Fresh Meadows Rezoning Hailed By Area Residents
by linda j. wilson

Area residents hailed a proposal for rezoning 83 blocks in the central Queens neighborhoods of Fresh Meadows, Utopia Estates and West Cunningham Park at Land Use hearings in Borough Hall last week. The plan, presented by John Young, director of the Queens Office of City Planning, and his associate, Robert Holbrook, will prevent proliferation of “McMansions” and maintain the character of the area, several community activists declared. “We need R2A zoning. Expansion is fine, but within reason. There have to be limits,” Joan Hausman of the Fresh Meadows Homeowners’ Civic Association declared.

The plan downzones the area generally bounded by 64th Avenue, 185th Street, 73rd Avenue, a line midway between 196th Place and 197th Street, Union Turnpike, 193rd Street, Avon Road, 188th Street, a line 100 feet southeasterly of Union Turnpike, Chevy Chase Street, Union Turnpike, Kent Street, a line 100 feet southeasterly of Union Turnpike, Utopia Parkway, Union Turnpike, a line 100 feet southwesterly of 177th Street, 73rd Avenue and Utopia Parkway, Fresh Meadows in Community Board 8. The area is presently zoned R2, with C1-2 commercial overlays on 15 block fronts along Union Turnpike. It is adjacent to Fresh Meadows, a large residential development that is zoned R4 and within a Special Planned Community District. The rezoning area also abuts R1-2, R2, R3-2 and R4 districts. The Long Island Expressway is located just north of the rezoning area, the Grand Central Parkway just to the south, and the Clearview Expressway a few blocks east of the rezoning area. The rezoning area is served by eight bus routes, but the closest subway station is the Jamaica 179th Street stop at Hillside Avenue on the F train line, approximately a mile away. St John’s University is located directly southwest of the rezoning area. Cunningham Park, a 358-acre park is located immediately to the east of the rezoning area and contains tennis, baseball, picnic areas, playgrounds, and a concert oval.

The rezoning area is developed primarily with single-family detached residences, including one- to two-story ranch houses and cape cod style houses. Most have pitched roofs, are no more than 28 feet high and are consistently set back 20 feet from the street line. The entire area, known to City Planning as The Union–Utopia rezoning area, would be rezoned from R2 to R2A to preserve the community's built character of low-rise detached homes, Young and Holbrook explained. The current R2 zoning has floor area allowances and building envelope controls that permit new buildings to be taller and larger than neighboring homes, a mismatch between existing zoning and the built form of the neighborhood that creates an incentive to replace sound homes with out-of-scale buildings that could result in a substantial change in neighborhood character. The R2 district permits single-family detached homes with a maximum floor area ratio (FAR) of 0.5 on lots with an area of at least 3,800 square feet, and a minimum width of 40 feet. The R2 zoning does not set absolute limits on building height, and exempts the first floor of a house from floor area calculations under certain conditions, including the presence of a garage on the first floor. The height flexibility and floor area exemptions allow homes to nearly double their floor space, resulting in development considerably larger than typical homes in the vicinity.

In contrast, the proposed action would rezone the R2 district to a R2A district. In R2A zoning districts, residential development would be limited to one-family detached houses with a maximum FAR of 0.5, the same as in R2. The minimum lot area is 3,800 square feet and the minimum lot width is 40 feet, also the same as in R2 districts. A minimum 20-foot side yard would be required for development on corner lots. A front yard with a minimum depth of 15 feet must be at least as deep as an adjacent front yard. Floor area exemptions are limited to 300 square feet for an enclosed accessory parking structure. Maximum building height would be 35 feet, and maximum perimeter wall height 21 feet. Board 8 members recommended approval of the proposal by a vote of 27 in favor to six opposed at the board’s January meeting the night before the Land Use hearings were held.

“The [existing] 0.5 FAR is ignored and since construction and work done is all self-certified, alterations and new construction is unchecked,” Hausman said. “Architects and lawyers are finding loopholes in the zoning laws and are compromising our quality of life,” Lou Eisenberg, another area resident, added. He appealed to Deputy Borough President Karen Koslowitz and Irving Poy, Queens director of planning and development, who presided at the hearings, to follow Community Board 8’s recommendation and endorse the rezoning proposal.

Koslowitz, who took over for Borough President Helen Marshall, after Marshall had opened the hearings, but had left to keep another engagement on her schedule, while maintaining a neutral stance, complimented the effort that had gone into devising the rezoning plan. “We have the best [borough-based] city planning department in all New York City,” she said.