Developers in hurry to get City Planning approvals

Developers are racing to push as many projects as possible through the Department of City Planning by the end of the year, as Bloomberg’s development-friendly administration draws to a close.

If the planning commission does not review a deluge of proposals by then, the projects will need to start fresh – with a commission run largely by appointees of the new mayor. City Planning’s chairperson Amanda Burden is on the way out. Projects awaiting review at 22 Reade Street are a mix of private, city-led and those being pursued by private developers on public property.

Bloomberg has his 80-block Midtown East rezoning project, in addition to such ambitious undertakings as the Domino Sugar Refinery in Williamsburg, a 63-story Ferris wheel in Staten Island and the ice-skating complex in the Bronx.

“No matter who the next mayor is, it’s going to be a year before you get anything new introduced,” Lee Silberstein, executive vice president at the Marino Organization, told Crain’s. “The next mayor has to pick their commissioners, pick their deputy mayors, pick their agenda.” [Crain’s] — Mark Maurer