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Rezoning New York

Media posted September 29, 2009

  • Source: The Brian Lehrer Show, WNYC Radio
  • Date: September 29, 2009
  • Link: external link icon Rezoning New York

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Sunset Park Rezoning

Project posted April 29, 2009

Sunset Park residents envision neighborhood growth

Planning the Scale of Future Development

The Pratt Center worked with Councilwoman Sara Gonzalez and Community Board 7 to help residents of Sunset Park, Brooklyn weigh in on current development and a potential rezoning. The project has its roots in a grassroots campaign waged by area residents, who successfully lobbied against one developer's plans to construct a twelve-story building that would have marred the view from Sunset Park. After convincing the developer to significantly scale down plans, residents recognized the larger need to rezone the neighborhood, where new development currently faces no height restrictions. The community momentum around rezoning also presented an opportunity to address pressing related issues, notably the need to preserve and create affordable housing.

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Inclusionary Zoning

Project posted April 29, 2009

Brad Lander at the IZ Press Conference

A Powerful Tool for the Creation of Affordable Housing

During his first term in office, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced expansive plans to rezone more than twenty New York City communities – including the Far West Side of Manhattan, Greenpoint/Williamsburg, Long Island City, and parts of the South Bronx. As originally proposed, the plans were poised to generate more than 50,000 new units of housing, almost all of them for rent or sale at market rates. 

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Protecting New York's Threatened Manufacturing Space

Issue Brief posted April 16, 2009

When Mayor Bloomberg came into office in 2002, New York City had 12,542 acres of land where manufacturing businesses could legally operate. Today, thanks to zoning changes, it has fewer than 10,746, and another 1,800 acres would be converted to other uses under proposed rezonings. This Pratt Center Issue Brief assesses the loss of manufacturing land, looks at its impact on local businesses and job opportunities, and recommends measures for preserving what's left.
 

 

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Department of Buildings Challenge Procedures

Testimony last updated March 6, 2009

Testimony to the New York City Department of Buildings Against Proposed Rule 105-05 to Change the Procedures for Challenges

Brad Lander
Pratt Center Senior Fellow
March 6, 2009

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on NYC Department of Buildings Proposed Rule 105-03.  My name is Brad Lander.  I am a Senior Fellow and past director at the Pratt Center for Community Development, former executive director of the Fifth Avenue Committee, and a resident of South Park Slope, a neighborhood which saw an explosion of illegal construction in the period prior to the recent rezoning going into effect.

I have been both a not-for-profit affordable housing developer -- and so have been an applicant for permits from DOB on many occasions -- and a community planner and advocate, and so have worked with many community groups concerned that DOB was issuing permits for projects that did not comply with zoning, and frustrated by their inability to be heard.

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Increasing Housing Opportunity in New York City: The Case for Inclusionary Zoning

Report last updated October 29, 2004

A result of a collaborative effort betweethe Pratt Center and PolicyLink (a national nonprofit research and advocacy organization working to advance policies to achieve economic and social equity), this report describes how affordable housing can be expanded in New York City, citing successful examples from areas throughout the country. Increasing Housing Opportunity in New York City makes a strong case for inclusionary zoning (IZ) as a successful strategy for expanding affordable housing opportunities and creating mixed-income communities. The report was made possible through the generous support of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation.

The report recommends:

  • Apply mandatory IZ to all neighborhood-wide zoning changes, and voluntary IZ to other areas where more density could be appropriate.
  • Instead of blanket downzonings, utilize balanced neighborhood rezonings with IZ to preserve neighborhood character while creating room for new mixed-income housing.
  • Design an IZ program that is economically feasible, serves a range of income levels, is permanently affordable, and encourages on-site development.
  • Balance the need for housing with the need to retain manufacturing-zoned land to preserve jobs.

Executive Summary
Full Report
Press Release

Supplementary Financial Analyses:

Financial and Architectural Feasibility Analyses Summary
Financial Analyses of Model Sites (all links below are in Excel format):

Greenpoint-Williamsburg:                Central Harlem:
     Inclusionary Zoning                         Inclusionary Zoning
     Non-inclusionary Zoning                   Non-inclusionary Zoning
     Land Sales Costs
  

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