Mayor and DOT Reveal Plans to Extend Life and Change BQE

The plan focuses on immediate monitoring and repairs to allow for more time to plan for the future. On August 4, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Hank Gutman announced a plan to extend the life of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) cantilever for at least 20 years with additional plans for the long-term. The plan is in four parts: preserving the structure; maintenance; expansion in monitoring; and developing a long-term … <Read More>


City Planning Approves Rockaway Beach Rezoning for Mixed-Use Buildings to Create a Gym

The proposed rezoning will allow for the facilitation of a new physical cultural establishment and the promotion of vibrancy and public engagement. On July 28, 2021, the City Planning Commission approved a zoning map amendment proposed by Beach 116th Associates LLC to facilitate the development of a gym located at 133 Beach 116th Street in Rockaway Beach. To facilitate the creation of the gym, the applicant requested a zoning map amendment to change the present … <Read More>


City Planning Holds Public Hearing for Addition of Dialysis Center to Nursing Home in Sheepshead Bay

The application will add square footage in the basement but not change the height of the building. On July 14, 2021, the City Planning Commission heard an application for an upgrade in residential rezoning to allow for the construction of a dialysis center and other changes at the Sheepshead Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at 2840 Knapp Street in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. 


COMMENTARY: Joan Davidson and the J.M. Kaplan Foundation

If all the charitable foundations everywhere in the United States were lined up according to impact, the J.M. Kaplan Fund would be in the top ten. The J.M. Kaplan Fund was established in 1945 by Jacob M. Kaplan and was led for thirty years by J.M.’s daughter, Joan K. Davidson. Joan was a fixture in New York City’s political, charitable, and civic world, and she used her ideas and enthusiasms to make New York City … <Read More>



City Planning Launches Open House Webpage for Public Engagement with Four Future Bronx Metro-North Stations

The Department’s ongoing study uses community feedback to assess land use needs in the East Bronx. On April 30, 2021, the Department of City Planning released a new public engagement website for four new future Metro-North train stations in the east Bronx. The Metro-North Stations are planned for the Hunts Point, Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park and Co-Op City neighborhoods and will connect with Penn Station and locations further north. Currently, there is information for the <Read More>