Sunset Park rezoning plan sent to Council

128-block rezoning would establish height limits in Sunset Park. On August 5, 2009, the City Planning Commission approved the Department of City Planning’s rezoning proposal for Brooklyn’s Sunset Park. The majority of the 128-block rezoning area is bounded by 40th Street to the north, the Gowanus Expressway to the south, Eighth Avenue to the east, and Third Avenue to the west, with a small area to the north, bounded by 29th and 37th Streets, and … <Read More>


South Brooklyn contextual rezoning debated

Proposed Carroll Gardens/Columbia Street Rezoning used with permission of the New York City Department of City Planning. All rights reserved.

Residents concerned that rezoning plan does not go far enough to prevent out-of-character development. On August 19, 2009, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone 86 blocks of Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens and Columbia Street neighborhoods. The proposed rezoning area is currently zoned R6 and is … <Read More>


Grocery store zoning incentives proposed

Program would create floor area bonus and other incentives in effort to increase number of grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods. On August 5, 2009, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on the City’s proposed Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program. The program, a joint effort by the Department of City Planning and the City’s Economic Development Corporation, is a response to a City-sponsored study from 2008 finding that low- … <Read More>


In Difficult Times for Architects, Sherida Paulsen Provides an Experienced Perspective

Sherida Paulsen, midway through her one-year tenure as President of the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects, talked to CityLand about her career, AIA initiatives, and architecture and planning in general. She brings a wealth of experience to the position. Paulsen has served as a Commissioner and Chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission and is a principal at PKSB Architects.

A self-described “California girl,” Paulsen attended UC-Berkeley and UCLA before moving to … <Read More>


North Brooklyn rezoned

Greenpoint-Williamsburg Contextual Rezoning, Proposed Zoning used with permission of the New York City Department of City Planning. All rights reserved.

Additional 175 blocks of Greenpoint and Williamsburg rezoned. The City Council approved a 175-block rezoning plan for Brooklyn’s Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods. The newly rezoned area lies east of the City’s large 2005 rezoning initiative. 2 CityLand 67 (June 15, 2005). Unlike the 2005 plan, which concerned redevelopment of the manufacturing-zoned blocks along North Brooklyn’s … <Read More>


DUMBO Plan Approved

Residential conversion of buildings east of Manhattan Bridge now as-of-right. On July 29, 2009, the City Council rezoned a 12-block area of former manufacturing loft buildings located east of the Manhattan Bridge along Brooklyn’s waterfront in DUMBO. This approval adds to several private- and City-initiated DUMBO rezoning plans, and extends the area allowing as-of-right residential conversions from the blocks between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges to the 12 blocks east of the Manhattan Bridge.

The … <Read More>