Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises · Thursday, October 3, 2019
The one where Far Rockaway argued whether a developer's 'food desert' fix would feed the neighborhood or sell it short
Contents & search
items
12
approved
8
laid over
4
land-use items
12
avg AMI
57%
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The marquee fight was Arker Companies' massive Edgemere redevelopment in Far Rockaway (C 190325 ZMQ): 2,200 affordable units, a 20,000 sq ft supermarket for a federally designated food desert, hundreds of construction jobs. Local CM Donovan Richards pressed hard on 50% local hiring, solar energy, and dust control; pastors and residents testified it would revive a 'desolated area.' But opponents countered the community was 'selling itself short,' that Community Board 14 had rejected it 28-to-5, and that the local councilman himself didn't support it. Repeat land-use counsel Richard Lobel and se
From the room
“the uh East Harlem rezoning not only maintained C2 commercial overlays for most of its overlays, but also now has done away with the PCE special permit”
— Richard Lobel
“two new buildings within um uh the flood zone post sandy one our senior housing property in the Rockaways, um and the other on Bay Street in Staten Island”
— Daniel Moritz
“the applicant indicated that he would request only 32 chairs when he went before Community Board 2's SLA licensing committee in October 2018”
— Francisco P. Moya
“the construction of the proposed project would result in the potential for significant adverse construction related impacts related to traffic, pedestrian and noise”
— Donovan J. Richards
01
The decisions
12
01LU 0529-2019Approved
210 Sixth Avenue
Took up a revocable consent for an unenclosed sidewalk cafe sized at twenty-four tables and forty-eight chairs.
The deal
Site
210 Sixth Avenue
Conditions
modification approval/consent awaits operation of cafe through summer 2020 for all parties to review
approve with modification reducing Lola Taverna from 24 tables/48 chairs to 16 tables/32 chairs; Speaker Johnson in support as modified
Land-use review
CB Manhattan Community Board 2 Approve
CB Manhattan Community Board 2 Approve
Subcommittee action
6
Antonio ReynosoBarry S. GrodenchikCarlina Rivera Donovan J. RichardsFrancisco P. MoyaStephen T. Levin
Properties210 Sixth Avenue
Where it standsCB Manhattan Community Board 2 ✓→Committee ✓→Full Council
Antonio ReynosoBarry S. GrodenchikCarlina Rivera Donovan J. RichardsFrancisco P. MoyaStephen T. LevinAntonio ReynosoBarry S. GrodenchikCarlina Rivera Donovan J. RichardsFrancisco P. MoyaStephen T. LevinAntonio ReynosoBarry S. GrodenchikCarlina Rivera Donovan J. RichardsFrancisco P. MoyaStephen T. Levin
Approved alongside LU items 534 and 535, clearing the Left Rack City Parking Garage proposal.
Subcommittee action
12
Antonio ReynosoBarry S. GrodenchikCarlina Rivera Donovan J. RichardsFrancisco P. MoyaStephen T. LevinAntonio ReynosoBarry S. GrodenchikCarlina Rivera Donovan J. RichardsFrancisco P. MoyaStephen T. Levin
Antonio ReynosoBarry S. GrodenchikCarlina Rivera Donovan J. RichardsFrancisco P. MoyaStephen T. LevinAntonio ReynosoBarry S. GrodenchikCarlina Rivera Donovan J. RichardsFrancisco P. MoyaStephen T. Levin
Advanced a rezoning changing the existing R7-2 district to R8 and the R7-2/C1-5 to R8/C1-5.
Mandatory inclusionary housing
Subcommittee action
12
Antonio ReynosoBarry S. GrodenchikCarlina Rivera Donovan J. RichardsFrancisco P. MoyaStephen T. LevinAntonio ReynosoBarry S. GrodenchikCarlina Rivera Donovan J. RichardsFrancisco P. MoyaStephen T. Levin
with 4 related matters · LU 0551-2019 · LU 0552-2019 · LU 0553-2019 · LU 0554-2019
Took up the Peninsula Hospital Redevelopment Plan (LU 550-554), a package of a city map amendment, rezonings of R5 to C4-4 and C8-1 to C4-3A, a C1-2 overlay, a large-scale general development special permit modifying bulk and sign rules, and a zoning text amendment.
Mandatory inclusionary housing
avg 13% AMI
Option 1avg 80% AMI
avg 55% AMI
Conditions
District council member signals that community benefits and amenities accompanying the housing must be part of the plan as a precondition to his support ('to get to a yes')
Five key community benefits
Community center
school mitigation
open space mitigation
developer committed to working with 32BJ SEIU for good-paying building service jobs
Took up a proposal to establish a C2-5 commercial overlay within an existing R10A district, requested chiefly to allow a physical cultural establishment (PCE).
Considered the 44-01 Northern Boulevard rezoning (with text amendment N190125 ZRQ), which would rezone an M1-1 district to R7X and R6B with a C2-4 overlay and set a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing area under Options 1 and 2 to facilitate a four- and ten-story building of roughly 335 dwelling units, ground-floor retail, and 156 parking spaces.
50% local hire; quarterly hiring reports to council office and local community board
identify additional active open space within study area OR renovate active basketball/racquetball courts at Rockaway Community Park, coordinated with Dept of Parks and Recreation
taller construction fences in certain areas; pre-building-permit requirement to re-engage DOT with full vetted construction plan analyzing construction traffic
baseline Enterprise Green Communities; trending toward LEED Gold certification; designing to standards close to LEED Gold; solar panels on every building
02
The people
On the dais · 1
Rory I. Lancman
Public testimony: 5 in favor · 1 opposed
Practitioners & applicants
Steve Wygoda · Richard Blodgett · Alfonso Renato · Bob Gormley · Bruce Jacobs · Daniel Moritz · Donnell Peterson · Tamara Jacobs · Reverend H. Young · Evan D. Gray Sr. · +8 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: 330 oath/ecb hearings across the 5 sites discussed.