Kamila Harris
Oct. 19, 2015 By Jackie Strawbridge
Citywide zoning changes that could affect local building heights, housing density and more will be presented and discussed at a public meeting sponsored by Community Board 2 and Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer next week.
The Department of City Planning will join the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to present two proposed amendments to New York City’s Zoning Resolution, which are designed to promote affordable housing and higher quality buildings city-wide.
The public meeting will take place at IS/HS 404, 1-50 51st Ave., on Oct. 28 at 6:30 p.m.
According to CB 2 Chair Pat O’Brien, the meeting will be run as a presentation with opportunities for questions and comments from the public.
One of the proposed zoning changes that will be discussed, called Zoning for Quality and Affordability, would allow developers to build five feet higher than currently permitted in the blocks surrounding Queens Boulevard, starting at 39th Street and moving east.
As described in DCP documents, this increase is intended to give builders more flexibility within existing zoning rules, to encourage new housing construction with more engaging architecture.
ZQA would also incentivize new affordable housing units, by allowing developers who participate in the city’s Inclusionary Housing program to build 20 feet higher along Queens Boulevard, from 39th Street moving east.
Read the Sunnyside Post’s earlier coverage of these and other proposed changes here.
Van Bramer noted that, in contrast to a local zoning change, which is all but determined by his Council vote, his will be one of many votes on a city-wide initiative such as this.
“So even if I voted against it, it would not necessarily stop it from happening,” he said. “But what folks in my district voice on this particular subject matters to me, and I want to hear what people’s thoughts are.”
The building height increases along Queens Boulevard are a particular concern to the Councilman and he has raised this with the Mayor, he said.
O’Brien said he expects the meeting to shed light on these zoning changes’ potential effects on the neighborhood, which may not be obvious simply from reading the zoning documents.
“Affordable housing is a beautiful thing. It’s a good concept. However it has different impacts in different communities, and we just want to make sure everybody knows what those might be,” he said.
Of the 20-foot height increases, O’Brien added, “that’s a big bump, so that I think is a concern.”
CB 2 and Van Bramer scheduled next week’s meeting in addition to DCP’s upcoming visit to the Board, as part of the a public review process that kicked off on Sept. 21.
Community Boards were given 60 days from that point to respond on the proposed zoning amendments.
“We have a clock ticking to be able to offer [CB 2’s] comment in a meaningful way,” O’Brien said. “The only way you can do that is to give people as much info as possible, and get back as much input from people as possible.”
CB2’s next full board meeting will take place on Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. at Sunnyside Community Services, O’Brien said.
Reach reporter Jackie Strawbridge at jackie.strawbridge@queenspost.com
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28 Comments
There was another presentation tonight about QZA & MIH. It was during the meeting thst JVB shared that it was the members of the Community Board who sent a letter to City officials asking for affordable housing. So… we have the community against it but the officials are for it. Here’s the deal. If this passes we vote them all out of office!!!
A few thoughts….
1. So zoning changes can happen in a neighborhood without support of the community board or the council member? When was the last time that has happened?
2. Is the 20 ft increase a cap on height or is it possible to override zoning in the future to increase height if needed?
3. Who is such affordable housing dedicated to? Is his housing for middle class or is this for formally homeless? Is there priority for sunnyside residents to access such affordable housing? Many people like the concept of affordable housing but don’t consider that they may not qualify for these units.
4. Is this zoning increase just affordable units or will it add market rate units? Many affordable housing also include market rate units to help subsidize the affordable units, which essentially drives up the rents for everyone in the neighborhood.
5. How will additional density influence the subway and bus system, which the city has limited control over? How will it influence school access?
I should have started reading Facebook sooner…
This is the first time I am hearing about rezoning–shame on me!
Correct me if I am wrong…Sounds to me that they are trying to push projects on us? If that is what it is, WE DON’T WANT IT!!!
Wouldn’t be surprising, though, with the creepy mayor we have right now…
I cannot believe Van Bramer is using that “I only have one vote” excuse.
Last time I checked wasn’t he the council majority leader? He didn’t get to that position because he “only had one vote.” He needed to form bonds and relationships. I’m sick of this guy dealing with tertiary items like asking for traffic lights and posing for the cameras when he should be dealing with the real problems of the community, like infrastructure and schools. What a joke this guy has turned out to be.
Your observation is spot on. Council Majority Leader Van Bramer’s web site points out that “he was also appointed by Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to co-chair the newly constituted Budget Negotiating Team (BNT) which plays an integral role in formulating the City’s budget process to fund critical programs, projects and organizations citywide. Council Member Van Bramer also plays a key role is working with all members of the City Council, serving as a bridge between colleagues and the Speaker.” Clearly Mr. Van Bramer is not a singular voice in the City Council, his influence extends to “projects and organizations citywide” and he has a “key role” in working with “all members of the City Council.” Hopefully, Councilmember Van Bramer will use that broad influence to effect changes in the proposed QZA and MIH zoning amendments which best serve the interests of the residents of Sunnyside.
Every new development should have to have accommodations for parking.
JVB is like every other politician no better no worse.
as long as we can do away with the OLD FARTS I am for it.
You mean kill off people older than you are who have a deeper perspective and command of the facts than you do so you can get your way without anyone smarter than you are standing in your way? Hey, your diaper stinks. Better get Mommy to change it.
You know I am beginning to regret JVB too, at first he was all about the community etc. Since he has risen in the ranks, its much more about his political rank. Time for a change. I don’t like what I am seeing.
This is not the first time I have regretted voting for JVB. He spends too much time getting his picture taken with the Movers & Shakers to be on our side anymore. He will have to move somewhere else is he lets this go through. His neighbors won’t like him anymore. But, that may be his plan anyway. He seems to love those high-rises near the water.
Representatives of the Department of City Planning gave presentations on both components (Zoning for Quality and Affordability (QZA) and Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH)) of the zoning and planning initiatives at the Queens Borough Board (Borough President, presidents of Queens Community Boards and Queens City Councilmembers) meeting held the evening of October19th. The presentations can be viewed on line ( QZA and MIH ). Almost all the comments by Queens Community Board presidents concerned the QZA proposals regarding car parking, to wit: “Designate a ‘transit zone’ where auto ownership and commutes by car are low, in which: • Parking would be optional for new Inclusionary Housing or low ‐income housing • Where appropriate, other modifications allowed: – Removal of parking for existing affordable senior housing – For other affordable or mixed ‐income housing, reduction of requirements possible on a case ‐by ‐case basis.” The primary criterion for designation as a transit zone is location within a half mile of a subway station (regardless of the level or quality of service), which would include a large portion of Sunnyside. Community Board presidents decried the perceived adverse impact on the lives of seniors, one president referring to the proposal as an element of the City’s ‘war on cars”, which includes new bike lanes, pedestrian plazas and the Vision Zero program. There was almost no comment at the meeting on the MIH proposal, which would substantially impact Sunnyside and Long Island City. It would appear that to overcome Councilmember Van Bramer’s concern about being just one member and one vote in the body of City Council members (albeit one would assume as Council Majority Leader, Mr. Van Bramer has greater influence than all other Councilmembers except for the City Council President), any issues/concerns about either initiative needs to relate back to cars and parking.
Which all boils down to, “They’re planning to screw us,” right?
20 feet higher and your having a public discussion?? is this a joke? Where are we Ohio??
Donald J Trump
so much for “contextual zoning”
fool me once shame on you fool me twice….
so much for “contextual zoning”
I rather discuss the impacts of stupid bike lane/pedestrian lane/narrowing on the queens blvd service road. What the hell were they thinking, and what about that traffic light on BQE ramp on east bound queens blvd, what kind of idiot designs it to cause a gridlock on that intersection. I swear the city planners or whoever did this study is an idiot and I bet he lives in upstate or Suffolk or some place. Bunch of morons.
I’ll tell you what they were thinking. They were thinking that the majority of Queens residents commute by other means than by car, and that the design of the community and its streets should prioritize safety for both pedestrians and cyclists.
You are 100% wrong. Most people in Queens own cars and use them for work. This borough remained rural much, much longer than Brooklyn or the Bronx and we are grossly underserved by efficient public transportation. You can’t get with the times if you don’t have the facts in your command, you political puppet.
No, I am definitely not wrong. The link at the end is to a study done last year by NYU. In 2013 (most recent data) 60% of Queens residents had a car-free commute (meaning only 40% drove to work). In Sunnyside and Woodside, only 20% of residents drive to work. So here on the facts. Where are yours?http://furmancenter.org/files/sotc/SOC2014_Queens.pdf
Damn! I hate to eat my words, but, the Furman Center reports only 40% of people use their cars for work.I’d like to compare that to how many in Manhattan use cars for work. And I’d like to know, how many people in Queens own cars and use them for everything else they do? If you have stats on that I would like to see them. Nonetheless, the 60% who do not use cars, are not primarily walking and biking to work, they are on trains and buses. So making room for that minute, but growing, percentage of people walking and biking to work does, in fact, cause delays for everyone else.
Only 12% percent of Manhattan residents commute by car (http://furmancenter.org/files/sotc/SOC2014_Manhattan.pdf) – so Sunnyside/Woodside is not far behind. It’s important to note too that they’re not eliminating Queens Boulevard, they’re just making it work for everyone.
I am afraid you are wrong about this, and to think they make so much more money from cars than pedestrians and bikes, I can’t understand why they would make it so much worse for the traffic on this main artery instead of making it easier and flow better. Congested and narrow roads frustrate drivers and frustrated drivers don’t practice best judgement. I see 3 lane queens blvd drop down to 1 lane immediately on that same intersection on the other side, west bound service road, and eventually leads into a road rage especially with black cars and cabs trying to squeeze, eventually turning into a gridlock. How is that safer for pedestrians?
They have slowed down traffic in order to make it safer for people crossing the street, or biking. It is a real problem and needs to be addressed. And they did NOT remove any lanes – they just made them narrower. This idea that the government makes so much money from cars is untrue. While drivers pay gas tax, whatever, it is offset by the wear and tear on infrastructure from motor vehicles vs someone on foot or on a bike.
This is an interesting discussion about the role of cars in a community like Sunnyside, but it should be noted that the proposed elimination of parking requirements for existing and newly constructed affordable housing for seniors and low income households has nothing to do with cars vs bikes vs pedestrians but rather is entirely concerned with purportedly improving the economic feasibility of developers building affordable units with new construction and/or taking parking spaces in existing units and using the land for new affordable units.
The members of the anti-car brigade are filled with an unreasonable righteousness. When people engage with each other in a cooperative manner, reasonable accommodations can be reached. The car haters are, by definition, unreasonable. Thus, everything is a fight, people call each other names, it devolves into something like a schoolyard fight. Boring.
Are you proposing eliminating streets because they are expensive? Or making them narrower, thus freeing up landmass for developers? Then the city would reap an incredible harvest of taxes. Walkers and bikers can travel six and seven abreast, as I used to see people in Communist China traveling. And the obesity crisis would disappear. Everyone would be so much more fit. And, we would get to know each other, too.
That’s it, make cars, trucks, etc., illegal. bring back the handcart, develop bike tailors. Build narrow housing for all the new slim people. Eliminate roads! They are too expensive.
I absolutely agree that the traffic light on QB at the BQE ramp is ridiculous. If you know the area, as I do because I live in it, you know that there are not that many pedestrians on this part of QB. I predict that traffic light will be the cause of many accidents.