Developers and residents claimed rezoning was racially motivated. On September 15, 2005, the City Council approved a zoning map amendment to rezone a 21- block area encompassing Mott Creek and the West Lawrence section of Far Rockaway in Queens. The proposal was initiated by area residents concerned about their community’s over-development.
It called for the rezoning of an area bounded by Hicksville Road to the north, Beach 9th Street and Beach 6th Street to the … <Read More>
Funding from the Avenue NYC and Neighborhood 360 grant programs will be awarded to 24 nonprofits working towards pandemic recovery in low to moderate income neighborhoods. On July 13, 2022, the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) announced it will award $3.8 million in multi-year grants through the Avenue NYC and Neighborhood 360 programs. This investment will be divided among 24 community-based development organizations working in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods.
The newly financed homes keep New York City on track to meet its goal to provide 300,000 affordable homes by 2026. On February 9, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the City financed the construction and preservation of 29,521 affordable homes in 2020. Fifty-seven percent of the affordable homes financed in 2020 will serve families of three that earn less than $52,000 per year. The city has financed over 177,000 homes through the Housing … <Read More>
The expansion provides free legal assistance for tenants in five additional ZIP codes. On December 13, 2019, the Mayor’s Office announced an expansion of the Right to Counsel program that provides free legal assistance to New Yorkers fighting eviction. The Right to Counsel program, implemented by a ZIP code by ZIP code approach, will be expanded to five more ZIP codes across the City.
Edgemere Commons receives mixed reaction from the Rockaway community. On September 25, 2019, City Planning unanimously approved the Rockaway Limited Partnership’s application to redevelop an existing superblock in the Edgemere neighborhood of Far Rockaway, Queens. The site, which formerly housed Peninsula Hospital, is a paved over, impermeable surface lot located north of Rockaway Beach Boulevard, south of Beach Channel Drive east of Beach 53rd Street and west of Beach 50th Street. The development … <Read More>
Mayor’s Office agrees to create community committees to find new users. On April 9, 2007, the Planning Commission approved four applications by DCAS to sell four closed firehouses in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. The plan sparked controversy with residents, community boards, Borough Presidents Scott Stringer and Marty Markowitz, and Council Members Bill de Blasio and David Yassky, who argued that their districts needed increased FDNY services and, if the firehouses remained closed, only a community … <Read More>