Additional disclosure required of applicants

New rule requires applicants to submit Doing Business Data Form. The Department of City Planning recently enacted a rule requiring the submission of an additional disclosure form with each new ULURP and zoning text amendment application. The rule stems from Local Law 34 of 2007, the campaign finance reform law, which mandates that City agencies maintain a database of all companies, their principal officers and owners, and certain senior managers that engage in business dealings … <Read More>


Courthouse, 660-space garage approved

New courthouse and parking garage proposed for Staten Island. Image: Polshek Partnership Architects LLP.

Existing surface parking lot makes way for consolidation of civil and criminal courts. On August 11, 2008, the City Planning Commission approved three applications needed to facilitate construction of the new Staten Island Supreme Courthouse and parking garage. The site, owned by the Department of Transportation, occupies most of the St. George Municipal Parking Field, roughly bounded by Central Avenue, Hyatt … <Read More>


Traffic and obstructed views at issue in Bedpan Alley

Hospital For Special Surgery’s proposed 12-story building over the FDR Drive at East 71st Street. Image: Hospital for Special Surgery/Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects

Hospital for Special Surgery proposes 12-story building over FDR Drive. On August 11, 2008, the City Planning Commission unanimously approved the Hospital for Special Surgery’s special permit application to build a new 86,869 sq.ft., 12-story outpatient center on a 21-ft. high deck over the FDR Drive between East 71st Street and … <Read More>


Laurelton rezoning approved

Council approves 220-block rezoning without modification. On September 4, 2008, the City Council approved the rezoning proposal for Laurelton, a Queens community near the border of Nassau County. The plan includes lower-density and contextual rezoning for approximately 215 blocks, an upzoning from C8-1 and R3-2 to R5D along Merrick and Spring Boulevards, and commercial overlay changes to more closely match existing commercial development.

The plan culminates over six years of research, planning, and community outreach. … <Read More>


Rockaway rezoning approved without change

Beach 116th Street included in Rockaway rezoning. Photo: CityLand.

Avella’s plan to remove Beach 116th Street defeated. On August 14, 2008, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s rezoning proposal for the Rockaway peninsula in Queens. The rezoning plan impacts 280 blocks, extending six miles from the Nassau County line to Beach 130th Street, including the neighborhoods of Rockaway Park, Rockaway Beach, Somerville, Far Rockaway, and Edgemere.

Zoning in the Rockaways has remained … <Read More>


New plan for East Harlem remains controversial

Six-acre site in East Harlem proposed for development. Image courtesy of the New York City Economic Development Corp.

Community and Stringer criticize EDC for initiating land use process before selecting developer. On July 23, 2008, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on a plan to redevelop a six-acre site in East Harlem roughly bounded by East 125th and East 127th Streets between Second and Third Avenues. The plan before the Commission resulted from a controversial … <Read More>