City Planning OKs three rezonings

The City Planning Commission unanimously approved one Queens and two Manhattan rezoning proposals yesterday, each of which is intended to preserve the residential character of the neighborhoods they cover, City Planning Chair Amanda Burden announced. The first Manhattan proposal covers six blocks of historic buildings on Washington and Greenwich streets, and the second extends protections along Third Avenue in the East Village by establishing height limits and encouraging affordable housing creation.

“The [Third] Avenue rezoning will never again allow buildings like the 26-story Nyu Dorm On East 12th Street to be built, while the Washington and Greenwich Streets rezoning in the Far West Village will ensure that large hotels or other out-of-scale or out-of-character developments cannot move ahead in this area,” said Andrew Berman of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, in a statement praising the decision.

In Queens’ Auburndale-Oakland Gardens-Hollis Hills section, the rezoning covers an expansive 418 blocks — for what would be the largest neighborhood rezoning since 2002. The proposal comes in response to worries from the residential community, consisting mostly of single- and two-family homes, about the proliferation of “overly dense and out-of-character buildings.” It also limits commercial development in the neighborhood.

Each proposal now moves on to the City Council for a final vote. TRD