Limited rezonings along Carroll Street approved

Courtesy The Center for Negative Thinking LLC

Separate public and private proposals impacted eight lots left out of the Carroll Gardens/Columbia Street rezoning. On April 28, 2011, the City Council approved independent proposals by the Department of City Planning and a private developer, Marshall Sohne, to rezone portions of Carroll Street between Columbia and Van Brunt Streets in Brooklyn’s Columbia Street Waterfront District. The two proposals impacted portions of the north and south side … <Read More>


First Department sends adult zoning law back for trial

Adult businesses challenged constitutionality of 2001  amendments to City’s  zoning resolution. A Department of City Planning study concluded in 1994 that the  City’s adult entertainment businesses caused certain negative secondary effects, such as increased crime and decreased property values. In response to this study, the City amended the zoning resolution in 1995 to bar “adult establishments” from all residential zones and most commercial and manufacturing districts. Adult establishments were defined as commercial businesses whereby a … <Read More>


Council approves Bronx contextual rezoning

Proposed Webster Avenue/Bedford Park/Norwood rezoning. Image Courtesy of Department of City Planning.

Eighty-block rezoning encourages residential development along Webster Avenue and limits out-of-character development in Norwood and Bedford Park neighborhoods. On March 23, 2011, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s 80-block Webster Avenue/Bedford Park/Norwood Rezoning plan. The rezoning affected thirteen blocks along Webster Avenue between 193rd and 211th Streets and the surrounding residential side streets of Bedford Park and Norwood. … <Read More>


Bayside health club rezoning approved

Image: Courtesy of NYC Department of City Planning.

Queens health club requested rezoning in order to apply for BSA special permit after operating without a valid certificate of occupancy for seventeen years. On January 18, 2011, the City Council approved Lucille Roberts Health Club’s rezoning proposal for five lots along Bell Boulevard between 42nd Avenue and the Long Island Railroad right-of-way in Bayside, Queens. The approval changed the area’s commercial overlay from C1-2 to C2-2, … <Read More>


Zoning text altered for Staten Island and the Bronx

Special rules seek to protect residential neighborhoods and encourage development of day care and medical facilities in commercial districts. On January 18, 2011, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s amendment to the Lower Density Growth Management Area (LDGMA) regulations that apply to Staten Island and Bronx Community District 10. The amendment limits the development of out-of-context medical facilities and day care centers in low-density residential areas and encourages their construction in commercial … <Read More>


Rezoning of S.I. commercial corridors approved

Staten Island proposed new zoning. Image: courtesy NYC Department of City Planning.

Plan brings three separate commercial corridors into conformance with zoning regulations. On January 18, 2011, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s proposal to apply commercial overlays to three commercial corridors comprising 28 total blocks in Staten Island: Richmond Avenue from Victory Boulevard to Travis Avenue; Hylan Boulevard between Naughton and Seaver Avenues; and Hylan Boulevard between Richmond Avenue and Goodall … <Read More>