[NYguy]

In this week's episode of NIMBYs...


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• Video Link


https://therealdeal.com/2018/01/18/a...r-two-bridges/

Officials move to stall towers planned for Two Bridges
An application for a text amendment was filed




By Kathryn Brenzel
January 18, 2018

In the latest step to rein in large-scale development on the Lower East Side’s waterfront, two city officials are trying to force certain projects to go through the lengthy land use review process.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Council member Margaret Chin proposed a zoning text amendment that would require certain projects in Two Bridges to receive a special permit, which would force the developments to go through the Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP), the officials announced on Thursday.

If it were to pass, the amendment could drastically slow the development of four towers proposed by some of the city’s most established developers. JDS Development Group is planning a 79-story tower at 247 Cherry Street, and a joint venture between L+M Development Partners and CIM Group are building a pair of 62- and 26-story towers at 260 South Street. Starrett Development is also planning a 62-story building at 259 Clinton Street.

“In order to turn the tide against out-of-control overdevelopment across our city, we need to act decisively and close loopholes that would allow for the construction of out-of-scale luxury towers without a robust and transparent public review,” Chin said a statement.

The rezoning application has been expected for some time. City Planning rejected an earlier request to force the three planned projects to go through ULURP, but a related city council bill that was approved in October paved the way for the officials to file the application without going through the pre-application process. Politico reported in December that Brewer and Chin were preparing the draft text amendment.

This is the first time in roughly 15 years that a zoning text amendment has been filed solely by elected officials, Brewer said in Thursday’s announcement. In November, however, the council approved a zoning change to a 10-block area on the Upper West Side. The change was initiated by a neighborhood group that was co-founded by Council member Ben Kallos.

http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/20...-planning.html

Brewer, Chin File Application For Two Bridges Zoning Changes With Department of City Planning

In a statement, Brewer said, “This is the real estate business in New York: there’s intense pressure to find and exploit loopholes to build huge ultraluxury buildings… That’s what’s happening in Two Bridges, where massive out-of-scale towers could move forward because of a staff-level determination that they are only a ‘minor modification’ to the neighborhood’s plan. Sometimes you need to clarify rules to make sure they’re enforced, and that’s what we’re doing here.”

Chin added, “Today, I join Manhattan Borough President Brewer to renew our demand that our city provide the Two Bridges community a real opportunity to shape the future of their neighborhood… In order to turn the tide against out-of-control overdevelopment across our city, we need to act decisively and close loopholes that would allow for the construction of out-of-scale luxury towers without a robust and transparent public review. This text amendment marks the latest chapter in our fight to strengthen the community’s voice in the land use process, and preserve the legacy of affordable housing that Two Bridges residents are fighting to protect.”

https://citylimits.org/2018/01/18/lo...-be-expedited/

Local Electeds’ Bid to Require Public Review for LES Towers Is Officially Submitted, Will Be Expedited

By Abigail Savitch-Lew
1/18/18

On Wednesday, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Lower East Side councilmember Margaret Chin took the next step in their ongoing battle to require four luxury towers proposed for the Two Bridges neighborhood of the Lower East Side to submit to full public review. The elected officials filed paperwork at the Department of City Planning for a zoning text amendment that seeks to clarify the land use regulations governing the Two Bridges area of the Lower East Side waterfront. That change, if passed, will require the developers to go through a more thorough approval process.

Thanks to the recent passage of a law sponsored by Chin that allows elected officials to expedite the ULURP process by exempting certain elected officials from the Department’s pre-application filing and meeting requirements, Chin and Brewer’s application will move right to “technical review” and then to ULURP for approval, according to a press release. Speediness is crucial to ensure the developers don’t get their approvals first.