The Department of City Planning voted to approve yesterday a rezoning of about 530 blocks in South Jamaica and portions of adjacent communities, including St. Albans and Springfield Gardens in Queens Community District 12, to protect the lower-density character of these neighborhoods while allowing for a moderate increase in residential and commercial density along main corridors.
A related application would extend the applicable area of the "Food Retail Expansion to Support Health" (FRESH) program to Community District 12's commercial corridors. A zoning text amendment is proposed to extend the applicable area of the Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program to South Jamaica's commercial corridors. Adopted by the City Council in December 2009, the FRESH program provides zoning incentives to property owners, developers and grocery store operators in neighborhoods of New York City that are currently underserved by grocery stores and show high level of obesity and diabetes. To facilitate and encourage FRESH Food Stores in designated underserved neighborhoods, the program allows additional residential floor area in a mixed building for every square foot provided for a FRESH food store up to a maximum of 20,000 square feet and allows FRESH food stores as-of-right up to 30,000 square feet in M1 districts, eliminating the need for a special permit and its costly and lengthy land use and environmental review.
Today, the FRESH program is applicable within 18 community districts located in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan and in only one part of Queens - Downtown Jamaica.
The proposed actions are the result of close consultation with the "One Block At A Time" civic organization, the South Jamaica Steering Committee, Community Board 12, local elected officials and local community organizations.
The proposal builds upon four previous neighborhood rezonings adjacent to the rezoning area adopted by the City Council: Springfield Gardens, 2005; Jamaica 2007; St. Albans, 2007; Laurelton, 2008.
The rezoning area is generally bounded by Liberty Avenue, 108th Avenue and South Road to the north; Merrick and Springfield Boulevards to the east; the North Conduit to the south; and the Van Wyck Expressway to the west.
Most of the buildings within the rezoning area consist of 1- and 2-family detached houses with small concentrations of 1- and 2-family semi-detached and attached houses. Over the last several years, South Jamaica and its neighboring communities have experienced development pressure largely due to its outdated zoning which has remained unchanged since 1961. The area's existing R3-2 and R4 zoning districts allow a variety of housing types and densities that are inconsistent with the prevailing scale and built character of South Jamaica's neighborhoods.
The residential landscape of South Jamaica, Queens, was transformed during the last decade as developers swapped many of the neighborhood's traditional, free-standing homes with larger, multifamily housing units, according to an article by Joseph De Avila in today's edition of The Wall Street Journal.
The plan would push new multifamily housing developments out to the major thoroughfares. On many of the side streets, only single- or two-family homes would be allowed. If the rezoning is passed by the City Council, the article said, "it would be the Bloomberg administration's largest rezoning to date."
"We have areas where they came in and demolished the entire block," said Yvonne Reddick, district manager with the local community board, the article said, adding that "Downtown Jamaica went through rapid development after the 2003 construction of the AirTrain that connects subway and commuter-train riders to John F. Kennedy International Airport. Big-box store Home Depot opened in the area in 2007 along with other retailers and a new cinema."
A related application would extend the applicable area of the "Food Retail Expansion to Support Health" (FRESH) program to Community District 12's commercial corridors. A zoning text amendment is proposed to extend the applicable area of the Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program to South Jamaica's commercial corridors. Adopted by the City Council in December 2009, the FRESH program provides zoning incentives to property owners, developers and grocery store operators in neighborhoods of New York City that are currently underserved by grocery stores and show high level of obesity and diabetes. To facilitate and encourage FRESH Food Stores in designated underserved neighborhoods, the program allows additional residential floor area in a mixed building for every square foot provided for a FRESH food store up to a maximum of 20,000 square feet and allows FRESH food stores as-of-right up to 30,000 square feet in M1 districts, eliminating the need for a special permit and its costly and lengthy land use and environmental review.
Today, the FRESH program is applicable within 18 community districts located in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan and in only one part of Queens - Downtown Jamaica.
The proposed actions are the result of close consultation with the "One Block At A Time" civic organization, the South Jamaica Steering Committee, Community Board 12, local elected officials and local community organizations.
The proposal builds upon four previous neighborhood rezonings adjacent to the rezoning area adopted by the City Council: Springfield Gardens, 2005; Jamaica 2007; St. Albans, 2007; Laurelton, 2008.
The rezoning area is generally bounded by Liberty Avenue, 108th Avenue and South Road to the north; Merrick and Springfield Boulevards to the east; the North Conduit to the south; and the Van Wyck Expressway to the west.
Most of the buildings within the rezoning area consist of 1- and 2-family detached houses with small concentrations of 1- and 2-family semi-detached and attached houses. Over the last several years, South Jamaica and its neighboring communities have experienced development pressure largely due to its outdated zoning which has remained unchanged since 1961. The area's existing R3-2 and R4 zoning districts allow a variety of housing types and densities that are inconsistent with the prevailing scale and built character of South Jamaica's neighborhoods.
The residential landscape of South Jamaica, Queens, was transformed during the last decade as developers swapped many of the neighborhood's traditional, free-standing homes with larger, multifamily housing units, according to an article by Joseph De Avila in today's edition of The Wall Street Journal.
The plan would push new multifamily housing developments out to the major thoroughfares. On many of the side streets, only single- or two-family homes would be allowed. If the rezoning is passed by the City Council, the article said, "it would be the Bloomberg administration's largest rezoning to date."
"We have areas where they came in and demolished the entire block," said Yvonne Reddick, district manager with the local community board, the article said, adding that "Downtown Jamaica went through rapid development after the 2003 construction of the AirTrain that connects subway and commuter-train riders to John F. Kennedy International Airport. Big-box store Home Depot opened in the area in 2007 along with other retailers and a new cinema."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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