City Council Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Mayor’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Proposal

Hard-hitting questions from several Council members explored ways affordable housing could be provided at deeper levels of affordability.  On February 9, 2016, the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises held a public hearing on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing proposal.  The hearing was held in the City Council Chambers in City Hall to accommodate the capacity audience.


City Planning Commission Approves Modified Affordable Housing Proposals

Despite expressing broad support for proposals, City Planning calls on City Council to make further modifications.  On February 3, 2016, the City Planning Commission voted to approve the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Zoning for Quality and Affordability proposals, which are two of the major programs to be implemented under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York plan.  This was the first opportunity for City Planning to present its modified versions of the MIH and ZQA … <Read More>


BSA Approves Restaurant Expansion Into Residential Area in Astoria

Approval corrects an erroneously-granted permit in 2011.  On May 19, 2015 the Board of Standards and Appeals voted to grant a special permit to the applicant, 22-32 31st Street LLC, for expanding an existing Use Group 6 restaurant at 22-32 31st Street in Astoria, Queens, into an adjacent residential zoning district..  The restaurant sits on a lot that is partially zoned as C2-4A with the remainder zoned as R5B.  The permit is needed to allow … <Read More>


Zoning Subcommittee Approves One Vanderbilt Project, With Modifications

Proposal returns to City Planning with additional infrastructure improvements.  On May 5, 2015 the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises voted to modify and approve the proposed One Vanderbilt skyscraper project and Vanderbilt Corridor rezoning plan.  (See previous CityLand coverage here.) The proposal as approved now includes a second transit hall on 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, as well as a 22 percent increase in the below-grade pedestrian space. The below-grade increase allows … <Read More>


Council Subcommittee Hears Testimony on One Vanderbilt

Representatives of the project and the Department of City Planning spoke during a four-hour hearing.  On April 13, 2015 the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises held a public hearing on One Vanderbilt, a proposed 1,450-foot commercial tower in East Midtown, as well as an accompanying proposal to rezone five blocks of Vanderbilt Avenue to create the Vanderbilt Corridor.  The building will be located adjacent to Grand Central Terminal, bounded by East 42nd Street … <Read More>


Simeon Bankoff: Taking the Context out of Contextual Zoning

In March 2015, the City Planning Commission announced a proposal called Zoning for Affordability and Quality, which broadly calls for three principal changes in the current citywide zoning resolution. The plan proposes to change and enlarge definitions of senior housing to include more types of housing providers than currently permitted. It also proposes to increase buildable space for senior housing in some instances. The proposal also seeks to lessen or some instances no longer mandate … <Read More>