Major Streetscape Improvements Proposed for Long Island City

7:00 am on May 11, 2016 By Vitali Ogorodnikov

The ongoing transformation of Long Island City is astounding. In the decade between 2006 and 2015, more than 8,600 housing units have been completed in the area, with well over 22,000 more on the way. Between 2012 and 2015, prices for prime development sites have jumped by 269 percent. As the neighborhood rapidly transitions from commercial/industrial to high-density residential, the local street grid, characterized by odd angles, must undergo a significant transformation. The city government began to address this need in 2010, when Jackson Avenue, the area’s principal thoroughfare, was upgraded with a green median, while a small triangular park was created at the intersection of 27th Street, Hunter Street, and 43rd Avenue.

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25 Kent Avenue

City Planning Commission Expected to Approve Eight-Story Office Building Planned at 25 Kent Avenue, Williamsburg

6:00 am on May 11, 2016 By Reid Wilson

In early January, the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) kicked off for Heritage Equity Partners’ planned eight-story, 400,000-square-foot office/manufacturing building at 25 Kent Avenue, in northern Williamsburg. Now, the City Planning Commission is expected to support rezoning the block for the project, Crain’s reports. But the approval comes at the expense of the proposed neighborhood rezoning, which would establish an “Enhanced Business District” over most of the North Williamsburg Industrial Business Zone (IBZ), allowing for the surrounding blocks to be developed similar to 25 Kent Avenue. The rezoning would grant developers a boost in allowed commercial FAR in exchange for the inclusion of light manufacturing space, identical to a normal community facility FAR bonus. City Planning is expected to approve the application later this month, at which point the City Council will vote on the project. Mayor Bill de Blasio will complete the ULURP review if he decides to sign off on City Council’s pending approval. Rubenstein Partners is partnered in the project, and Gensler and Hollwich Kushner Architecture (a.k.a HWKN) is designing.

437 Cleveland Street

Three-Story, Three-Unit Residential Building Coming to 437 Cleveland Street, East New York

4:00 pm on May 10, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Woodhaven-based Joe Mashieh has filed applications for a three-story, three-unit residential building at 437 Cleveland Street, in northern East New York, located four blocks from the Shepherd Avenue stop on the C train. The structure will measure 3,942 square feet. Each floor will host a single apartment, and the units should average a family-sized 986 square feet apiece. Suresh Manchanda’s Flushing-based L&C Associates is the applicant of record. The 25-foot-wide, 2,458-square-foot lot is currently vacant. The site benefits from the East New York Rezoning that was approved last month, and now sits within an R5B district. The site can accommodate up to 3,318 square feet of residential space, which means 361 square feet of air rights will remain if the latest plans move forward.

49 Speedwell Avenue

Twin Three-Story, Two-Family Houses Coming to 49 Speedwell Avenue, Bulls Head, Staten Island

3:00 pm on May 10, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Steven Shapiro’s Staten Island-based FAS Building Corporation has filed applications for twin three-story, two-family houses at 49-53 Speedwell Avenue, in Bulls Head, located in west-central Staten Island. From south to north, they will measure 3,868 and 3,952 square feet respectively. Across the development, the full-floor residential units should average a family-sized 1,191 square feet apiece. Each house will come with a 223-square-foot, single-car garage, in addition to two other off-street parking spaces. Staten Island-based Calvanico Associates is the architect of record. The 90-foot-wide plot, on the corner of Sideview Avenue, was occupied by a single-story home until it was demolished earlier this year.