The city's proposal to rezone part of the Upper West Side to discourage big box chain stores and banks from proliferating will have "unanticipated consequence," according to the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District. BID Executive Director Barbara Adler tells us the city's plan "is a solution looking for a problem. We have no problem on Columbus now. Columbus has been able to weather all markets for many years, it's in the historic district, it's different from Broadway and Amsterdam, and we feel tampering with our storefronts and telling property owners what they can or can't do would be huge mistake. " more ›

A new study out of NYU suggests that the city's feared and reviled rezoning efforts may not have done so much damage after all. It covers a period from 2003 to 2007 when 18 percent of city properties were rezoned under the Bloomberg administration and shows that, unexpectedly, the measures didn't move towards denser residency as a rule. In fact, "on 86 percent of the lots that were rezoned, building capacity was reduced or limited, or limits were placed on the kind of structure that could be built," reports the Times. more ›

A day after the City Council approved to rezone a mostly industrial stretch of land on the border of Williamsburg, Bushwick and Bedford Stuyvessant, a State Supreme Court judge ordered an injunction. According to CityRoom, "It came in response to a lawsuit the lawyers filed on Tuesday, claiming, among other things, that the process that led to the rezoning excluded and discriminated against minority groups around the Broadway Triangle site, including blacks and Latinos, violating the Constitution and federal and state civil rights laws." Now any work on the site will have to wait until a hearing in March. more ›

City Council approved a residential rezoning plan for the so-called Broadway Triangle — a largely industrial swath of land on the border of Williamsburg, Bushwick and Bedford Stuyvessant where developmental interests have pitted neighborhoods, religious groups, and ethnic groups against each other. The Council voted 36 to 10 with four abstentions in favor of the rezoning, which will allow the construction of low-rise buildings containing 1,851 units of housing, more than 800 for people with low and moderate incomes. Courier Life reporter Aaron Short captures some of the drama from inside City Hall on his blog. more ›

After years of discussion, the City Council voted 44-2-1 in favor of rezoning Coney Island per the Bloomberg administration's plan for the 27-acre area, which includes hotels, retail shops, and a new roller coaster. And it looks like the city is working out a deal with Thor Equites' Joe Sitt, the developer who bought much of the land at Coney Island in hopes of his own ambitious hotel-amusement park plans. more ›

During an all-day public hearing to review the city's rezoning proposal for Coney Island, the City Council seemed poised to veto the plan, which would designate part of the area as parkland to create a new 27-acre indoor-outdoor amusement district and encourage the development of towers up to 27 stories tall, expanded retail spaces, and 4,500 new housing units (800 of which would be built to be affordable units). Zoning Subcommittee Chair Tony Avella essentially recommended sending the plans back to the drawing board, which would be a victory for developer Joe Sitt, who's at a stalemate with the city over 10 acres of land he's bought up and refused to sell for city's offered price. But when pressed by council members yesterday, Economic Development Corp. President Seth Pinsky admitted that the city is prepared to do whatever it takes to obtain Sitt's property: "I'm not saying we will use eminent domain, but in fairness to your question, I'm not saying we won't." If the plan moves forward to the full council, a vote must be held by July 29th, or by July 13th, if it wishes to modify the plan and send it back to the Planning Commission. more ›

Despite protest from Coney Island residents who say they need more affordable housing, the City Planning Commission voted 12-0 today to approve a controversial rezoning plan for the area. The proposal would rezone Coney Island to encourage the development of towers up to 27 stories tall, expand retail spaces, add 4,500 new housing units (800 of which would be affordable units), and create a new 27-acre indoor-outdoor amusement and entertainment district. more ›

Will the battle for Coney Island ever end? The NY Post reports on the latest between developer Joe Sitt (current owner of the land) and Mayor Bloomberg (wannabe owner of the land). Sitt has finally spoken publicly, saying "that his 10½ acres of beachfront property is no longer for sale and that he, not the city, should be rebuilding the rundown seaside area," adding emphatically, "We don't want to sell, we want to build." The city doesn't think Sitt is qualified, preferring to rezone and develop the 47 acres itself, but Sitt claims his $92 million investment now holds a pricetag closer to $150 million, about $45 million off from what the city offered earlier this year. Sitt's been sitting on the land for about three years now, and claims "the city's overall rezoning plan is so flawed that it makes it unlikely for either his redevelopment proposal or the city's to succeed"—the plan is being voted on by the city Planning Board later this month. Can't we all just agree on something that will make this a reality? more ›

The economic crisis has left plans for revitalizing Harlem's 125th Street in limbo at best. According to the Post, "At least 14 projects along 10 blocks of 125th Street have been delayed, mothballed, killed or downgraded as a much-heralded development boom fails to materialize on uptown's iconic main street... Dozens of often bitter mom-and-pop businesses -- including neighborhood staples like Bobby's Happy House, M&G Diner and Manna's Soul Food -- were booted for high-rises that never rose." The city offered ambitious plans for the area, requiring the neighborhood to be rezoned (with divided sentiment). Last December, a proposed Major League Baseball-anchored 21-story tower was scrapped, and lawsuits are holding up other projects. One business owner told the Post, "This is the grand letdown," and blamed the city for relying on big business and not local ones, "All they know is corporate America, and corporate America is kaput now. It's us little guys that got kicked out, that are unique and specialized, that bring people to New York." more ›

The Community Board that oversees Coney Island voted last week to approve 20 amendments to the city's development plans for the area, and the changes are seen by some as suspiciously friendly to controversial developer Joe Sitt. The recommended changes include allowing big box retailers of up to 10,000 square feet in the amusement zone on Surf Avenue, dropping plans to turn the amusement zone over to the parks department, eliminating the threat of eminent domain against Sitt, and removing from consideration the construction of a "Wonder Wheel Way," a proposed central promenade through the amusement district. more ›

Though most of the neighborhood around the Gowanus Canal has not yet been rezoned for residential construction, one development company has just won approval for a big condo project with buildings up to 12 stories high and a public park along the canal. Blogger Pardon Me For Asking sat through a "long and drawn out" Landmark/Land Use committee meeting last night (so we didn't have to). She calls the near-unanimous vote "a sad outcome for the community":

Let me just say that no amount of testimony from concerned residents at last month's meeting, no concerns about pathogens in the waters of the canal, nor warnings that the land is in a flood zone were able to sway a majority of our board members from voting yes for Toll's spot rezoning.

Opponents of Bloomberg's proposal to rezone and develop Willets Point weren't the only ones angrily protesting yesterday; the public hearing held by the City Planning Commission [CPC] also drew outrage over a rezoning plan for the Lower East Side. The change would place height limits on buildings in an area that has swelled with luxury high rises, from Delancey Street to East 13th Street, and east of the Bowery to Avenue D. But NY1 reports that many residents outside the zone believe it would make neighborhoods like Chinatown even more of a bulls-eye for developers. Josephine Lee of the Coalition to Protect Chinatown told the commission, "We know that you will pass this plan regardless of how many people it displaces, regardless of how many people speak out against it." more ›

Earlier this year the Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee voted 10 to 1 on a proposal that would create a loan program for displaced small businesses. Now NY1 is reporting that the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Company is offering $750,000 in loans to the dozens of "businesses being uprooted by a controversial rezoning plan." The businesses being forced off of 125th Street can now apply for the no-interest loans. According to locals there are around 70 establishments being displaced; if they relocate "within 10 blocks north or south between Fifth Avenue and Fredrick Douglas Boulevard" they can receive a loan up to $50,000, and by staying put for two years the loan will be forgiven. more ›

When the Bloomberg administration successfully rezoned large parts of Williamsburg and Brooklyn three years ago to facilitate the construction of massive housing condos, the deal came with a promise to deliver lots of new park space. But while the luxury residential buildings are going up, the parks have remained a pipe dream. And local City Councilman David Yassky tells the Post he’s “sickened” that the Bloomberg administration has made “almost zero progress on the parks.” more ›

Yesterday, the police were called during a charged meeting that saw the City Council approve Harlem rezoning in a 47 to 2 vote. Opponents of the plan yelled "sellout" and "liar," prompting their removal from the Council's balcony. more ›

Harlem resident met with city planners in a public forum yesterday afternoon to discuss whether a major rezoning plan will enhance the historic neighborhood or rip out its heart. The zoning plan, covering 124th, 125th, and 126th Streets, paves the way for condos, a 21-story office tower, a hotel, and more. more ›

Dozens of protesters stood inside and out of a Community Board 3 meeting yesterday, claiming that a proposed rezoning plan was racist and could result in the displacement of minority community members. At issue is a rezoning plan that places height restrictions on new buildings going up on the Lower East Side and the East Village. Community board officials claim that the restrictions are necessary for the area to retain its innate character. more ›

City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden was called a "rich, rich, rich horrible person" by an opponent of 125th Street rezoning. The City Planning commission approved rezoning for the boulevard, which means a 21-story building called Harlem Park, which includes new headquarters for Major League Baseball TV, will be one of the many new developments for the neighborood. more ›