Council approved Staten Island commercial districts

Staten Island Commercial Rezonings. Used with permission of the New York City Department of City Planning. All rights reserved.

Amendment restricts residential- only development in commercial districts. The City Council rezoned three areas of Staten Island and approved a text amendment to insure lower density commercial development in portions of the borough. The three areas rezoned are located along Castleton Avenue, New Dorp Lane, and Arthur Kill Road.

The Planning Department initiated the rezoning proposals … <Read More>

Queens neighborhoods down-zoned

Whitestone Rezoning and Whitestone Locator Map. Used with permission of the New York City Department of City Planning. All rights reserved

Council approves new lower density and contextual zoning to preserve the existing neighborhood scale. On December 21, 2005, the City Council approved the Planning Department’s rezoning plan for 311 blocks located in the Whitestone, Beechhurst and Robinwood neighborhoods of Queens. The rezoned area is bounded by the Whitestone Expressway to the west, the Clearview … <Read More>

Bronx retail center approved

Rendering of the Bronx Terminal Market Gateway Center. Used with permission of The Marino Organization.

Mall-type retail center to be developed on site of Bronx Terminal Market. The NYC Economic Development Corporation and BTM Development Partners obtained Council’s approval for six actions related to development of a one-million square-foot, multi-level retail center at the site of the Bronx Terminal Market in West Concourse, Bronx. Two approved map amendments eliminated streets between River and Cromwell Avenues … <Read More>

Intro to give Council power to force landmark hearings

Hearing held on proposal to compel designation hearings. On November 14, 2005, the Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses held a public hearing on a proposed Local Law which would allow the Council to order the Landmarks Preservation Commission to hold a public hearing on a proposed landmark designation. The proposal, sponsored by Council Member Bill Perkins, would add two new provisions to the landmarks law. Under the first, the Council, by … <Read More>

Community Board members may vote on large area rezonings

Community Board members sought advice from Conflicts of Interest Board. Nine members of Community Board 7 in Queens sought an opinion from the Conflicts of Interest Board as to whether they could vote on the Planning Department’s 310-block rezoning proposal for Whitestone, Queens in light of their home ownership in the proposed rezoning area.

The Board advised that voting on rezoning proposals would not violate the Charter’s conflicts of interest rules as long as the … <Read More>

Condo dispute goes back to trial court

Developer sought to build controversial waterfront luxury condos in Brooklyn. In 2003, BSA granted 160 Imlay Street LLC a use variance to convert a six-story industrial building in Red Hook, Brooklyn into 150 luxury condominiums. The Red Hook-Gowanus Chamber of Commerce sued within the 30-day statute of limitations, but named as defendants only the City and BSA. With the limitations period passed, the City moved to dismiss the petition, arguing that the Chamber failed to … <Read More>