Department of City Planning

The Bloomberg administration wants to require parking for bicycles in new buildings citywide, mandating all large new office and apartment developments to set aside space. The initiative, which could face resistance from the real estate industry, is slated to enter a seven-month public approval process today.

The Department of City Planning, led by Amanda Burden, is spearheading the effort, which takes the form of a zoning change mandating the new parking regulations (details in the press release here). Based on the city’s planned zoning changes, large office buildings would need to set aside one bicycle spot for every 7,500 square feet of office space (meaning a building the size of the 1.2 million-square-foot Chrysler Building would need about 150 bicycle parking spaces). Residential buildings with more than 10 apartments would need to make bicycle parking spaces for 50 percent of the units.  read more »

The Department of City Planning has named department insider Edith Hsu-Chen as its new director of the Manhattan office, which is currently seeking to rezone a large swath of the Lower East Side.

Ms. Hsu Chen's promotion--she was previously deputy director of the borough office--comes after the departure of Ray Gastil, who left for Seattle in July.  read more »

Borough President Scott Stringer has endorsed the city's proposed rezoning of the Lower East Side, giving a boost to a plan that would allow for more residential development while adding restrictions to other types, including dorms.

His endorsement of the plan, issued today, comes as the City Planning Commission gears up for a mega-hearing Wednesday, with throngs of community members expected to deliver testimony on proposed rezonings of the Lower East Side, the planned middle income-intensive Hunters Point South development near Long Island City, and the proposed redevelopment of Willets Point by Shea Stadium.

The Lower East Side rezoning cuts back on a density bonus given to "community facilities," which include dorms and buildings with medical offices and other uses, while allowing developers in parts of the neighborhood to build bigger if they include below-market rate housing.  read more »

We thought we’d post a few renderings from the city’s slideshow at its rowdy Coney Island scoping meeting Tuesday evening.

All goes without saying that renderings are a crucial tool in the battle to win public support for development projects in the city. The last batch made by the city, now somewhat obsolete given that the plan has since been modified, emphasized rides and roller coasters, whereas this time the city seems to be trying to stress the street-level vitality that could come as a result of the plan.

Renderings from the Department of City Planning:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Department of City Planning is forging ahead with its plan to rezone 114 blocks of the East Village and the Lower East Side to limit the height and density of future development, despite allegations of racism from community groups in the Bowery and Chinatown, which were not included in the rezoning.  read more »

The City Council is expected to pass a major rezoning of 125th Street this afternoon, opening up Harlem’s historic main thoroughfare to substantial levels of new development.

The move comes as the plan, pushed forward by the city and altered some by the Council, has met opposition from many in Harlem, who claim the rezoning will accelerate gentrification and displacement in the predominantly low-income African-American and Latino district.

Speaking to reporters, members of the Council sought to show the support they’ve received from the larger Harlem community for the plan, appearing with multiple religious leaders and community board chairs as they touted the plan.  read more »

Amanda Burden, director of the city’s Department of City Planning and chairwoman of the City Planning Commission, has been given a top designation by the American Institute of Certified Planners, the country’s major planners' organization.

Ms. Burden was inducted last night into the organization’s College of Fellows, a designation held by only about 400 members.

Ms. Burden’s work in the Planning Department has been a critical element of the Bloomberg administration’s legacy on development in this city, as she has crafted more than 80 rezonings, allowing for thousands of units of new housing while limiting development in many low-rise neighborhoods.

Even if many of the high-profile mega-projects championed by the city ultimately fail to be realized, the rezonings carry long-term impact, particularly the 2005 Hudson Yards rezoning that opened the far West Side to dense development.  read more »

The city's proposed 125th Street rezoning seems all but certain to pass the City Council, as a key Council member, Inez Dickens, signaled her support for a modified version of the plan this morning during a City Council subcommittee meeting. The majority of the Council is expected to follow Ms. Dickens’ lead on the vote, which would allow for substantial levels of new development along Harlem’s main commercial corridor.

The subcommittee members are voting now, according to two people at the hearing.  read more »

The City Council as early as tomorrow could approve the Bloomberg administration’s proposed rezoning of 125th Street, as a Council subcommittee lists the proposal on its agenda.

The rezoning would allow for substantially more density around 125th Street in Central Harlem, an action that is expected to bring much new development to the historic African-American corridor.  read more »

Late last week, we put up a post about how the Bloomberg administration agreed to exempt a Vornado RealtyTrust-owned site in Harlem from a new height limit to be established on 125th Street as part of a rezoning of the area. The City Council is expected to follow suit.

Getting to such a point, where Vornado would build its 600,000-square-foot Harlem Park office tower at Park Avenue about 40 feet higher than the 290-foot height limit, took a bit of wheeling and dealing.

In order to gain the community’s nod for the tower, and by association the expected approval of local Councilwoman Inez Dickens, Vornado had to work out an agreement with Community Board 11, pledging to give more than $1 million in concessions.  read more »

Harlem historian Michael Henry Adams just sent over an advisory to let us know he’s bringing the fight over the proposed 125th Street rezoning to the mayor’s doorstep at his East 79th Street townhouse, with plans to protest the proposal at 8 tonight.

Not too far away, and also a target of the protest, Mr. Adams pointed out, is the home of the Planning Department’s director, Amanda Burden, who has spearheaded the rezoning.  read more »

Some 400,000 of the already famous 1.1 million new New Yorkers that are expected to be living here come 2030 will be over the age of 65, the Department of City Planning said on Wednesday in detailing its population estimates.

That's a combination of people living longer and staying in the city longer. The school-age population will drop slightly, the City Planning report says. Needless to say, nightclubs may feel a bit of a crunch, but the early-bird special could make a big comeback.

- Matthew Schuerman

Just how long will Lake Related stick around? The former site of the Houseman and Fairbanks theaters and other buildings on West 42nd Street has been left in a state of soggy indecision since the Department of City Planning blocked an attempt in February to get a zoning bonus by including Cirque du Soleil at the base of a proposed apartment tower.

In the meantime, something else happened: the property, owned by the well-connected Related Companies, was included in the Hudson Yards tax incentive district approved earlier this week. But to qualify for the tax break, the company would have to build commercial instead of residential.  read more »

This Tuesday, Community Board 7 gave the nod to a proposed down-zoning of a swath of land from 97th to 110th streets between Riverside Drive and Central Park West. Most of the parcels of land will be rezoned from a classification of R7-2 to R8A or B, which will effectively limit the height of new buildings (interestingly, the R7-A classification, unlike most others, does not mandate a maximum height; rather, it's governed by "sky exposure planes"--see illustration from the Department of City Planning's Zoning Handbook).

(Update: Word's come down that, besides the Park West Village complex, most of the zoning will change from R8 to R8B--limiting heights to 50- to 60-foot street walls and 75-foot buildings.)  read more »

The D.C.P. has yet to weigh in, but it seems to be quite amenable lately to these types of down-zonings, which have happened recently in the Far West Village and the South Slope in Brooklyn.
-Matthew Grace

The Villager (you have to wait till tomorrow for the article to go online) reports today that the Landmarks Preservation Commission's Tuesday hearing was once again a face-off between supporters and opponents of developer Gregg Singer and his plan to convert the old P.S. 64, on East Ninth Street near Tompkins Square Park, to a school dorm.
After much debate and ado, the L.P.C. extended a standstill agreement until June 21, when it would convene once again to discuss the future of the building.
The Real Estate had a chat with Mr. Singer today, who wanted to clear up some misconceptions about his project. According to Mr. Singer, there's been a misunderstanding regarding the allowable floor-area ratio (F.A.R.) of the building. It's been reported that he's seeking a larger F.A.R. of 6.5 through a community-facility-use bonus. But, according to Mr. Singer, a deed restriction mandates that the property be developed for community use (such as the planned dorm), and the F.A.R. is 6.5 as of right. Whew! Everybody understand that? We've got a call out to the Department of City Planning right now to confirm that. Check back later for updates.
We took the occasion to ask Mr. Singer about his Article 78 and seperate $100 million civil lawsuit against the city, and he said he's confident that he'll prevail in both. "We think we're going to win that, and so does the city, so they're trying to stop it" through landmarking, he said.
Mr. Singer said that the city's conspired to pressure schools to not commit to using his planned dorm. As Mr. Singer said, schools that might need cooperation from the D.C.P. or Board of Standards and Appeals for future projects will not cross the Mayor on this particular project. But, he said, he's confident that the dorm will be used once--and if--it's built. Possible candidates include N.Y.U., the New School and S.V.A. Asked what would happen if no school agreed to use the dorm after it's built, Mr. Singer said that it would be "our financial loss--eventually the lenders would take over."
Mr. Singer also cautioned against what he said would be a bad legal precedent if the push for landmarking P.S. 64 went through. He insists that he has a legal right to build the dorm, and if activists stop his project, the door will be open to the capricious whims of activists to stop projects that on paper a developer has every right pursue.
See our earlier coversage of P.S. 64 here.
-Matthew Grace

Neighborhood Nerd Alert: If you get dizzy when the topic is zoning, stop reading now.

Here at the Real Estate we always have a hard time balancing your interest in neighborhood issues and city planning against the unbelievably impenetrable jargon of the field.

Which is why we found ourselves thumbing through, then reading almost cover-to-cover, the City Planning Commission's Zoning Handbook, released this week.

Along with The Works, the book by economic development veep Kate Ascher, the book is kind of essential to understanding the physical shape of New York neighborhoods.

Pages and pages in the front of the book take obscure zoning classifications with names that sound like droid lot-numbers and describe in plain language the character and objectives of each zoning class, complete with diagrams and pictures showing existing streets that exemplify the zone type.

Then the book goes through specific entries on different special zoning districts, and explains in as clear language as we've read how zoning changes are made law.

You can get a copy through the Department of City Planning's bookstore at 22 Reade Street, or order it on the DCP web site ($24.00 / $18.00 each for 10 or more copies).

Sample page after the jump.  read more »

- Tom McGeveran

Last night, Community Board 4 approved a letter to the Department of City Planning that recommended several changes to the city's zoning text regarding Theater Row, the area on 42nd Street between Ninth and 11th avenues.

The D.C.P. has been considering changes to "theater bonus" provisions in the area in part because of Related Companies' recent attempt to get a buildable-bulk bonus for constructing a 1,800-seat theater in a 60-story tower on 42nd Street at Dyer Avenue for Cirque de Soleil.

The D.C.P. invited the community to provide input on Feb. 8, 2006.

The zoning changes, whose "overarching purpose … is to ensure that the bonus is indeed an opportunity to facilitate small Off-Broadway theaters typical of Theater Row," are after the jump.  read more »

Last night, Brooklyn Community Board 7 overwhelmingly voted against HMS Associates' plan to build a 70-foot-high development at 614 Seventh Avenue in Sunset Park.

The neighborhood had recently been down-zoned by the Department of City Planning, and the lot in question has a 50-foot height limit. (See our previous coverage on the down-zoning here.) The community board found that HMS was not vested--meaning that the foundation wasn't completed--before the down-zoning took effect.  read more »

This past Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved certificates of appropriateness for two buildings at 414 Washington Street and 415-423 Washington Street in the Tribeca North Historic District. They will both be residential buildings.

Both buildings are designed by Joseph Pell Lombardi and Associates, and will be clad in red brick and have multipaned, arched windows. The first building, at 415 Washington Street, will be called the Fairchild & Foster Atelier after the enzyme company previously housed on the site. It will be 105 feet high and have eight stories.

The other building, at 414 Washington Street (pictured), will have eight stories, at 106 feet, and will be called the Pearline Soap Atelier, after a soap company that once occupied the site.

Although both properties sit in a manufacturing zone, the Department of City Planning is expected to rezone the North Tribeca neighborhood soon, allowing for residential uses.

The developer of the properties was reported to be Atlantic Walk LLC, but there are rumors that the project is changing hands. We'll let you know when we find out.  read more »

-Matthew Grace

We're a little late on this one, but last week the Landmark Preservation Commission approved RFR Realty's plan under Section 74-79 of the city's zoning text for its development at 610 Lexington Avenue. RFR is halfway home now--it now needs to get approval from the Department of City Planning to transfer air rights from the Seagram Building, at 375 Park, before construction begins.

Section 74-79 allows developers to transfer air rights from landmarked buildings as long as the upkeep of the landmarked property is guaranteed. RFR, which owns both the Seagram Building and 610 Lexington--it's an old YWCA, for now--has agreed to maintain the property for perpetuity (which means, if it sells the building, its maintenance will be written into the deed).  read more »

The new 257,000-square-foot, 62-story building, if and when it's built, will be residential condos and a hotel.

-Matthew Grace

Last night, Community Board 5 narrowly passed a resolution supporting the transfer of air rights from the iconic Seagram Building, at 375 Park Avenue, to a new development at 610 Lexington Avenue (the transparent building in the photo of the developer's model).

RFR Realty LLC is the owner of both the Seagram Building and the property to be developed, currently home to to a YWCA that will be demolished to make way for the new 257,000-square-foot, 62-story building, which will be 709 feet high.

The board's resolution was the first of several steps that RFR Realty must go through before construction of the new building begins. RFR is utilizing section 74-79 of the city's zoning resolution, a provision that sets forth rules for transferring air rights from a landmarked building to another property. In return for selling the air rights, the owner of the landmarked building must agree to maintain it for perpetuity (and if the building changes hands, that provision is written into the deed transfer).

Since RFR owns both properties, representatives readily agreed.

The new building will feature commercial retail space, 14 stories of hotel space and 44 stories of residential condominiums. A representative of architectural firm Foster and Partners, which is designing the building, told the community board that the building was designed to fit in seamlessly with the surrounding buildings with its bold mullions and toned-down spandrels to emphasize its vertical sweep.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission must still rule on the application; after that, its next stop will be the community board's land-use committee. It will then go before the Department of City Planning.  read more »

-Matthew Grace

The New York Times reports the Jets and the Giants will collaborate on a $800 million stadium in the Meadowlands. It's the first time two N.F.L. teams will have financed and constructed an arena together. It'll be share land with Xanadu, a $2 billion shopping and entertainment facility. Elsewhere in the Gray Lady, there's a report on plans for a half million square feet of retail down Ground Zero way. Wal-Mart is pleased.

It's almost, but not quite, a palindrome, so it's gotta be good. The Post reports that a freedom-free 9/11 museum at Ground Zero will be built by 9/11/09.  read more »

The News reports that residents in the South Slope are getting steamed at developers who are trying to beat the clock on a rezoning that'll take effect in November limiting the size and scale of new buildings. People have been complaining and the Department of City Planning rushed a much-approved down-sizing through. But, like in the Far West Village right now, developers are racing to build, build, build before they're stopped by the new zoning. Remember the bad old days of Prospect Park? Yeah, neither do we. Back then we were too busy scoring in Thompson Square Park. But the News does; now thank your FIDO for cleaning up the park.

This morning, the Department of City Planning had a standing-room-only crowd at its public hearing to discuss the proposed rezoning of the Far West Village. The drive to down-zone this stretch of Manhattan, an irregular plot of land west of Greenwich Street between Horatio and Morton streets, has been spearheaded by the Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation.

Attendance in support of the plan was overwhelming, with most people urging the board not to delay the zoning change; they believe several developers are racing against the clock to construct large, out-of-scale buildings under the current zoning, such as Richard Born, at 166 Perry Street. GVSHP executive director Andrew Berman also pleaded with the board to reconsider two conspicuous exemptions in the plan: the Superior Ink Factory, at 70 Bethune Street, which Related Companies wants to develop into a 120-foot-high residential development, and the Whitehall Storage building, which extends from Charles to West 10th streets between West and Washington streets, where the Witkoff Group is is planning a 175-foot-high project. A couple of people spoke up against the rezoning, including Cary Tamarkin, who is planning a to develop a building at 393 West 12th Street. Mr. Tamarkin said that he bought his property before the rezoning proposal, and if passed, it will severely affect the economics of his project.  read more »

The DCP has not yet set a date to vote on the rezoning.

- Matthew Grace

It's decrepit and graffiti-covered today, but expect this little jewel of a building at 209 Elizabeth Street in Soho to be a luxurious single-family manse soon.

The Department of City Planning yesterday approved the construction of a rooftop penthouse to this former firehouse and bakery; earlier this year it was O.K.'d to be converted to residential use from its commercial designation.  read more »

Originally the home of Hook and Ladder Company No. 9, it was also the site of a massive fire back in 1835 that forced the evacuation of hundreds of neighboring residents. As you can see by the awning, it eventually was converted into a bakery, La Rosa and Son. As far as we can tell (city records for this property are really scarce), Elizabeth Firehouse LLC acquired the property in June of this year from Mott 232 Associates LLC.

The property sits in the Special Little Italy District, so it has to go before the D.C.P. before any major modifications are made.

Today, the Department of City Planning is meeting to review a proposal to rezone the Far West Village, from roughly west of Greenwich and Washington streets to the Hudson River, between 14th and Morton Streets. The D.C.P. will be considering a down-zoning, which would decrease the bulk and maximum height of new buildings in the area.

According to people at the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, the Superior Ink Factory, at 70 Bethune Street at the West Side Highway, might fall victim to the rezoning, allowing Related Companies to build a Gwathmey Siegel Associates-designed 20-story, 270-foot glass tower on the factory's site (the same team that built Astor Place's monstrous "Sculpture for Living"; when that undulating behemoth pops into our view upon emerging from Astor Place, it in fact induces a death wish).

But the rezoning also sets the stage for landmarking the entire district, something the Landmarks Preservation Commission is slated to calendar later this year. In the tit-for-tat world of Manhattan commercial real estate, it might require the sacrifice of the Superior Ink Factory--a building that evokes the bygone era of the West Side's industrial roots--to protect other buildings in the highly desirable, and profitable, nabe.

This is only the beginning of the process, though. The city allows seven months for the public-review process to wend its way around the various city agencies and public hearings. The rezoning proposal will land on Community Board 2's lap next week before moving on to the Borough President's office. If all goes well, it'll go back to the D.C.P. before finally being voted on by the City Council. No dates are set, but Rachaelle Raynoff, the D.C.P. spokesperson, says the agency is trying to expedite the process, hopefully resolving it before year's end.  read more »

- Matthew Grace

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