From HDC:Part of the reason that Sunnyside Gardens residents worked so hard to become a designated historic district was because the strong protections granted by the Planned Community (PC) zoning law were not being enforced by the Department of Buildings. The LPC seemed the perfect agency to enforce the PC zoning, which was intended to protect the scale and historic open spaces of the neighborhood. However, now the Department of City Planning has proposed a revised zoning that emasculates the PC zoning and the LPC has not begun to address district-specific regulations that might continue the protections City Planning proposes to remove. Really. The current PC zoning disallows driveways, curb cuts, paving front yards, fences and barriers in common gardens or across common walkways, building enlargements or additions, garages or carports, sheds, porches, decks and tree removal. See this fact sheet for details. The current rezoning proposal allows all these things [except curb cuts] as-of-right (see the proposal for details), relying on the LPC’s existing rules, regulations and standard practices to guide development within the planned community.
At this point, the City Planning Commission has passed the proposal and it is up to the City Council to deny it. Unfortunately, the local Council member Eric Gioia, who was in favor of the landmark designation, has not pledged his full support in defeating this damaging zoning change. Especially since CM Gioia has announced he is running for citywide office as a candidate for Public Advocate, this is an instance where every voice counts and every voice will be heard. The City Council will be deliberating on this plan at City Hall on Tuesday.
7 comments:
This is a real shame. Sunnyside Gardens is one of the more beautiful parts of our borough
Are they breaking the PC designation??
i.e. In the zoning proposal, do they address the section of the ZR that created the PC?
If it's not good for the community, then it's a BURDEN!!!!
What's that mild mannered "preservationist" Jeff Krassler gonna do ?
Aside from the beautiful mature trees that surround Sunnyside Gardens...it's little more than an undeserving collection of grim looking workers houses...the kind you see in Welsh mining towns!
Queens and NYC just keep dying a thousand deaths.
Uh....Queens is already dead thanks to its brain dead voters who keep reinstalling clubhouse pols!
If you walk through the area you will know that the traffic of queens blvd, the disregard of the subway stations and the grass-less parks are hard to find pleasure in. I mean most houses outside of the gardens cheaply “pimp” renovations (for example: on classic Matthews apartment buildings from the turn of the century) with chrome doors and handrails as if it was a used 1993 Toyota Tercel. The fact that the council might allow a bright spot in a struggling community to fade is absurd and a No vote and strongly suggested.
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