http://www.planNYC.org/ PlanNYC | New York City Planning Information Portal en-us ja3n@earthlink.net http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=68#4158 Rezoning for the Waldheim area of Flushing, Queens is expected to move forward this week as representatives from the Department of City Planning (DCP) unveil their plans and will hear feedback from the community. The goal of the rezoning is to preserve the single and double family homes in the area. Community Board 7 is expected to vote as early as June in favor of the rezoning. Some use the Waldheim rezoning as an opportunity to criticize DCP delaying the North Flushing rezoning. 2008-04-29 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=68#4109 The area of downtown Flushing has become a thriving city corridor with crowded streets, abundant retail space and businesses. Some of the growth can be attributed to new condos and a new stadium in the area. 2008-04-18 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=68#3915 The announcement that Bowne St. Partnership is selling off a packages of properties, including rent-stabilized buildings and pre-approved plans for a 12-story building, on 38th Ave. and Bowne St. in Flushing has attracted several interested buyers. The buildings are in an area that is likely to boom economically when nearby areas, such as Willets Point and Flushing Town Center, are redeveloped. Because of the uncertain real estate market, rent-stabilized buildings are also attractive to buyers because the investment risk is low. 2008-03-17 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=68#3169 Redevelopment plans for three projects in the Flushing area are stalling according to City Councilman John Liu. The first project has already been pulled by RKO and Keith. Development of a second site, Municipal Lot 1, by Flushing Commons LLP is losing support from the community and little progress from the city's Economic Development Corporation has been made. Lastly, the Willets Point redevelopment is lingering due to public approval process delays. 2007-10-11 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=68#3055 The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is expected to award Flushing’s Voelker Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary and Victorian Garden landmark status. A public hearing was held at the Bird Sanctuary recently and the Commission is expected to take up the case in the next couple of weeks. The LPC is advocating for this designation because of the importance of the garden and bird sanctuary to the Museum. 2007-09-24 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=68#2997 New development has started on a five-tower, residential and commercial use area in Flushing. The project, developed by the Lev Group, will include three residential buildings and two commercial buildings. The commercial facilities will be used for retail, office and hotel space. Mountain View Capital is co-developing the project. 2007-09-10 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=68#2909 Councilman Tony Avella has called for the speedy rezoning of Northern Flushing, as the larger multi-family dwelling continue to spring up in the neighborhood. The Planning Department is currently working on a rezoning plan, but residents feel that any wait makes the situation worse. 2007-08-09 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=68#2251 New York's loss to London in its attempt to host the 2012 Olympics has steered the city onto a path of economic development and rebuilding, according to Crain's New York Business. The article details how many current development projects in New York, particularly those situated on prime waterfront property and suited for transportation sites and housing, are fruits of the failed bid. Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff, who worked with Yale urban planner Alex Garvin, engineered a plan to redevelop underutilized land in the city for the Olympics. The plan, according to Doctoroff, is now informing the city's sustainable growth plan for the year 2025. 2007-03-18 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=68#2184 Advocates and public officials gathered this week in Western Flushing to call for affordable housing on a 28-acre tract of land, which is currently zoned for light industry. The advocates of a rezoning include Council Member John Liu, State Senator Toby Stavisky, and the group Asian Americans for Equality. The group is doing a study of Western Flushing and surrounding neighborhoods to determine the viability of affordable housing structures in the area. Many see the opportunity to make Western Flushing a "gateway community," a place open to the influx of new immigrants to New York. 2007-03-09 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=68#2185 Sections of Queens will feature more prominently one-and two-family detached homes after the City Council voted unanimously to bring sections of Queensboro Hill, Cedar Grove, Flushing-on-the-Hill, and Kissena Heights from a higher density residential category to a lower one. The new regulations, which change the neighborhood zoning from R4 to R3X and R4A, will provide for lower densities and more single-family residences. The final plan approved by the Council was a compromise of an original proposal by Queens Community Board 7 and Borough President Helen Marshall that called for only single-family residences. Council Member John Liu praised the rezoning for protecting the integrity of the low-density residential neighborhoods of Queensboro Hill. 2007-03-09 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=68#2197 The tenuous relationship between the city's Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and Queen's Community Board 7 was apparent at a meeting last week between the two. At issue are several EDC projects in Queens that the community board believes have not received enough public input, including: the purchase of a public buffer zone by a private contracting company near the Whitestone Expressway; the New York Times' Queens plant expansion; the reconstruction of Linden Place to include four lanes of traffic that will end at 23rd Avenue, and the redevelopment of the Flushing Airport. Community Board 7 has vowed to vote against all the projects until the EDC meets their demands. 2007-03-09 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=68#1907 This piece by the Queens Chronicle advocates for the use of landmark designations to preserve historical neighborhoods in Queens, like Sunnyside Gardens, from the continued growth of commercial and residential real estate development. Citing the borough’s lack of landmarking relative to Manhattan and Brooklyn, the Chronicle argues that landmarks actually preserve neighborhood unity and increase quality of life, contrary to the claims of landmarking critics. 2007-01-19 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=68#1766 Joshua Muss, developer of the $600 milliion Flushing Town Center near Shea Stadium in Downtown Flushing, recently announced that anchor tenants for the site include Home Depot, Target, and Best Buy. Muss also contended that demand for housing would fill the site’s residential units. The Flushing Town Center, 3.2 million square foot retail center, along with 1,200 apartment units and substantial parking, is a product of the City’s rezoning of the area. 2006-12-05 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=68#1589 A $60 million recreation complex, the largest ever built in a city park at 70,000 square feet, will soon be finished in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Near the Van Wyck Expressway, the facility will be home to an Olympic-size public pool and a professionally standard ice rink. The city hopes the park will create a great attraction. 2006-10-31 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=68#1578 Community Board 7 in Flushing Queens has approved a rezoning plan for the Queensboro Hill neighborhood. The rezoning covers an area bounded by College Point Boulevard, 164th Street, Kissena Park and Queens College. The proposal now goes to the borough president, and then City Planning before a vote by the City Council. 2006-10-27 00:00:00