Weprin Proposes New Zoning To Stem McMansion Spread
BY JOHN TOSCANO

To combat the zoning crisis, Weprin (D-Hollis), backed by community leaders, has drafted a proposal for a new zoning classification R2N, to implement a narrow-lot contextual zoning plan for single-family homes on lots of width less than 40 feet.

City Councilmembers David Weprin and James Gennaro, alarmed over the devastating effects of overdevelopment in Eastern Queens, were joined by community leaders in calling for a new narrow-lot zoning classification to stem the spree of builders constructing huge homes.

The lawmakers pointed out that the problem was created as many areas of single family homes in Queens and throughout the city were rezoned from R-2 to R2A to halt the spread of so-called McMansions, huge dwellings that dwarf the smaller homes around them.

However, in the rush to block the McMansions, as was done in the Northeast Queens communities of Bayside and Douglaston, Weprin said homes on lots of smaller width than 40 feet, have no protective zoning classification to stop the proliferation of multifamily dwellings.

To combat the zoning crisis, Weprin (D-Hollis), backed by community leaders, has drafted a proposal for a new zoning classification R2N, to implement a narrow lot contextual zoning plan for singlefamily homes on lots of width less than 40 feet.

Weprin said he had also drafted a City Council resolution which calls on the Department of City Planning to immediately draft and implement his proposal.

The Hollis lawmaker said his proposed rezoning is absolutely essential in giving City Planning a full arsenal of weapons that will preserve the character of neighborhoods and stop the rampant overdevelopment and quality of life destruction. "Without this tool in the box, zoning studies are incomplete and ineffective," he said.

To emphasize the point, Weprin declared, "If not checked by proper narrow lot zoning restrictions, affected neighborhoods are in danger of facing serious quality of life deficiencies, including overcrowding of schools, lack of available parking, and extreme over-use of vital utilities such as the electrical, sewer and sanitation systems."

In supporting Weprin, Angela Augugliario, president of the Queens Colony Civic Association, asserted: "Our form of McMansion is much more insidious than those of my neighboring civic associations, in that it is not as visible as the huge McMansions they have been faced with. We need the newly proposed zoning classifications as of yesterday. Ninety-eight percent of our families petitioned for a single family-only zone, yet City Planning has been unresponsive."

Community Board 13 Chairman Richard Hellenbrecht stated, "Queens Colony and similar neighborhoods around the borough are quality communities, providing affordable home ownership for working families. But these Queens communities will not be attractive much longer if they continue to be overrun with twofamily homes where they don't fit in."