Thursday, May 27, 2010

Did Astoria get downzoned or upzoned?


From the NY Observer:

The City Council on Tuesday afternoon adopted the Bloomberg administration's planned 238-block rezoning of Astoria, one that mostly restricts new out-of-scale development in the low-rise neighborhood.

The rezoning, which covers Councilman Peter Vallone Jr.'s district, was relatively uncontroversial (rezonings that restrict developments rarely are). Of course, as the Furman Center at NYU has pointed out, rezonings such as this restrict the amount of new housing that can be built citywide, exacerbating the housing shortage.


From The Real Deal:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden are celebrating the City Council's approval of a rezoning plan for Astoria, Queens. The plan, which covers approximately 240 blocks in the neighborhood, will allow for an increase in residential and commercial density in some areas, which supporters say will increase the number of opportunities to build affordable housing. The area is boarded by 20th Avenue and Broadway, and Vernon Boulevard and the East River. The previous zoning was outdated and did not allow for adequate development, Bloomberg said. "The rezoning of Astoria... [provides] opportunities for mixed-income housing and new job growth," Bloomberg said.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

"The area is boarded by 20th Avenue and Broadway, and Vernon Boulevard and the East River."

Vernon Blvd does not reach 20th Ave, so there's no way to make a perimeter out of these streets. Either the streets in that article or wrong or this whole thing was a joke. Also, Vernon Blvd to the River is only one block wide in most places, and most of it is either commercial land or parks, so rezoning would be meaningless.

Anonymous said...

The knuckleheads in Astoria took a district that was assigned to them (20th Ave / Steinway / Vernon / Broadway) and completely ignored the impact of anything outside of it: a wall of 20 to 40 story towers planned for the waterfront and Old Astoria, 15 story hotels for Dutch Kills, 20 story dormatories lining Northern Blvd, and the current upzoning of Sunnyside/Woodside.

If they had no discussion of infrastruture within the area, you can imagine that a discussion of stuff like this outside the area was totally beyond their humble mental capacities.

Anonymous said...

2 story buildings zoned for 8 stories.

being replaced by

6 story buildings zoned for 6 stories.

is a "Downzoning".

Get it?

Now all we need to do as to send these bright lights to tackle things like Social Security and the deficit.

Anonymous said...

The plan, which covers approximately 240 blocks in the neighborhood, will allow for an increase in residential and commercial density in some areas, which supporters say will increase the number of opportunities to build affordable housing.

----

This is garbage.

Weak power grid, closed hospitals, clogged streets, out of control cafe scene, shabby run down buildings with a skyrocketing absentee landlord ownership, shoddy new buildings run by politically connected speculators, newbies without a long term investment in the community, schools far beyond capacity, shopping reduced to third world or ghetto stores, overburdened sewers that make a good chunk of the community smell like a toilet, inadequate sanitation pickup

yes yes yes

the one thing we really need, the most important thing in this toxic brew is .... the need for more people!

assholes.

Anonymous said...

the one thing we really need, the most important thing in this toxic brew is .... the need for more people!


What do you expect? This is what happens when people passively let the politicans do their thinking for them. I think its called a peasant mentality.

Astoria is a community of peasants in a bad movie as someone once recently said.

Anonymous said...

What do you expect? This is what happens when people passively let the politicans do their thinking for them. I think its called a peasant mentality.


NOT FAIR! YOU DO NOT KNOW THE COMMUNITY! ASTORIA IS NOT PASSIVE!

THE LGBT ISSUE AS WELL AS THAT DAY'S LOCATION OF THE TACO TRUCK ARE THINGS AVIDLY DISCUSSED IN THAT COMMUNITY.

Anonymous said...

Astoria was cute 10 years ago, too bad it's changed for the worst, have you seen the newcomers?? not cute, now where is my Sari??

Anonymous said...

now where is my Sari??


Next to the taco truck parked outside of the Greek real estate office next to the hooka parlour.

Anonymous said...

Peter Vallone is a big flake who couldnt care less about the area obviously.
Be prepared vallone when theres another blackout in the area for people to be hounding you everywhere you go since theres a large amount of people already quietly organized to address you.

astorians.com NOT! said...

http://www.astorians.com/community/index.php?PHPSESSID=630421a35efabdfdae51e7b91340113f&topic=18366.msg196303#new

freakin idiots are dumber then their leadership

Anonymous said...

Ask that prominent urban planner!

Democratic Dictionary said...

Vallonezone:

2 story buildings zoned for 8 stories being replaced by 6 story buildings zoned for 6 stories.

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