Planning
May 13, 2008
Irony Alert: City Honors Longshoreman at Cruise Terminal
Remember when the city Economic Development Corporation was trying to evict American Stevedoring and its hundreds of longshoremen employees from the Red Hook Piers? Neither do we. Well, now that everything is cool at the piers and the longshoremen won a 10-year lease, it makes total sense that the city hold a ceremony there this Tuesday "to pay tribute to the workers who made the waterfront great and to those who are working today to revitalize the great Port of New York," said a city press release. They city, elected officials and "supporters of the working waterfront" are celebrating the rededication of The Working Brooklyn Waterfront, a mural made in 1963 by noted artist Bernard Seaman. The mural was first installed in the Brooklyn Longshoremen's Medical Center in Cobble Hill. It was reinstalled at the cruise terminal when that building was scheduled for demolition "due largely to the efforts of the members of the ILA Local 1814 and funded by NY Container Terminal." Although never addressed by name, we're going to guess "NY Container Terminal" is American Stevedoring, the EDC's old nemesis. Glad to see everyone's put that whole mess behind them.
Lease Ends Uncertainty for Red Hook Cargo Docks [NY Times]
City Releases Vision for Container Port [NY Post]
EDC Plan for Container Port [Brownstoner]
Photo by Seth Holladay.
April 29, 2008
Q&A With Isabel Hill, "Brooklyn Matters" Filmmaker
On Thursday Cobble Hill Cinemas will host a free screening of "Brooklyn Matters," the documentary about Atlantic Yards. The film, which examines how Atlantic Yards came about and what the project's possible ramifications are, came out early last year and has been shown in a number of venues, including colleges and universities like Pratt and NYU. Isabel Hill, the director and producer of "Brooklyn Matters," talked to us about the movie's relevance now that Atlantic Yards is likely to be stalled and how audiences have reacted to her work. The main thrust of Hill's documentary is that Atlantic Yards has ignored decades-old urban planning wisdom and techniques. Hill worked as a planner for many years before making the film.
Now that you’ve been showing the documentary for a while, have you noticed a difference in audience reaction over time?
Hill:Yes, frankly, there does seem to be more outrage over the specific elements of this project. When I first started showing the film, I think many people were just surprised when they discovered the overwhelming scale of the many proposed skyscrapers. Most people initially understood the project to consist of a sports arena and a vague outline of other development. When they saw the monumental scale of the proposed buildings, most first-time viewers were incredulous. Also, when I first began showing the film, viewers were shocked at the ways this project circumvented public process and how project advocates manipulated public perception. Now, I think as people know more about Atlantic Yards, they are incensed when they see the film and more fully understand the drastic and long-lasting impacts of this proposal—a proposal we taxpayers are subsidizing. What I’ve seen is that the film consistently is a revelation to viewers whether they know nothing, little, or a lot about the project.
Is the documentary still as relevant now that Atlantic Yards faces delays?
Hill:"Brooklyn Matters" is even more relevant and important now than it was the day it was released. Markets have slowed the rate of progress on Atlantic Yards and allowed more and more people to study the project more closely. It is especially important that the new Paterson administration see the film during this time. In the past, many interested community leaders and residents felt side-lined by the fact that the real estate market was traveling so fast and furious. Atlantic Yards was marketed as a “done deal” and many believed it. Now that more and more people realize that the project is not a done deal, it is even more important to act. We can’t just sit back and see what happens here. This is an opportunity for our elected officials and citizens to rethink what should happen on this important public site—the Vanderbilt rail yards. There must be an outcry against Atlantic Yards, and the film is critical to reaching more and more people with this truth.
Did the finished movie differ much from the movie you set out to make?
Hill: Documentary filmmaking is a process. When you set out to make a documentary, you don’t know exactly where this great adventure will take you so there were things that evolved and changed over the course of making the film. But my frame of reference was always the same. I have worked as an urban planner in Brooklyn for over twenty years and it is through the lens of a planner that I viewed the Atlantic Yards project.
Images from Brooklyn Matters
April 24, 2008
Gowanus Rezoning on the Horizon
Plans for the rezoning of Gowanus, which have been brewing for more than a year now, are about to make their official debut. Yesterday Purnima Kapur, director of City Planning's Brooklyn Office, said that the draft rezoning plan for the Gowanus Canal Corridor will be unveiled next month. "What we're planning to do is go out to the community and start a discussion about the rezoning," says Kapur. The DCP official says that the rezoning plan will more or less adhere to the draft land-use framework released last January (as shown above), and that the department will propose rezoning about 25 blocks. "We studied 60 blocks," says Kapur, "and we came to the conclusion that two-thirds should remain manufacturing." Mixed-use zoning that allows for residential construction will mainly be proposed in the north section of the area under consideration, with the biggest chunk running from 3rd Street to Sackett between the canal and 4th Avenue. Per the draft framework, the rezoning will allow for the construction of building that are largely 6 to 8 stories with limited portions setback from the neighborhood allowed to rise between 12 and 14 stories next to the canal. Kapur says the department hopes to get community consensus on the draft proposal sometime over the summer and then begin working on an Environmental Impact Statement, which should take between 8 and 9 months to complete. If this timeframe is followed, the rezoning will be certified for ULURP sometime in early 2009, before there's a change in the current city administration. Kapur says she's excited about bringing the rezoning to fruition. "We were asked by the community board to look into the rezoning, which is how the whole process started," she says. "Gowanus is a unique area between two thriving communities, and it provides a potential for new uses that could build on its unique character."
Gowanus Rezoning: Complete Chaos [Brownstoner]
Gowanus Rezoning Proposal by Late Spring or Summer [GL]
Gowanus Canal Corridor Framework [nyc.gov]
April 21, 2008
Without Community Input, is PlaNYC in Trouble?
It's "Sustainable Watch" week over at Gotham Gazette, which means the publication has several articles about what the future holds for the Bloomberg administration's PlaNYC, the city's vision for 2030 that's supposed to make New York greener and help prepare for an influx of (a projected) 1 million more residents over the next couple decades. One piece locates a "fundamental flaw in the mayor's approach to long-term planning" in the wake of congestion pricing's defeat: The fact that PlaNYC's approach largely sidesteps input from communities, making it "a one-way, top-down process...As a result, grassroots support for the plan, and congestion pricing, was limited to passive assent and a more enthusiastic core of environmental groups." In other words, no matter how good individual facets of PlaNYC are, it's quite possible that many may never come to fruition, doomed by a lack of community support for their implementation and the mayor's term limits:
PlaNYC's methodology is linear, dealing with simple cause-effect relations that may have little to do with complex neighborhood-based visions. For example, planting a million trees would reduce greenhouse gases by a quantifiable amount. Congestion pricing would reduce car trips by a predictable percentage. But as the congestion pricing debate proved, it is simply not enough to make one isolated change a city priority when its local impacts are not clear. This kind of "results-oriented" thinking ignores the complexity of life in the city and is especially unsuited to a multicultural city where many, perhaps even a majority of residents, find this approach to be alien.
The question now, perhaps, is whether it's too late to give community-based planning a significant voice in what should be a discussion—not a monologue—about New York's future.
Is the Long-term Sustainability Plan Sustainable? [Gotham Gazette]
Legislation To Boost Community-Based Planning [Brownstoner]
Photo by jennifer easton.
April 18, 2008
Bright Ideas, Big Cities
In the new issue of Metropolis, Karrie Jacobs pens an interesting piece about how big-city mayors in the U.S. "have emerged as a sort of government in exile, putting forth a remarkably progressive, and occasionally visionary, domestic agenda while the federal government has been AWOL." Here in New York we know all about having a mayor who thinks big, but Jacobs hardly mentions Bloomberg. She concentrates, instead, on Martin O’Malley, the former mayor of Baltimore, who spoke about how forming a response network to address emergencies like terrorist attacks or natural disasters was a job best handled close to home, since Washington "will be thirty to forty years catching up with this reality," and San Francisco's Gavin Newsom, who talks about green initiatives for his city and says, “When you’re going to get serious about addressing the issues of global climate change, it will be happening, by definition, in urban cores...We’re basically following these UN environmental accords and doing it in the absence of leadership from our states and respective federal governments.” As we look forward to a new administration, Jacobs concludes, our future president should take note that cities are no longer something to be fixed, but should be acknowledged as planning leaders, "not only to give them the succor they’ve been denied in the past eight years but also to learn from them how this country can once again move forward." Isn't it pretty to think so?
Like Urban Renewal, Only Backward [Metropolis]
Photo by Just-Us-3.
April 16, 2008
Gowanus Group Proposes 'Sponge Park' to Soak Run-Off
The Gowanus Canal Conservancy unveiled a rendering of its proposed esplanade along the canal, adorably dubbed "Sponge Park" (you know, because it will absorb runoff that contributes to the sewage overflow problem). The above rendering, by local landscape architecture firm dlandstudio, is a view from Third Street looking north. The project assumes a 40-foot easement alongside the canal, consistent with waterfront access requirements elsewhere in the city. Like Williamsburg and Greenpoint, any rezoning of Gowanus would likely require public waterfront access and design standards so, for example, the street lamps and park benches are consistent along the entire esplanade. Gowanus presents a unique challenge because its crumbling bulkheads are expensive to replace and obtaining a waterfront permit is a complicated venture that has been one of many vexing issues for Whole Foods. The dlandstudio plan is interesting because, judging from the fast-moving slide show on their website, the waterfront is lined with retention basins and filtration systems that would prevent some runoff from pouring directly into the canal—although the main source of oily runoff is the Gowanus Expressway that looms above, creating grotesquely beautiful swirls of color the day after a long-awaited rain. Yum. The Conservancy will be hosting its public presentation April 21, 6:30 p.m. at P.S.58, 330 Smith Street at the corner of Carroll Street.
Gowanus Photo Gallery [Brownstoner]
DOB Puts Partial SWO on Whole Foods Site [Brownstoner]
April 2, 2008
W'Burg Builders Sue, Say Rezoning Like Eminent Domain
Rezoning and eminent domain (and landmarking) have been the hottest topics in Brooklyn development over the years, and a group of Williamsburg property owners are saying they're one in the same. Dozens of property owners affected by last week's Grand Street rezoning are preparing to sue the city, as detailed in The Real Deal. The owners charge the proposal was ramrodded through the approval process to prevent their participation. One petitioner said eminent domain is almost better. "The government is required to compensate you for the loss at some sort of market rate," he said. "Whereas in zoning … there's no requirement for compensation and a very limited requirement for notice." John Isdith and his father, Carlos, pictured above, are among dozens of small-time developers who, now forced to reduce their project, said they're considering joining the suit. Do the two have similarities? Which is more unfair—downzoning or eminent domain?
Williamsburg Developers, Homeowners to Sue City [TRD]
Council Green-Lights Grand Street Rezoning [Brownstoner]
March 12, 2008
Legislation To Boost Community-Based Planning
A new law is going to be introduced to the City Council that may radically alter how planning initiatives like rezonings are undertaken in New York City. The legislation, which is a byproduct of the Municipal Arts Society's longstanding Campaign for Community-Based Planning, will seek to extend the influence of 197-a plans, which are produced by communities in order to influence the shape of things to come in their neighborhoods. "Through extensive public outreach and community deliberation, 197-a plans establish a guide for city agencies to act by articulating a wide range of community priorities," says Planning spokesperson Jennifer Torres. "Throughout the city...197-a plans have resulted in actions that reflect the community’s vision." Be that as it may, in real life 197-a's have zero legislative weight. "197-a has been flawed because it’s basically the city saying that neighborhoods can have a say in development but in fact it has no force of law," says Queens Councilman Tony Avella, who will be one of the lawmakers introducing the bill. "A good example of this is that the Council recently voted to approve Columbia’s expansion, which contradicts the neighborhood’s 197-a." (Brooklyn 197-a's include those that have already been adopted for Red Hook, Williamsburg and Greenpoint, as well as one that's in the works in Sunset Park.)
The legislation would "affect the whole constellation of city planning initiatives," says Eve Baron, director of the Municipal Arts Society's Planning Center. Baron says that "on paper, 197-a is great because it's community-initiated and consensus driven" and "a way to say, "'This is our vision for the future of the neighborhood, based on need and aspiration.'" The problem is not with 197-a's intended purpose, she notes, but with its efficacy. "While it's potentially a great tool, it's ultimately only an advisory document," she notes. Baron says the Campaign for Community-Based Planning also wants to right some of the perceived problems with 197-a, including the fact that there's no central pool of funding available for neighborhoods to draw on when they want to develop them and that while 197-a's tend to be driven by community boards, CBs may or may not represent all the interests in a given area. Avella says he's ironing out the legalese in the bill now and hopes to introduce it to the Council by summer. "There’s going to be a fight over this since the real estate industry controls this town, and they’re not going to be happy about anything that might limit their ability to build and make money," he says. "This'll be a way to have planning happen from the bottom up, rather than from the top down."
Campaign for Community-Based Planning [Municipal Arts Society]
197-a [NYC.gov]
March 6, 2008
Closing Bell: Competition to Reinvent GAP
The Design Trust for Public Space has recently announced an exciting competition that all Brooklynites should care about: Reinventing Grand Army Plaza. Working with theGrand Army Plaza Coalition, the Design Trust is reaching out to the global community of designers, architects, urban planners and others to generate fresh ideas for the plaza's future. "Currently an underdeveloped public amenity, a redesign of Grand Army Plaza will invigorate surrounding communities, just as the re-conception of Manhattan's High Line set off an explosion of activity in West Chelsea," says the competition brief. First prize is $5,000 and submissions are being accepted until April 25; details can be found here. Oh, and if you check out the list of jurors, you might recognize someone.
Rethinking Grand Army Plaza: Safety and Utility [Brownstoner]
February 4, 2008
Planning: Carroll Gardens Has to Wait in Line for Downzone
Carroll Gardens isn’t going to be getting any special favors from the Dept. of City Planning. Although Councilman Bill de Blasio announced last week that Planning had agreed to consider downzoning the neighborhood, a department rep told The Brooklyn Paper that they “are unable to commit to a precise timeframe” for a downzoning study. The city also said that that the Councilman’s bid for a moratorium on all new buildings over 50 feet wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, because it would require an extensive environmental review. Neighborhood group CORD, which has been pushing for a building moratorium on all new construction over 50 feet, issued a statement saying that "Carroll Gardens recognizes the need and sympathizes with the frustrations of each and every other neighborhood looking for relief through rezoning," and that they are "not looking to shove anyone out of the way. We want to see more 'windows' open up to service those of us waiting on line." They also had harsher words for Planning: "Given the incredible rate of development in Brooklyn over the last several years, it is difficult for us to understand how City Planning can still be so understaffed and overwhelmed."
CG Rises Up Against Development [Brooklyn Paper]
At Rally, News of Carroll Gardens Downzoning Progress [Brownstoner]