PlanNYC: Whitestone Rezoning News

College Point Expansion Possible

2007-03-21 00:00:00

Queens Community Board 7 has unanimously approved a Skanska USE Civil Northeast, Inc., expansion plan, in accordance with a City agreement to ameliorate traffic in the College Point neighborhood. The agreement comes at the end of a four-day-long negotiation between the Board, Skanska and the City.

Tension Grows Between Queens Community Board and EDC

2007-03-09 00:00:00

The tenuous relationship between the city's Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and Queen's Community Board 7 was apparent at a meeting last week between the two. At issue are several EDC projects in Queens that the community board believes have not received enough public input, including: the purchase of a public buffer zone by a private contracting company near the Whitestone Expressway; the New York Times' Queens plant expansion; the reconstruction of Linden Place to include four lanes of traffic that will end at 23rd Avenue, and the redevelopment of the Flushing Airport. Community Board 7 has vowed to vote against all the projects until the EDC meets their demands.

Downzoning Of Whitestone Is Approved By City Council

2006-01-02 00:00:00

By a unanimous vote, the City Council last week approved the rezoning plan for Whitestone that will make it harder for developers to erect McMansions and from building multiple houses on plots designed for one residence.

Rezoning of Whitestone is Nearing Approval

2005-12-20 00:00:00

The enormous rezoning proposal has reached the end of its public review process and has passed the Council's Land Use Committee. It is very near approval of the full City Council.

Queens: A Rezoning Machine

2005-12-01 11:30:00

Queens is undergoing some of the biggest zoning changes it has experienced in over three decades. The Department of City Planning is studying a number of different neighborhoods primarily in an attempt to curb overdevelopment and preserve Queens' rapidly vanishing single-family neighborhoods.

Overdevelopment: planning, not rezoning, is the answer

2005-10-18 00:00:00

On the topic of rezoning as a planning tool -- particularly in light of recent neighborhood downzoning proposals -- Tom Angotti writes, "the real problem with downzoning to stop overdevelopment, or upzoning to encourage development, is that they both avoid any serious planning...They don�t allow local residents and businesses to address serious concerns they have with everything from housing needs to traffic, because zoning regulations are limited to use and density controls."

In a fast-growing city, some neighborhoods say slow down

2005-10-10 00:00:00

Since 2002, downzonings for about 3,600 blocks have been approved or are under review. While downzoning may help "preserve neighborhood character," does it undermine efforts to add affordable housing to the city?

Community Board Approves Whitestone Downzoning

2005-09-29 00:00:00

Community Board 7 approved a plan to downzone Whitestone in order to limit what is perceived as over-development the Queens neighborhood.

Rezoning of Whitestone Begins

2005-08-24 00:00:00

On Monday the City Planning Commission gave its approval and now the Community Board 7 is expected to hold hearings on the study, which includes the 311 blocks to be rezoned. Whitestone is being rezoned to protect against overdevelopment and ensure that new construction matches the character of the neighborhood.