Zoning Plan Passes

More than 20 blocks along Queens Boulevard from 50th to 74th Streets will be upzoned to create additional housing opportunities under the inclusionary zoning plan. The majority of blocks in the Woodside-Maspeth rezoning area will be downzoned to preserve the neighborhood's quality of life.

The first inclusionary zoning proposal in the history of Queens was unanimously approved by the City Council last Wednesday. The rezoning plan addresses the need for new housing opportunities, primarily along Queens Boulevard in Woodside. It is also intended to preserve and reinforce the established neighborhood fabric and prevent outof character development. The plan will impose zoning changes on approximately 130 blocks in Maspeth and Woodside in Community Boards 2 and 5, with most of the rezoning area lying generally east of the New Calvary and Mount Zion Cemeteries and bounded by Roosevelt and Woodside Avenues on the north, the Long Island Rail Road rail cut and 74th Street on the east and the Queens-Midtown Expressway on the south. Queens Boulevard bisects the rezoning area from 50th to 74th Streets. While the majority of blocks will be downzoned to preserve the neighborhood's quality of life, more than 20 blocks along the Queens Boulevard corridor will be upzoned to create additional housing opportunities.

City Councilmember Eric Gioia (at microphone) discusses the ramifications of the Woodside-Maspeth rezoning plan as Councilmember Melinda Katz (re a r, c.) Council Speaker Christine Quinn (r.) and community leaders the Rev. Mitchell G. Taylor (l.), chairman, East River Development Alliance and member, Community Board 2, and Thomas Ryan of Woodside On the Move (re a r r.) look on. "By creating more middle class housing in Woodside, we can create a neighborhood where the middle class cannot only survive, but thrive," City Councilmember Eric Gioia (D), who represents Woodside, Sunnyside, Long Island City, Astoria, and Maspeth, said. "As our neighborhood develops, it is essential that we stay true to the core values that have made our city what it is. Aschoolteacher married to a cop ought to be able to afford a decent apartment and raise a family in the city. We need to create neighborhoods where the middle class can put down roots and make this great city their home, just as my family did in Woodside 100 years ago."

"The city is using every tool at our disposal to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing by 2013 as part of our $7.5 billion New Housing Marketplace Plan," Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared. "This is the largest municipal affordable housing plan in the nation's history and will provide affordable homes for 500,000 New Yorkers in all five boroughs. Today is Queens' day to celebrate and I want to commend the City Council for its partnership on this important initiative and also note the cooperation of local elected officials, community groups and housing advocates whose input was vitally important."

The proposed zoning amendment would apply in the R7X District being mapped along several portions of Queens Boulevard, including the north side of the boulevard between 50th Street and 57th Street and between 64th Street and 73rd Street, and on the south side of the boulevard between 61st Street and 73rd Street. If property owners apply to use the provisions of the R7X inclusionary housing program, they would be eligible to build up to five times the area of their lot, or 5 FAR or 5 FAR (Floor Area Ratio), in exchange for creating or preserving 20 percent of the residential floor area they develop as permanently affordable housing for the community. Five FAR is the maximum allowed under R7X, and a 125-foot building height limit would also be mandated, while under the prior zoning there was no uniform height limit. Developments not participating in the inclusionary program in the newly mapped areas would be limited to an FAR of 3.75. The Queens Boulevard sites would also have a commercial overlay, which will allow up to two stories of neighborhood retail use on the lower floors. Councilmember Melinda Katz (D-Forest Hills), council Land Use Committee chair, said the inclusionary housing would be affordable for a family of four with an annual household income of up to $56,000.

According to the Department of City Planning, certain blocks along Queens Boulevard and at the Queens Boulevard/Roosevelt Avenue junction will be rezoned from R4/C2-2, R5/C2-2, C8-1, and M1-1 to R6/C2-3 and R7X/C2 to allow for mixed residential and commercial development at densities appropriate for these major thoroughfares. The existing R7X district on Queens Boulevard is to be extended along the entire corridor. Extending higher density and contextual zoning districts along the area's central corridor will encourage new, multifamily construction.

The proposal also rezones significant portions of Maspeth and Woodside from R4, R5, R5B, R6, and R6B to lower-density or contextual zoning districts (R4-1, R4B, R5, and R5B). An existing R4 district will be changed to R4-1. Establishing lower density and contextual zoning districts will recognize and protect existing built character.

The neighborhoods of Maspeth and Woodside are characterized by a mix of row houses, twofamily detached and semi-detached homes, multifamily walk-up buildings and apartment buildings, and oneand two-story local retail and automotive service buildings, particularly along Roosevelt and Woodside Avenues and Queens Boulevard. A number of detached single-family homes are interspersed among other low-density residences in the interior blocks; higherdensity apartment buildings line the area's wider thoroughfares, Woodside Avenue and Queens Boulevard. The northernmost section of the rezoning area between Queens Boulevard and Roosevelt and Woodside Avenues is served by the elevated No. 7 train line along Roosevelt Avenue. Although the remainder of the rezoning area is served by several bus lines, private automobile use is widespread.

R4 is the most prevalent zoning district within the rezoning area. Large portions of the area, primarily in Maspeth south of Queens Boulevard and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, are zoned R4 which permits a wide range of housing types including multifamily buildings and row housing. Other residential zoning districts in the study area south of Queens Boulevard include the moderatedensity R6 and R6B zones. The R6 district, a noncontextual district, includes the Big Six apartment complex located on Queens Boulevard between 58th and 62nd Streets as well as blocks to the southwest of the complex. In addition, an R6B district with a C12 overlay was established in 1993 on the frontages of Grand Avenue between 69th and 74th Streets to better reflect the mixed-use context along the avenue. Most blocks zoned R4 in the rezoning area meet the R4 Infill criteria and the greater permitted density has resulted in outof scale development throughout Maspeth and Woodside.

Much of the area north of Queens Boulevard was rezoned in 1992 to reduce out-of-character development and encourage new development of a scale and density more typical of the prevailing built form. This 22-block area in Woodside comprises three contextual zoning districts: R5B, R6Aand R6B. AC2-3 overlay spans frontages on Roosevelt Avenue. An R5 district, in the northeastern portion of the study area, permits the same variety of housing types as R4 but at a higher density. The maximum FAR of 1.25 (the attic allowance does not apply) typically produces three-story row houses and small apartment buildings.

Several residential and non-residential zoning districts are mapped along the Queens Boulevard corridor from 50th to 74th Streets. Frontages along Queens Boulevard between 57th and 64th Streets were rezoned from R6 to R7X with a C22 overlay in 1994 and 1996 to facilitate development compatible with nearby buildings exhibiting R7X bulk characteristics. R7X districts permit residential and community facility buildings with a maximum FAR of 5.0 and height up to 14 stories.

The M1-1 and C8-1 districts at the easternmost and westernmost portions of Queens Boulevard allow the oneand two-story light industrial, automotive-related and commercial buildings and uses that characterize much of the boulevard along the study area's eastern and western edges.

While the housing market in New York City continues to boom, few affordable apartments remain available, according to Gioia. This, a statement from his office maintains, is especially true in Queens, where more than 16,000 new housing units were built in the last decade, yet the borough's vacancy rate has fallen to an anemic level, the lowest in the city, at less than 2 percent. These market conditions put incredible pressure on existing housing stock, especially as population continues to soar throughout the city and the borough. Under the affordable housing program, a developer may opt to set aside a portion of the units within the building at below-market rates, or provide new or rehabilitated affordable units offsite in exchange for an increase in the maximum floor area.

" It's plain to see that right now, the lack of middle income housing and homeownership opportunities are squeezing the middle class and those struggling to get into the middle class-pushing some out of our city altogether," Gioia said. "I've heard from people in my neighborhood, all over Queens, and throughout the city who can barely make their current rent or mortgage payments, and are thinking about leaving. We can and must do better as a city."