With the recent completion of the Carroll Gardens rezoning, City Planning achieved its 100th rezoning since 2002, the year that Mayor Bloomberg entered office and appointed Amanda Burden the Chair of the City Planning Commission. City Planning is now celebrating this accomplishment on its website, which lays out the 100 rezonings on a timeline and an interactive map – they’re both very interesting and really demonstrate the extent to which the city’s zoning map has been changed over a relatively short period of time.

Check it out here: Neighborhoods Count – Celebrating 100 Rezonings

For many years, the Department of City Planning has been providing a Floor Area bonus (in certain zoning districts) to developers who provide some open space at the base of their building.

In recent years, this aspect of the zoning resolution has seen increased regulation and oversight.  By all accounts, this heightened attention and focus on design has produced much more desirable plazas, with seating, lighting, and other amenities previously not included in these open spaces.

The question remains, however, about what to do about plazas that were built 20 and 30 years ago, with arguably less regard for design and usability than those constructed today.  A property owner is under no obligation to make improvements to a previously constructed plaza.  Furthermore, there is very little incentive to upgrade a plaza, as the additional Floor Area was obtained years earlier and property owners sometimes prefer not to have seating in front of their building.

One property owner is addressing this issue head on.   (more…)

A coalition of well-known civic and community organizations have filed a lawsuit in NYS Supreme Court challenging the adequacy of City Planning’s environmental review process for the recently-adopted rezoning of Sunset Park, Brooklyn.  The Sunset Park rezoning contextually downzoned portions of the Brooklyn neighborhood, but also included an upzoning along the avenues. (more…)

In the closely watched Stuyvesant Town case, New York’s highest court ruled today that buildings enrolled in the J-51 tax abatement program are not subject to the rent stabilization law’s luxury decontrol provisions.  Thousands of buildings throughout New York City are enrolled in the J-51 program, which grants property tax benefits in return for the performance of capital improvements to an existing multiple dwelling or the conversion of a non-residential building to a multiple dwelling.

The ruling upsets a decade-old assumption, supported by a 1996 advisory opinion issued by DHCR, the state agency charged with administering rent stabilization, that enrollment in the J-51 program does not preclude deregulation.  There are myriad implications of the decision — which raises as many questions as it answers.

We will be watching this closely and hope to update you soon on the fallout from this significant decision.

On September 30, 2009 the City Council adopted the 161st Street/River Avenue Rezoning. All or portions of eights blocks in three areas along the 161st Street and River Avenue were rezoned to provide opportunities for new residential, commercial, and community facility development in the civic heart of the Bronx. A new zoning district (C6-3D) was created to facilitate development along the elevated subway line on River Avenue, and to employ the Inclusionary Housing Program to encourage development of affordable housing. The 161st Street/River Avenue rezoning is located in Community District 4, and is generally bound by River Avenue on the west, East 162nd Street to the north, Park Avenue to the east, and East 159th and East 153rd streets to the south.

This rezoning will encourage residential and commercial expansion in a transit-rich, high-profile area of the Bronx.  And did I mention Yankee Stadium is across the street???

Air rights  – a.k.a. (or m.p.k.a. – more properly known as) unused zoning floor area development rights – can be a great source of confusion – particularly when it comes to determining how to be sure when you buy them that you can use them.

In an important decision last year, the NYS Supreme Court concluded that merely buying unused zoning floor area from an adjoining parcel does not mean that “all zoning rights” needed to complete a development have been secured.

But, we are getting ahead of ourselves. (more…)

On August 19, 2009, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Justice announced a historic civil rights settlement with Westchester County, New York; the County Legislature approved the settlement on September 23, 2009. The landmark agreement will result in the construction of 750 units of affordable housing in neighborhoods with small minority populations; will remove existing impediments to fair and affordable housing; and will require the County to take active steps to ensure its housing and development practices are fair to families without regard to their race or ethnicity. (more…)

The City Council has unanimously approved the ‘Stalled Buildings Bill’.  Earlier this week, we covered the basics behind the bill.  The hundreds of stalled sites throughout the City can now enter the program and ensure, for the time being, that they can retain their permits (potentially vesting them under the old building code, the current zoning, and preventing possible landmarking issues).

On Wednesday, the Council’s Committee on Housing and Buildings unanimously approved the bill, sending it to the full Council.  Before voting on it, however, they made some amendments to the bill.  While it will not be easy or cheap to participate (and remain in good standing) in the stalled sites program, the benefits to developers, property owners, and their lenders is huge.  The City Council’s move to create this program will go a long way towards addressing community concerns surrounding the safety of stalled construction sites while also providing a major benefit to developers during the down market.

The updated bill – 1015A – now has a detailed list of what needs to be included in the maintenance and safety plan.  (more…)

It has been widely reported that the City is launching a new effort aimed at restricting hotels in manufacturing areas. The reports have stated that “City Hall” is under pressure from labor unions representing hotel workers and from advocates of industrial jobs to “do something”.
(more…)