Council Green-Lights Grand Street Rezoning
Yesterday the City Council approved the rezoning of Grand Street in Williamsburg. The 13-block parcel was left out of the area’s wider ’05 rezone, and most new buildings on the street will now only be able to rise to about six stories. Gowanus Lounge notes that “the rezone could force the redesign of more than…
Yesterday the City Council approved the rezoning of Grand Street in Williamsburg. The 13-block parcel was left out of the area’s wider ’05 rezone, and most new buildings on the street will now only be able to rise to about six stories. Gowanus Lounge notes that “the rezone could force the redesign of more than a dozen planned projects,” including two planned, Karl Fischer-designed buildings that were supposed to be 10 and 15 stories high. Good thing or bad?
Rezoning of Burg’s Grand Street Approved [Gowanus Lounge]
Grand Street Rezoning Approved [WGPA]]
Will Burg’s Grand Street Rezoning Chop Karl Fischer Towers? [Curbed]
Grand Street Rezoning [NYC.gov]
Update on Williamsburg/Greenpoint Rezonings [Brownstoner]
Maps from City Planning.
I think it’s terrible. The entire area went through a major rezoning only a few years ago. Grand St. is a wide street (I live (rent) on it, a few blocks farther East) Most of it isn’t very distinguished, and the apartment buildings that caused the NIMBY freakout are only like 14 stories high! Many buildings in Williamsburg (especially east williamsburg) are crap and in a better world would be TORN DOWN and replaced with more up-to-date housing.
The J train is NOT overcrowded and is only about 2 blocks longer of a walk than the L train. The L train is no picnic but the reason it’s crowded is people prefer the crowds to the slightly less convenient J train, or G to E train. Most people in NYC should have it so bad, riding a crowded L train 4 stops to Union Square! Like everyone else, I choose the crowds over the extra 5 minutes the J would cost me.
Now is the time to start hoarding VINTAGE SIDING! It’s inevitable – 10 years from now, VINTAGE SIDING will be all the rage! I have a dozen different colors of plastic Cedar Shake Shingles in my basement already! The nostalgia is coming! Oh how I miss all that Williamsburg Siding !
retoractive is needed sometimes – the developer of the Finger on N7th broke countless rules and worked out of hours at breakneck speed to get a foundation poured because of the vote that he, and we, knew was coming. he broke the law in order to “legitimize” the ridiculous height he wanted — and with a toothless DOB thats exactly what you can do, use the law when it suits you and pay some piddling fine when it doesn’t
developers by land based on the square footage – they’ll still be buying it. Don’t be a dingbat.
THAT IS BXLSHIT! Families who have lived in that area for decades make money out of it by selling to developers for much higher prices. And they deserve that right, they were there much longer than artists and hipsters and other whingers about their damn views of the City. Please you are like 6 blocks back from the Waterfront. There is nothing to preserve in that wasteland except Filmore Place and a couple of crappy rundown buildings here and there that no one maitains.
12:05
The needs of the many outweigh the selfish wants of the few. Most people would love to live as the landed gentry of yore, that hardly means the government can or will make it happen.
12:40
Ridership has only increased 20% since 2000. It’s not the end of the world, and once the retrofit is done service will be increased significantly. The infrastructure improvements will be complete in time.
Anyway, I guarantee this tiny rezoning will not be enacted as law. It clearly was tailored to penalize a few projects, and the whole ex post facto issue will undoubtedly be dragged through courts.
12:10 is 100% right – retroactive laws are bad news.
the only people arguing for huge towers in a low-rise hood are developers and their cronies becuase they’ll make more money out of it. End of story.
12:10 – I am for this, and I do not live in Williamsburg. There goes your “NIMBY scourge” argument
YO this is a downzoning not an UPZONING so all you fools on earlier comments just do not get it. The density was already approved for some time and was being built out. All this does is restrict property values and people who own homes and land and pay taxes accordingly in the Southside from getting the same as their Northside neighbors. This is not good for the area at all. And Connect the G to Atlantic avenue.
What is really screwed is some women did not want to lose her view blocked by the Karl F tower and now she and her gaggle got this approved and screwed the area. Whatever! it will come back to haunt her later. Abuse of NYC Charter!
Anyone who has taken a rush hour subway from Lorimer in the past 2 years knows that the area is getting seriously overcrowded. You can’t just add density to neighborhoods without also building up infrastructure.
This is a great thing.