Amanda Burden

As Amanda Burden’s decade-plus reign as planning commissioner begins to wind down, New York’s real estate watchers are already looking ahead to her potential successors, Crain’s reported.

Early successors include two ex-city planners: Vishaan Chakrabarti; Columbia University’s Center for Urban Real Estate director and a SHoP Architects partner; and Regina Myer, president of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Another hopeful is Anna Levin, a City Planning Commission member and former community board chairwoman. [more]

Madison Square Garden

The Department of City Planning has proposed limiting Madison Square Garden to 15 more years in its Midtown space, Crain’s reported.

Since the venue’s permit expired in January, it has sought a special permit to operate indefinitely atop Penn Station. However, civic groups in favor of the transportation hub’s renovation and expansion have pushed to limit the stadium’s occupation of the space to a 10-year term. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has also backed a restricted permit. [more]

Amanda Burden and Midtown East

New York City is beginning the public review process of its proposed rezoning of Midtown East, city Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden announced Monday in a news release. [more]

A storm-damaged Rockaways home

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration today took a step to suspend some zoning restrictions to advance the post-Sandy rebuilding process, on the heels of the Federal Emergency Management Agency issuing provisional flood maps to dictate where and how properties can be rebuilt, Crain’s reported. [more]

From left: Amanda Burden, and the exterior and interior of Chelsea Market

Jamestown Properties’ controversial plan to expand the Chelsea Market finally got the green light today, although not without significant alterations. The City Planning Commission gave its unanimous approval for the project – despite opposition from Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and ambivalence from City Council Speaker Christine Quinn –  on the condition that Jamestown give approximately $12.7 million to the High Line, some $6.3 million to affordable housing in the area and reduce the scale of the additions, the New York Observer reported. [more]

A screenshot of the map on the NYC Census FactFinder

The City Planning department has launched a new online map portal for accessing data such as how many people rent versus own homes in their neighborhoods, what the racial and age makeup is in the blocks surrounding their homes and how many housing units there are in their areas. Through the portal, dubbed the “NYC Census FactFinder,” data from the 2010 New York City census can then be cross-referenced with data from 10 years prior. [more]

From left: Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden and Vanderbilt Avenue

Although plans are not yet complete, the Vanderbilt Avenue pedestrian plaza is not likely to resemble Times Square. The Department of City Planning — not the Department of Transportation — is behind efforts to transform the block, and Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden does not want a plaza speckled with temporary furniture items, the New York Post reported. [more]

From left: Mayor Bloomberg and Vanderbilt Avenue

Mayor Michael Bloomberg voices his support for converting Vanderbilt Avenue near Grand Central Station into a pedestrian plaza a la Times Square, the New York Post reported. “Vanderbilt is a street with virtually no traffic,” he said, arguing that it’s therefore best to give pedestrians additional access — especially in a Midtown area that’s already heavily congested. Citing the cost of parking, Bloomberg said he doesn’t think New Yorkers should be driving much anyway. [more]

An urban umbrella

Almost 18 months ago, Mayor Bloomberg, together with the Department of City Planning, unveiled what they billed as a more attractive, more modern alternative to scaffolding. Despite the enthusiasm from government and the public, the new scaffolding, known as the urban umbrella, is still nowhere to be seen in New York City, Crain’s reported. In a city where 1 million feet of scaffolding are in place at any given time, a change to the look of sidewalks was welcomed, but the city’s landlords have been slow to implement any change, Crain’s noted.

[more]

Amanda Burden

Having given no indication that she plans to remain the director of the New York City Planning Department if the next mayor wants her to stay on board, Amanda Burden is pushing through the final tasks of her tenure. The New York Times reported that these projects could affect the way New Yorkers live far down the line.

With just 19 months to go, Burden has a lot on her plate, including rezonings of West Harlem, Bedford-Stuyvesant and a stretch of Fordham Road in the Bronx. There’s also the proposed legislation intended to spur redevelopment of office space on Park Avenue and surrounding Grand Central Terminal, totaling millions of square feet in space. [more]