Deborah J. Glick's
- Community E-Update -
The Department of City Planning (DCP) has proposed two major City-wide zoning text amendments-- the Zoning for Quality and Affordability and Mandatory Inclusionary Housing. Since October, the DCP has been presenting these plans to community boards as a part of the public comment period that is currently underway.
The Zoning for Quality and Affordability (ZQA) proposal would increase height limits for new residential construction city wide. The increase would be a minimum of 5 feet, but could be much higher in some areas. These increases apply regardless of previous zoning, such as a contextual zone, or if the area is a designated historic district. While ZQA addresses building envelopes in an attempt to make better use of the spaces available, DCP claims the proposal will improve the look and feel of buildings but does not limit increases in height. Communities have had long, thoughtful conversations regarding many zoning designations, and this would effectively eliminate all of these concessions and universally allow taller buildings.
The Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) proposal would mandate that all new residential construction to include an affordable housing component. This is a laudable goal, but the proposed text only slightly addresses the issue of an affordable housing shortage. It allows the creation of a fund in which a developer can pay for affordable housing in lieu of providing actual units. Furthermore, this proposal will also eliminate the minimum square footage requirements for an apartment, effectively allowing micro-units to be constructed throughout the city with no guarantee that those units be affordable.
A public hearing with the City Planning Commission will be held on Wednesday, December 16th at the DCP offices at 22 Reade Street. I encourage community members to attend these and other meetings and voice your opinion about the changes to zoning in New York City. Look for updates from my office about hearing details for the Department of City Planning.
I am pleased that Governor Cuomo has signed 3 important bills of which I was sponsor. These bills address voids in our existing structures which will make New York and even better place.
First, Assembly Bill A.6990-B, the Veterinary Emergency Response and Mobility Act of 2015, will ensure that our animals will receive sufficient veterinary assistance in the event of a disaster or a large-scale case of animal cruelty. This legislation allows veterinarians and veterinary technicians licensed in another state to assist New York State licensed veterinarians responding to natural disasters such as hurricanes and flooding and also to assist with animal hoarding situations, fighting rings, and other large-scale cases of animal cruelty.
Second, Assembly Bill A.5962 will authorize the State University of New York (SUNY) and the City University of New York (CUNY) to create a new category of tuition for non-resident students who are enrolled in distance learning courses. New York State is home to two of the world's top public university systems and they have seen a rise in popularity of distance learning in higher education. This bill will allow SUNY and CUNY schools to better attract more non-resident students into their distance learning programs at an appropriate cost.
Finally, Assembly Bill A.7034 updates the way in which a physician or nurse practitioner can detect or screen for tuberculosis infection. With each passing year, new discoveries and breakthroughs ensure that the medical world is constantly evolving and it is important that our laws evolve alongside our healthcare. Before the enactment of this law, a purified protein derivative (PPD) test was the only available screening process available to physicians and nurse practitioners in New York, despite the fact that the Food and Drug Administration has approved other tests. This legislation allows the use of any of these tests, as decided by your physician or nurse practitioner to ensure fast and accurate diagnosis.
Earlier this month I organized a meeting with representatives from the Mayor's Office, New York Police Department, Department of Transportation, Community Board 1, and DC-37 Local 372, who represents the crossing guards. I was also joined by my elected colleagues and representatives from their offices including Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Senator Daniel Squadron, Assemblymember Sheldon Silver and Councilmember Margret Chin. The focus of the meeting was to address the need for more crossing guards in Lower Manhattan.
We discussed the community's concerns over the lack of crossing guards at the most congested and dangerous intersections near schools. We also discussed some follow-up steps to address the issue moving forward including, but not limited to: requesting block-by-block statistics from DOT around schools in the area, creating better communication with principals and local NYPD police precincts, and working toward a more permanent solution to address the shortage of crossing guards throughout the city.
This month, I provided testimony on the back log items before the Landmark Preservation Commission. In my testimony, I highlighted 57 Sullivan Street, 315 Broadway, James McCreery & Co., located at 81-807 Broadway, 138 Second Avenue, and 143 Chambers Street. All of these properties warrant individual landmark designation status. Although change can be a good thing, it should not come at the expense of preserving the structure of our neighborhood and community. We have to preserve the historic and cultural significance of our neighborhoods, especially as we see an onslaught of developers who want to convert our neighborhood into high rise luxury towers.
This week, I submitted written comments to the Army Corps of Engineers regarding the proposed construction of Pier 55. The proposal currently under review would construct a new pier, Pier 55, in undeveloped water which is home to sensitive fish and wildlife habitats. I urged the Army Corps to conduct a full Federal Environmental Impact Statement for the full length of the park prior to consideration of any new permits.
During the creation of the park, a General Project Plan (GPP) and State EIS were conducted. During this review in the early 1990s, the proposed commercial and recreational uses for the park were to be "water-dependent uses." These are seen as symbiotic with the waterfront nature of the HRP. Since then, HRP has continued to develop, and while doing so, is increasing the amount of commercial development that does not fall within the scope of the previous review, and is increasingly focused on non-water-dependent uses for new developments, including this development.
The environmental impacts for Pier 55 range from its construction to its use. As proposed, the majority of the piles from Pier 54 will remain, while close to 1,000 new piles will be driven into the water just north of Pier 54 in order to create a new pier. Additionally, Pier 55 would rise about 7-stories high and will cast major shadows into the water, further compromising the pristine marine and estuarine habitat. The piles alone would not just destroy habitats during the construction, but these permanent structures then impede the fish migration while also decreasing the mobility of sediment and trash. There are also impacts from the use, including, but not limited to, a new landscaped pier over the river with the potential for non-point source pollution from fertilizer to debris, as well as new solid waste and sewage. Additionally, this new extremely tall pier will dramatically disrupt the view corridor; an issue specifically dealt with in the original HRP legislation that has never been amended.
This project would be detrimental to the environment and the surrounding community and I urged the Army Corps to thoroughly review all of these implications prior to considering issuing permits. For a copy of my full comments, please contact my office. I also requested that the Army Corps host a public hearing on this issue to get a better understanding of the extent of concerns.
I hosted a panel discussion on bird conservation and bird-friendly development in New York City. The panel featured Susan Elbin, an Ornithologist with NYC Audubon Society, and Stefan Knust, an architect with Ennead Architects. Both panelists discussed the unprecedented level of development of glass covered buildings and the impact that has on bird strikes.
I was pleased to hear presentations from these two knowledgeable speakers about the future of bird populations in New York City and needed changes in construction and development.
Glass covered buildings pose a unique threat to bird populations as birds are unable to recognize a glass façade and mistake the reflection of trees or sky not as a reflection, but the real thing. As a result they frequently strike the building face especially the first four floors when leaving parks or trees. Guests had the opportunity to sign letters to the Department of City Planning and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, encouraging them to look at the impact our existing building code has on bird safety and find new ways to remedy this issue within the City. If you were unable to attend and would like to send a letter, please contact my office and we can send you a digital copy.
This month, jointly with State Senator Brad Hoylman, I testified before the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) regarding the plan to redevelop Gansevoort Street in the Gansevoort Market Historic District. This plan would demolish two landmarked low-rise buildings and renovate three others. The end result would be two grossly out-of-context towers on the block. Historic districts are continually threatened by developers who seek to build non-contextual structures in order to attract luxury retail and condos. The designs are not only out of context, but the nature of their use would also threaten the unique characteristics of the surrounding Village.
I was pleased to join with many community members in the packed LPC hearing room, and voice our opposition to this egregious plan, that would essentially redefine the purpose of a historic district. We sent a clear message to the LPC that developments like this are bad for our community and harm residents, businesses, and the culture of the Village, which encompasses the Gansevoort Historic District.
If you have not yet voiced your opinion to the LPC, I encourage you to do so quickly, and add to the growing number of residents in opposition to this plan. You can submit written comments to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission at the Municipal Building, 1 Centre Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY.
I signed onto a letter with my colleagues to highlight the closure of the Food Emporium located in Independence Plaza North. While there are several areas in the community to shop, many of them are not affordable options for our seniors on fixed incomes, residents on Landlord Assistance plans, or Section 8 recipients. We requested that Stellar Management find another affordable, fresh food supermarket in the same location as the former Food Emporium was located.
As you may recall, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce announced a partnership with AirBnB a few weeks ago. I wrote to the Brooklyn Chamber of to express concerns over this partnership. Although I support small businesses, I am vehemently against the Chamber's new initiative. Validating the illegal practices of AirBnB sets a poor precedent, and will continue to erode the scarce affordable housing stock in New York City. The Chamber should be focusing on increasing business from local residents, not trying to attract tourists who, by their very nature are temporary customers.
The IDNYC municipal identification card program will be hosting a pop-up enrollment location in the East Village from December 14th to 30th at Middle Collegiate Church, 50 East 7th Street, at 2nd Avenue. You may go anytime between 9AM to 5PM, Monday through Friday, to enroll in this program and receive a free municipal ID card. You will need to bring certain documents with you to apply, for a list of the required documents you specifically will need please visit the IDNYC document calculator here.
This program features a unique opportunity to use the ID at many participating City museums and parks for a complimentary one-year membership. Institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History, Bronx Zoo, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage are participating in the program and will welcome IDNYC cardholders with full member benefits for a calendar year. Additionally, the ID card is accepted at City buildings as valid identification for entry. For additional information about this program visit the IDNCY website.