In 2004 the island was rezoned to preserve suburban character and restrict population growth. Now islanders have decided they want a thriving downtown as well as quiet streets, so the zoning maps are again open for an edit.
Board members like some aspects of the city’s proposed rezoning of downtown Far Rockaway, but have concerns ranging from the impact of additional density on neighborhood infrastructure to a lack of clear labor standards.
Hoping to improve tenant engagement, NYCHA said it would let a group of residents review bids for a new mixed-income housing project at a Brooklyn development. But the authority balked when the tenants said they wanted to bring a lawyer.
‘We’re not offering a building like for the billionaires on 57th Street,’ the developer explained. ‘We’ll have apartments at $2 million up to maybe $5 million.’ Bargains like that threaten to destroy the design and demographics of a unique neighborhood.
A fifth of apartments at the 111th street project will be for families making below $24,480, and one fourth of units will be permanently rent-restricted.
Advocates want the city to require developers who take advantage of rezonings to hire local residents for construction jobs. The city fears a legal challenge, but San Francisco and Los Angeles are pushing ahead despite that risk.
There’s never much doubt that the new development envisioned during a debate over a neighborhood rezoning is going to arrive. What of the promises that help the mayor get the rezoning approved?
The protestors called on the de Blasio administration to take on a broader rezoning of the area in order to control development. But the mayor isn’t the only politician who hasn’t rallied to that cause: While de Blasio has said “no.” other local pols have said nothing at all.
Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen announced at a conference on Friday that the de Blasio administration will seek a way to create a zoning code that requires manufacturing uses among a mix of other uses like residential and commercial.
Community groups and trade unions want the construction work done in rezoning neighborhoods to go to local residents and pay union wages. And advocates aren’t convinced that the legal and financial counter-arguments hold water.
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