Ozone Park up for rezoning

From the Forum South:

A massive city proposal to rezone hundreds of blocks in Ozone Park would maintain the neighborhood’s residential character and be a major boon to the area’s economy, allowing for such businesses as bookstores and larger restaurants to move into shopping hubs like Liberty and 101st avenues, Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) and other civic leaders said this week.

The city Department of Planning’s proposal – the first of its kind since 1961 which stemmed from concerns from community boards 9 and 10, elected officials and civic organizations – would rezone about 530 blocks in an effort to “reinforce the area’s predominant one- and two-family residential character and direct moderate amounts of new residential and mixed-use development to locations along the area’s main commercial corridors and near mass transit resources,” according to a city statement. The department recently launched its public outreach portion of the proposal process, which will include presentations to various civic groups and community boards 9 and 10, and Ulrich said he expects the City Council to vote on the proposal by the end of the year.

Prior to a vote by the City Council, the proposal would go before community boards 9 and 10.

“This rezoning is long overdue and will definitely have a positive impact on the community for many years to come,” said Ulrich, who in 2010 asked the city to conduct the study. “Ozone Park demands a more flexible blueprint that allows for responsible development but also protects the character and integrity of the neighborhood.”

The proposed area for the rezoning is generally bounded by Rockaway Boulevard, Atlantic Avenue and 101st Avenue to the north, the Van Wyck Expressway and Lefferts Boulevard to the east, the Belt Parkway to the south, and the Brooklyn borough line to the west.