City of New York
A view of Far Rockaway from the city's new tracking tool.
Four-and-a-half years into the de Blasio administration, the city is about four-and-a-half rezonings into the 15 or so the mayor in 2015 indicated he was interested in pursuing. East New York, Downtown Far Rockway, East Harlem and Jerome Avenue have been rezoned, and Inwood’s proposed rezoning is approaching a final vote.
Central to all the rezoning discussions has been the question of what would be in play besides merely redrawing the lines that tell developers what they can build—what transit improvements, education investments, open-space plans, job-development efforts and other tools would be applied to each neighborhood.
That broader view followed logically from the administration’s commitment to do more comprehensive planning, and not just zoning, for which it has received mixed marks.
It also responded to the demands of communities who were nervous about the impact of new development, and who would benefit from it.
On Friday the administration unveiled an online “NYC Rezonings Commitment Tracker” listing the four rezoned residential neighborhoods and the Greater East Midtown rezoning. The clickable map gives some details on where commitments stand.
With the bulk of de Blasio’s second term ahead, the administration is teeing up a Gowanus rezoning likely to undergo public review beginning in the fall. Discussions continue in Bushwick. It’s unclear where the potential Bay Street, Long Island City or Chinatown plans stand and the conversation is in early stages around Southern Boulevard in the Bronx.
In other words, there will be new tabs added to this tracker before the mayor is done, but it’s not easy to say how many.
2 thoughts on “City Launches Online Tracking Tool for Rezoning Commitments”
The Bay Street S.I. zoning appears to have fallen off the radar. The area is in Debbie Rose’s district (CD 50). She appears to support it in principle. BP James Oddo is opposed to the idea of up to 16-story apartment buildings in the Bay Street corridor due to the area’s extremely limited road/water/sewer infrastructure. Other than that it’s faded away as a local news story.
Rumors are that some groups on the east shore want to upzone the areas adjacent to the SI Railway stations to allow for small apartment buildings with ground floor retail. This comes up ever few years but it’s doubtful.
I can see where this will benefit developers hell bent on destroying neighborhoods like Sheepshead Bay .