Rendering by Raymond Chan Architects. Image Credit: New York YIMBY, LLC.
City Planning approves an application for a nine-story residential building with 27 permanently affordable units in Flushing, Queens. On September 6, 2017, the City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on a modified land use application for rezoning the area containing 135-01 35th Avenue. The land use application by Stemmax Realty Inc. includes zoning map and zoning text amendments. Stemmax Realty Inc. owns the project site, located at the northeast corner of 35th Avenue and Farrington Place.
Initially, the zoning map amendment was to rezone the M1-1 district, allowing light industrial uses, into a R7A/C2-3 district for mixed-use development. During the ULURP process, the Community Board expressed discontent for the commercial overlay, which was later eliminated. Stemmax Realty Inc. submitted a modified land use application for the zoning map amendment that includes only a R7A residential district.
The zoning text amendment will establish a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing area. Stemmax Realty Inc. has chosen Option 2 for Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, which will maintain 30% of the building’s units as permanently affordable for those earning 80% or less of the Average Median Income.
The proposed project will produce a nine-story residential building with 93 units, spanning 72,442 square feet (4.6 FAR) with a height of 94 feet. Under Option 2 for Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, 27 units will be permanently affordable. The proposed building will also contain 52 parking spaces.
On June 12, 2017, Queens Community Board 7 held a public hearing and recommended approval of the application “only with the condition that [the] aforementioned commercial overlay be removed.” The vote was 30-9. The Community Board communicated with Stemmax Realty Inc.’s lawyer, Eric Palatnik, as well as Council Member Peter Koo to ensure the removal of the commercial overlay. On July 17, 2017, the Queens Borough President recommended approval of the application with a modification to remove the proposed commercial overlay.
On July 26, 2017, the Commission held a public hearing on the modified application. A representative and an affordable housing consultant from Stemmax Realty Inc. spoke in favor of the project, and no one spoke in opposition. The representative spoke of the predictability benefits of the R7A district, which caps the height of buildings at 95 feet. The surrounding R6/C2-2 mixed-use zoning district has produced buildings varying in taller heights because R6/C2-2 zoning does not require a fixed height limit; buildings in these zoning districts are regulated by the sky exposure plane. The affordable housing consultant noted that “analysis without the commercial overlay resulted in the development’s loss of revenue as compared to with the commercial overlay in helping to subsidize the affordable units.”
The Commission found both land use actions appropriate, with modifications. The Commission noted the removal of the commercial overlay, but found that rezoning this district for solely residential purposes would bring an existing, neighboring warehouse out of compliance with zoning. As a result, the Commission modified the R7A zoning boundary and concurrent Mandatory Inclusionary Housing area—the zoning boundary’s depth from 35th Avenue is now 125 feet instead of 150 feet.
CPC: 135-01 35th Avenue Rezoning (C 170180A ZMQ; N 170181 ZRQ) (Sept. 6, 2017).
By: Shelby Hoffman (Shelby is the CityLaw Fellow and a New York Law School Graduate, Class of 2017.)