announces Midtown South rezoning, plan to convert offices to housing

Midtown Manhattan. Photo by Phil Hauser on Unsplash

August 17, 2023

Adams announces Midtown South rezoning, plan to convert offices to housing

New housing will be allowed in parts of Midtown Manhattan for the first time in decades under a plan announced by Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday. The mayor wants to update zoning rules to allow for the construction of new apartments in a 42-block area stretching from 23rd Street to 40th Street and from Fifth Avenue to Eighth Avenue, which is currently designated for manufacturing use. The start of the rezoning effort joins another proposal from the Adams administration to facilitate and expedite office-to-housing conversions across every borough, as the city continues to face a housing shortage.
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Brooklyn officials call for end of minimum parking requirements at new developments

Photo courtesy of Mike Petrucci on Unsplash

March 1, 2022

Brooklyn officials call for end of minimum parking requirements at new developments

Brooklyn officials are calling for the end of minimum parking requirements at new construction projects in transit-rich neighborhoods. Currently, developers of most new residential developments in the borough must create off-street parking spaces for both as-of-right and rezoned projects. Officials argue parking minimums disrupt the area by adding congestion, reducing walkability, and producing more carbon emissions. While changing requirements is seen as more of a long-term goal, officials on Monday voiced a temporary solution: asking the Department of City Planning to encourage developers to include special permit applications to waive parking requirements for any residential project subject to rezoning.
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As NYC suspends land use and rezoning actions, some officials want to also ban construction

Photo by Nicolas J Leclercq on Unsplash

March 17, 2020

As NYC suspends land use and rezoning actions, some officials want to also ban construction

All city land use and rezoning processes have been temporarily suspended as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday. In an executive order, the mayor directed procedures "applicable to the city planning and land use processes" to freeze for the duration of New York's state of emergency.
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950-unit ‘Gowanus Green’ development met with skepticism by local residents who hoped for a park

Photo by Danny Navaro via Flickr cc

December 4, 2019

950-unit ‘Gowanus Green’ development met with skepticism by local residents who hoped for a park

By Alexandra Alexa

During a Brooklyn Community Board 6 meeting on Monday night, architects, developers, and city officials revealed preliminary plans for Gowanus Green, a multi-building development on a 5.8-acre site at the corner of Smith and Fifth Streets. Once home to a gas plant, the city-owned site has been vacant for decades and was designated as a "public place" in 1974. As the Brooklyn Daily Eagle first reported, Carroll Gardens and Gowanus residents who were expecting that the site would become a park widely panned the new proposal for a series of buildings ranging from a five-story school to a 28-story residential tower.
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City’s Soho/Noho report addresses affordable housing, zoning, and small business success

Image: Steven Pisano via Flickr.

November 21, 2019

City’s Soho/Noho report addresses affordable housing, zoning, and small business success

The Department of City Planning (DCP), along with Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Council Member Margaret Chin, released on Wednesday the Envision Soho/Noho report, a comprehensive summary of findings and recommendations that address issues and guide future plans for downtown Manhattan's Soho and Noho neighborhoods. The report represents the result of a six-month-long community engagement series on the two historic neighborhoods, aimed at addressing their unique challenges in the 21st century. Contained in the report is a detailed summary of the engagement process that presents the perspectives of participants, as well as recommendations for guiding future plans for improving quality of life, addressing housing concerns, and supporting the unique mixed-use character of these neighborhoods.
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‘Waterfront Planning Camp’ invites New Yorkers to help the city improve 520 miles of NYC waterfront

Image courtesy of the Department of City Planning.

August 7, 2019

‘Waterfront Planning Camp’ invites New Yorkers to help the city improve 520 miles of NYC waterfront

The Department of City Planning (DCP) on Wednesday invited New Yorkers of all ages to help shape the city's next Comprehensive Waterfront Plan, starting with a “Waterfront Planning Camp” event on Governors Island. In an effort to get community input and feedback on how to make the city's 520 miles of waterfront better, the DCP is hosting a free Waterfront Planning Camp on Governors Island at Nolan Park, Saturday, August 17th from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
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City releases Bushwick rezoning proposal

The city unveiled on Tuesday its proposal to rezone Bushwick, five years after local residents and officials called on the Department of City Planning to study the growing out-of-context development in the neighborhood. The Bushwick Neighborhood Plan calls for creating and preserving affordable homes, improving public park space, protecting historic buildings, and supporting small businesses. The plan covers 300 blocks, bordered by Broadway to the south, Cypress Avenue to the north, Flushing Avenue to the west, and Trinity and Broadway Junction to the east.
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Policy

City releases Gowanus rezoning draft with a focus on waterfront resiliency

Via NYC Planning

January 30, 2019

City releases Gowanus rezoning draft with a focus on waterfront resiliency

The Department of City Planning on Wednesday released a draft of its plan to rezone Gowanus as a way to bring more affordable housing, jobs, and community resources to the Brooklyn neighborhood. In the works for nearly three years, the proposal includes a waterfront access plan that creates public walkways centered around the canal, as well as builds a more resilient shoreline.
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Policy

July 25, 2018

New map from NYC Planning displays all zoning and land use applications dating back to 1970

The Department of City Planning launched a new data tool on Tuesday that displays the status of all zoning and land use applications dating back to 1970. The Zoning Application Portal, or ZAP, provides the public an easy way to search through 28,000 projects and pending applications, 500 of which are currently in public review. "This online tool is the ultimate in planning and zoning transparency," Marisa Lago, director of DCP, said. "It’s fast, it’s easy, it’s intuitive. We hope that New Yorkers – residents, advocacy groups, property and business owners – take full advantage, and get more involved in planning for our city’s future."
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Policy

City’s Gowanus rezoning draft calls for more public space, residential development

The banks of the Gowanus. Image courtesy of Department of City Planning

June 6, 2018

City’s Gowanus rezoning draft calls for more public space, residential development

Attempts to rezone the area surrounding the Gowanus Canal, a neighborhood both affluent and in transition, have been in the works for over a decade. Now, Brownstoner reports, the long-anticipated Draft Planning and Land Use Framework of Gowanus has just been released by the Department of City Planning (DCP). The 188-page report is the result of 100 hours of outreach since the launch of the Gowanus PLACES Study in 2016 as well as information contained in a previous Bridging Gowanus Study released in 2014.
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Architecture And Design

City officials aim to close loophole for construction of Two Bridges skyscrapers

Rendering of 247 Cherry Street via SHoP Architects

December 6, 2017

City officials aim to close loophole for construction of Two Bridges skyscrapers

In an effort to slow construction of three residential towers in the Two Bridges neighborhood, City Council Member Margaret Chin and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will submit an application to the Department of City Planning that forces the plan to go through the city’s land use review process. Developments at the waterfront site include a 1,000+ foot tower from JDS Development Group, a 1.1 million-square-foot development from L+M Development and CIM Group, and a 724-foot rental building from Starrett Development. According to Politico, the Manhattan pols hope the review process will encourage public scrutiny of the projects, including a demand for shorter structures.
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Policy

City Planning Commission approves East Harlem rezoning plan

Photo via Wikimedia

October 3, 2017

City Planning Commission approves East Harlem rezoning plan

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 seeks to revoke access to office rooftops made for employee mingling

Rendering of L&L Holding Company’s planned rooftop terrace at 390 Madison Avenue

July 5, 2017

City seeks to revoke access to office rooftops made for employee mingling

Update 7/31/17: The Post reports that the DOB recently sent landlords a draft memo clarifying that, aside from minor details, terraces are allowed "as open passive recreation space." To give workers a comfortable and conducive work space, some companies have outfitted their offices with amenities like on-site fitness centers, free coffee and outdoor space. However, the city’s Department of Buildings has launched a campaign to stop or delay these rooftop terraces on office towers, claiming the spaces can only be used for plants, not people. As the New York Post reported, DOB may not approve office terrace plans and may even rescind already approved plans.
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November 17, 2016

City Planning Commission votes to raise fee for Theater District air rights transfers

The City Planning Commission has voted to up the cost of air rights transfers in the special Midtown Manhattan district that includes Broadway's theaters, The Real Deal reports. Currently, when developers purchase air rights from theaters between West 40th and West 57th Streets from Sixth to Eighth Avenues, they pay $17.60 per square foot to the Theater Subdistrict Fund. Transferable development rights can usually only be used for adjacent properties, but the city created the special district in 1998 to help the theater industry thrive amid sharply rising real estate prices; within the district, air rights can be moved more freely in a larger area outside the usual “arms length” restrictions.
What does this mean for Broadway theaters?

Policy

June 22, 2016

City Will Allow Landlords to Convert Lower Manhattan Public Spaces to Retail

6sqft recently covered the controversial proposal by the Alliance for Downtown New York (ADNY), the Department of City Planning (DCP), and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC), to change zoning laws to allow property owners in the Water Street Subdistrict of lower Manhattan–at One New York Plaza, for example–to bring in retail tenants like restaurants and clothing stores in exchange for making improvements and upgrades to the public plazas and arcades adjacent to their buildings. Crains reports that the City Council passed a bill Tuesday that would allow the Financial District landlords to convert the public corridors in front of 20 buildings in the Water Street corridor to retail shops. The public corridors, which cover ten blocks, were created when the Water Street buildings that abut them were built. Building developers agreed to create the public arcades and walkways in exchange for more buildable square footage.
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March 30, 2016

Controversial Zoning Change Would Fill Lower Manhattan Public Plazas With Retail