Sunday, November 09, 2008

CITY COUNCIL HEARING: EAST VILLAGE/LOWER EAST SIDE

This is the final public hearing for the EV/LES Rezoning Plan. Please attend and give testimony to support protection for the east side of the Bowery, which the Department of City Planning has excluded from the Rezoning Plan. This exclusion will result in large, out-of-scale development, destroying the context, historic character and diversity of the Bowery and its surrounding Lower East Side and Chinatown communities. The Bowery Alliance of Neighbors (BAN) is recommending that City Council draft a Follow-up Corrective Action (FUCA) requesting that the City Planning Commission initiate an immediate rezoning of this area or an extension of the Special Little Italy District from the west side of the Bowery to the east side of the Bowery. BAN's position statement is included below. Please arrive early and bring a copy of your testimony for the record. Your attendance is appreciated. THE BOWERY NEEDS YOUR HELP!

Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Time: 9:30 AM
Location: Council Chambers - City Hall

Zoning & Franchises Committee

Chair: Tony Avella

Brief: See Land Use Calendar Available in Room 5, City Hall

Item
Agenda Note
LU 0923-2008



Zoning Reso., East Village/Lower East Side, Manhattan (C080397(A)ZMM)
LU 0924-2008



Zoning Reso., East Village/Lower East Side, Manhattan (N080398(A)ZRM



BOWERY ALLIANCE OF NEIGHBORS - POSITION STATEMENT

Although the Bowery has always had a unique place in the history of the City of New York, in recent years we have watched large, out-of -scale development going up on the east side of the Bowery, the result of which has been the destruction of the context, historic character and diversity of the community.

The City has recognized the historic significance of the Bowery by protecting the west side of the Bowery in the Little Italy Special District and the NOHO Historic District. The East Village/ Lower East Side Rezoning will protect the area just east of the Bowery. However, the east side of the Bowery itself has been left out of all these rezonings. The attached map highlights the area we are concerned with, if nothing is done the result will be a wall of towers http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/evles/evles3.shtml.

The east side of the Bowery should be rezoned to ensure that it is in context to the rest of the community - the Little Italy Special District, the NOHO Historic District, and East Village/ Lower East Side.

We respectfully request that a Follow-up Corrective Action (FUCA) be drafted by City Council requesting that the City Planning Commission initiate an immediate rezoning of this area or an extension of the Little Italy Special District from the west side of the Bowery to the east side of the Bowery.
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousNov 13, 2008, 3:56:00 AM

    what happened at the meeting? Is the rezoning approved or when is the last step in the proces?

    ReplyDelete
  2. robNov 13, 2008, 7:38:00 AM

    The big danger right now is the LES BID (business improvement district). They want to be able to build big in the commercial zone south of Houston, which includes Fosyth, Eldridge, Allen, Orchard, Ludlow and Essex. Some community organizations and churches want to keep the community facility bonus too.

    Both these would mitigate the entire purpose of the rezoning, which was to eliminate out-of-scale buildings -- community facilities north of Houston and commercial and community facility buildings south of Houston.

    ReplyDelete
  3. robNov 13, 2008, 8:02:00 AM

    The committee votes Monday. The full council must vote by Dec 1, which means they will probably vote next week before the holidays. Then it's law. Between now and then, there'll be a lot of deal-making.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hearing AidsJan 24, 2011, 10:33:00 PM

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    ReplyDelete