No More Hotels in Industrial Business Zones, De Blasio Says

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Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council are in agreement: more makers, fewer hotels.

In an effort to expand New York’s industrial sector, city politicians plan to stem the influx of hotels in Industrial Business Zones (IBZs). Despite the intention of IBZs to offer places for the city’s makers, hotels may be developed as-of-right in M-1 zones — which are covered by IBZs — and have become increasingly common in such areas.

In order to maintain IBZs’ intended use for industrial businesses, the City Council and the Mayor’s office want to require developers to get a special permit for building hotels in IBZ areas zoned for light manufacturing. The new permit would also be required for the creation of mini-storage facilities — another growing occupant of M-1 zones.

Details are not yet clear, but the mayor’s office has also noted that the special permit will not prevent the creation or use of hotels as homeless shelters.

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The Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg. Photo via Wythe Hotel

Citing job creation as a partial motivator, de Blasio named the Williamsburg IBZ as a specific neighborhood which has seen large amounts of work displacement following the creation of luxury housing and hotels. That specially zoned area is located around the Wythe Hotel near the intersection of North 12th Street and Wythe Avenue between McCarren park and the waterfront.

Since 2012, when the Wythe Hotel opened, there has been steady sales of sites and development of nightclubs and hotels in the industrially zoned area.

Portions of the loft area in Bushwick, which the city calls East Williamsburg, are also in an IBZ. That area has also been hot, with restaurants, retail and office space opening or under development.

In addition to the special permits ordinance, de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito also announced a planned city investment of $64,000,000 toward the creation of a $150,000,000 public-private fund intended to assist the existing manufacturing sector through loans and grants, according to DNAinfo.

Between the special permit requirement and the investment, the city estimates the creation of 20,000 new jobs by 2025, DNAinfo further reported.

IBZ De BlasioGreenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center ‘s 810 Humboldt Street Facility. Photo by Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center

[Source: NYO | Top photo: Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center]

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