Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises · Wednesday, February 12, 2020
The one where a Harlem icon's tenants packed the room to fight the Olnick Lenox Terrace rezoning panel by panel
Contents & search
items
16
laid over
9
approved
5
filed
2
land-use items
16
affordable
675
avg AMI
43%
CEQR: Other
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A routine zoning subcommittee agenda of Brooklyn and Queens rezonings turned into a marathon referendum on Lenox Terrace, the historic Harlem complex the Olnick Organization wants to upzone for new towers. District Council Member Bill Perkins led the opposition, swearing in witnesses and warning the plan 'will displace thousands of residents.' Tenants, preservationists and the Harlem Tenants Council testified in panel after panel that promised jobs and affordability 'never materialized,' invoking Robert Moses, urban renewal, and 28-story shadows. The applicant Olnick pledged 400-500 affordable
From the room
“a binding agreement with the community board which would be recorded against the property and which would mandate that for uh in perpetuity that the ground floor commercial uses be devoted 25 percent uh of the lot area to m-cround uses”
— Richard Lobel
“an application to request a C24 overlay for it to allow for ground floor and second story commercial use in what is now an R six zoning district in Coney Island”
— Eric Palatnik
“the intention would be to develop this at option one so with the current iteration at 64 units it would produce roughly 16 units of uh mandatory inclusionary housing units”
— Richard Lobel
“part of the uh support of the community board was conditioned upon the ability of the applicant to enter into a binding agreement with the community board”
— Richard Lobel
01
The decisions
16
01LU 0606-2020Approved
GO Broome Street Development
with 2 related matters · LU 0607-2020 · LU 0608-2020
Moved to approve the Go Broome development proposal across the LU 0606 through 0608 items.
Mandatory inclusionary housing
208 affordableavg 43% AMI
Subcommittee action
15
Antonio ReynosoBarry S. GrodenchikCarlina Rivera Francisco P. MoyaStephen T. LevinAntonio ReynosoBarry S. GrodenchikCarlina Rivera Francisco P. MoyaStephen T. LevinAntonio ReynosoBarry S. GrodenchikCarlina Rivera Francisco P. MoyaStephen T. Levin
Zara/503 Broadway commitments: reduce off-hour deliveries from 12 to 10 per week; restrict all pickups/deliveries on Mercer Street to 7am-7pm; off-hour deliveries at a Broadway store entrance between 10pm-7am.
Zara/503 Broadway will mitigate noise by eliminating mechanical lifts, hand-carrying all boxes from trucks into stores, and turning off truck engines while parked; a dedicated community liaison will respond to calls, texts, emails, with corporate HQ assistance.
Subcommittee action
5
Antonio ReynosoBarry S. GrodenchikCarlina Rivera Francisco P. MoyaStephen T. Levin
Taken up as a preconsidered item tied to the 2513-2523 Avenue Z matter.
Conditions
Modification changes the proposed R3-2 district to an R3-1 district to adhere more closely to the prevailing character of surrounding blocks and address community concerns about increased neighborhood traffic volume; Councilmember Deutsch supports as modified.
Subcommittee action
5
Antonio ReynosoBarry S. GrodenchikCarlina Rivera Francisco P. MoyaStephen T. Levin
Pulled from the calendar after DCA withdrew its recommendation pending further review; Amsterdam New York LLC (Bluestone Lane) had sought to renew its revocable consent for the unenclosed cafe at 417 Amsterdam Avenue.
Subcommittee action
5
Antonio ReynosoBarry S. GrodenchikCarlina Rivera Francisco P. MoyaStephen T. Levin
Heard the request to modify 1984 restrictive declaration D-94 for the 46-74 Gansevoort Street property in the West Village, adding use groups 3 and 4 community facilities and use group 6B offices to the permitted uses; restrictions on rear-yard eating-and-drinking and entertainment would stay in place, and the City Planning Commission had recently approved the change. The applicant pointed to the Council's 2003 modification made over community concerns and said it had spent considerable time working with the community, Community Board 2, and the Speaker's office to secure operational, bulk, an
Mandatory inclusionary housing
Opposition & support
Weinstein states the 2003 office-use-prohibition plan failed as economics changed; there has been massive development on the west side of the block.
Conditions
Current (second amended) declaration permits use groups 11, 16, 17, 18; use groups 6 and 9 except no use group 6B offices; no eating-and-drinking establishments with entertainment; no eating and drinking in rear yards or on the roof.
Applicant agreed to restrictions on the number of liquor licenses and on building height to benefit quality of life for surrounding neighbors.
Restrictions on use of floor area and outdoor areas, including limits on hours of operation for outdoor areas and a prohibition on music and amplified sound in the outdoor areas, in direct response to community discussions.
CB2 resolution whereas-clause 11: space made available to a nonprofit service organization at 711 Weehawken Street at $25 per square foot with an increase every five years; in lieu of space the service organization and/or Aurora may opt for an annuity or lump sum approximately commensurate with the value of the rent, exact amount negotiated by Aurora and the organization.
Land-use review
CB Manhattan CB2
Where it standsCB Manhattan CB2 ✓→Committee→Full Council
Heard the request for a C2-4 commercial overlay within an R6 district in West Brighton, Brooklyn, which would permit commercial use in a new mixed-use development and clear the way for a BSA special permit for a physical culture establishment.
Heard the request to change an M1-1 district to R7D/C2-4 with an MIH text amendment using both Option 1 and Option 2 in Crown Heights, enabling a roughly 64-unit, 9-story mixed-use building with about 16 permanent affordable units.
Mandatory inclusionary housing
16 affordable
Option 1avg 60% AMI
Option 116 affordable
Conditions
At least 0.25 FAR of the ground floor of the building at 979-985 Pacific Street to be dedicated to preferred M-Crown job-creating use (per CB8's Nov 14 resolution).
Applicant limits development at the 979-985 Pacific Street site to no more than nine stories.
CB8 support requires that lots south of Pacific be rezoned to R7A/C2-4, consistent with the September 12 M-Crown guidelines; CB8 asks the City Council to amend the requested zoning.
Land-use review
CB Brooklyn Community Board 8 Approve With Conditions
Heard the request for a C1-3 commercial overlay in an R5B district in Dyker Heights, sought to legalize an existing commercial office use already operating in the building.
At the request of Queens Community Board 2, the narrow portion of the lot was made open space rather than at-grade parking; the developer is accommodating that request.
Heard the package for the Lenox Terrace proposal (LU 632 through 635) , a rezoning from R7-2/C1-2 to R8/C1-5, an MIH text amendment using Options 1 and 2, and special permits for a large-scale general development and reduced parking. The applicant said the plan would strengthen the existing complex by building over six acres of open space and renovating apartments, buildings, lobbies and corridors with no rent increase for current residents.
Opposition & support
Council Member Perkins expresses continued opposition to the Lenox Terrace application; for almost a decade he has supported residents and the community's opposition, holding dozens of meetings during his tenure in the NY State Senate and NYC Council, meeting with consultants, housing, labor, and environmental experts; he has not changed his view that the project is not good for the community.
Perkins lists infrastructure burdens: overcrowded schools, transit systems, subway platforms, pedestrian/vehicular byways, parks, libraries, and hospitals, for a community already lacking sufficient resources.
Perkins characterizes the Olnick organization as a bad player in the community for years, citing lack of services (broken elevators, leaking ceilings, mice, bed-bug infestations) and refusal to upgrade aging units, nurturing animosity and distrust; current residents have seen rents increase steadily.
Perkins requests his colleagues join with the Borough President (Gale Brewer), Community Board 10, and Lenox Terrace residents in voicing a definitive no to the application, citing the five-year (sic) construction impact.
Conditions
Applicant commits that new-building development will not happen without concurrent upgrades to existing buildings, and stands ready to memorialize these commitments in a binding and enforceable tenant benefits agreement with existing residents.
Applicant commits to capital improvements (tens of thousands of dollars) to kitchens and bathrooms of every unit not renovated since 2000, at no cost / no rent increase to existing residents, plus renovations to all six lobbies and hallways with new lighting/paint/carpeting, concurrent with new construction.
Since 2013 the community and Lenox Terrace residents have opposed the upzoning and asked the applicant to downscale the scope of the project to as-of-right development.
Inez Barron: Which land use items are we voting on — items 618 through 622 (the Tin Pan)?
Procedure
Chair Francisco Moya opens the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises meeting; notes Councilmembers Gridnchek (Gjonaj), Chin, and Perkins present — Francisco P. Moya
Moya clarifies Lenox Terrace is hearing-only today; no vote on that item — Francisco P. Moya
Opens hearing on 271 Sea Breeze Avenue proposal — Francisco P. Moya
Chair closes the Grand Pacific hearing after no other members of the public wish to testify; item will be laid over. — Francisco P. Moya
+3 more procedural steps
02
The people
On the dais · 2
Donovan J. RichardsRory I. Lancman
Public testimony: 13 in favor · 13 opposed
Practitioners & applicants
Zach Weinstein · Elizabeth Bennett · Frederica Siegel · Bill Perkins · Ethan Goodman · Jean Covington · Cora Percival · Cordell Clear · Len Shibar · Savannah Washington · +20 more
03
The intelligence
Every parcel, owner, and applicant in this meeting, cross-referenced against Zonable’s NYC ownership, enforcement & legislative graph — the record behind the record.
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Owner portfolios, open OATH/ECB violations, 311 & DOB permits across every parcel discussed, developer track records, and an “ask this meeting” chat. For this meeting: 498 oath/ecb hearings across the 3 sites discussed.
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