200 Kent Avenue and 47-03 108th Street Rezoning Applications

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Well, good morning. Welcome to today's New York City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises. At this time please silence all phones. If you wish to speak in today's hearing please fill out an appearance card with one of the sergeants. Moving forward, no one is to approach the chair.

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Good morning and welcome to a meeting of the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises. I am CM Farah Louis, Chair of the Subcommittee. This morning I am joined by CM Felder, Encarnación, J. Sanchez, Epstein and, remotely, I believe Barry is not yet on. Today we are holding three hearings on the following proposals: the 200 Kent Avenue mixed use residential rezoning in CM Restler's district; the 47-03 108th Street mixed use residential rezoning in CM Thomas-Henry's district; and the Flatiron NoMad Major Concessions application regarding portions of Broadway and Fifth Avenue in CM Wilson's and Epstein's districts.

One additional note about today's agenda: although the proposal known as St. Augustine was listed in the City Record for today, this item has not been called up for Council review and will not be heard.

This meeting is being held in hybrid format. Members of the public who wish to testify may do so in person or via Zoom. Members of the public wishing to testify remotely may register by visiting the New York City Council website at www.council.nyc.gov/landuse to sign up. For those of you here in person, please see one of the sergeants at arms to prepare and submit a speaker card. Members of the public may also view a live stream broadcast of the meeting at the Council's website.

When you are called to testify before the Subcommittee, if you are joining us remotely you will remain muted until recognized by myself to speak. When you are recognized your microphone will be unmuted. We will limit public testimony to two minutes per witness. If you have additional testimony that you would like the Subcommittee to consider, or if you have written testimony that you would like to submit instead of appearing in person, please email it to landuse.testimony. Testimony may be submitted up to three days after the hearing is closed. Please indicate the LU number and project name in the subject line of your email. We request that witnesses joining us remotely remain in the meeting until you are excused, as Council members may have questions.

Lastly, for everyone attending the meeting today, this is a government proceeding and decorum must be observed at all times. Members of the public are asked to not speak during the meeting unless you are testifying. The witness table is reserved for people who are called to testify and no video recording or photography is allowed from the witness table. Further, members of the public may not present audio or video recordings as testimony but may submit transcripts of such recordings to the sergeant at arms for inclusion in the record.

We have also been joined by CM Thomas-Henry and CM... I will now open the first public hearing on the Flatiron NoMad Major Concessions application for portions of Broadway and Fifth Avenue in CM Wilson's and Epstein's districts. Over the past few years there have been temporary initiatives to re-envision this corridor between 19th Street and West 31st Street into a more engaging and safer public realm for pedestrians. This application would allow for long-term programming which would be maintained by the Flatiron/NoMad Partnership.

For anyone wishing to testify regarding this proposal remotely, if you have not already done so please sign up online by visiting the Council's website at council.nyc.gov/landuse. For anyone with us today please see one of the sergeants at arms in the back to submit a speaker card. If you would prefer to submit written testimony you can always do so by emailing it to landuse.testimony@council.nyc.gov. I now recognize CM Wilson and CM Epstein for remarks.

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We have also been joined by CM Farías online. Thank you, Chair, and thank you to our applicant today. I am excited to hear this major concession for a big part of my district in the Flatiron. As the Chair mentioned, this is a really great opportunity to continue how we are re-envisioning this corridor and offers a great opportunity to think about how we are using public space. We have a really great partner in the Business Improvement District here and it is going to be, in my view, if done correctly — and I think we are on the way to doing that — an opportunity for us to really think about how we are leveraging public space as well as how it integrates with the neighborhood.

It makes for a lively and safer street but it also gives us an opportunity to think about how we are using public space for things like waste removal and who gets to use the public realm and for what purposes. I think we are working really hard to strike a strong balance here that is reasonable, that gives everybody the tools that they need to make sure that this continues to be a world-class public space and how it is going to further integrate into the capital redesign of this corridor. So I look forward to this hearing and I am looking forward to continuing to advance what I think is going to be a significant and positive change for this corridor. I want to thank my colleague CM Epstein who held down the fort while there was no...

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...Council member for a few months. I also want to thank DOT for their partnership and our land use team, particularly Dana and Chelsea, for all of the work that they have done on this. And also the BID, who have been great stewards of this part of town and I know will continue to do that once we get this over the finish line. So thank you all very much for being here and I am looking forward to the hearing today.

I want to thank the Chair for allowing us to move forward on this hearing. And I want to thank CM Wilson too — from day one when he started he was really engaged with this project and was listening to our concerns and thoughts around how we improve this neighborhood and to make sure that what we are doing reflects our community values, our environmental values, our public values around publicly facing space and making sure that people in this community could have access to a location that we think will be a vital corridor in our shared districts.

And finally, to the BID: we are asking a lot of you and we appreciate you taking this on. It is a lot of responsibility to serve our neighborhood, a lot of responsibility to have this space be open and available to the public, and I think this partnership will continue to grow as we have this conversation. Thank you.

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Good morning everyone. My name is Emily Widenhof, Director of Public Realm at the New York City Department of Transportation. We are excited to present our proposal for a major concession this morning. If we go to the first slide in our presentation: the New York City Department of Transportation is the applicant, along with our plaza partner the Flatiron NoMad Partnership.

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The action here today is a major concession, which pursuant to the rules of New York City requires any area that is over 42,000 square feet to go through this additional land use review. Most recently we went through a similar application for Times Square Plaza just north of here. This location is in Manhattan Community District 5 in Council Districts 2 and 3.

If we go to the next slide, you can see the area in blue, which represents the existing concession agreement that we have with the Flatiron NoMad Partnership. This in large part represents the original public spaces that were created almost 10 years ago. As we have worked with the community, with our partners and with elected officials, we have worked to expand pedestrian and cycling priority. The corridor is really recognizing all of that transformation of street as public space. So we are going from the original 38,500 square feet, expanding all that additional area shown in red — where you see additional plazas, shared streets and pedestrian space — to now the application of 162,345 square feet. That will essentially allow the BID to fully maintain this area, and any of the revenue that they generate as part of their concession agreement with New York City DOT will be able to go back into the maintenance, management and operations of this large area. We feel like this is really important to give them the tools that they need to really manage this public space comprehensively in partnership with the City.

The next couple of slides we can run through quickly. First we see the surrounding land use — again, a lot of mixed use residential and we have Madison Square Park. The next slide shows the zoning map. This portion of the corridor is part of the most recent Midtown South rezoning, which looks to bring more residential into the district. So again, this type of effort is really important as we look to continue to support thriving commercial and residential uses in this dense part of Manhattan.

The next slide gives some context. So much of this work has grown out of the Broadway Vision effort, which really looks to prioritize pedestrians and cyclists along this corridor. Where we have five Business Improvement Districts, we are aiming to create a comprehensive, coordinated experience along the corridor while still respecting the five different neighborhoods that Broadway intersects. The next set of slides show the existing conditions through the corridor.

We will quickly start in the south. Here you see images of 19th and 20th Street, the southernmost portion. You can see that there is still space for vehicles to pick up and drop off but we have a lot more expanded pedestrian space for seating and greening. Next slide: here we see additional shared streets and cycling facilities. A big part of the Broadway Vision is to create a comfortable and connected two-way cycling route through the district. This is 20th and 21st Streets.

Next slide: we get to 22nd and 23rd Street and this is where you see some of the larger, more premier public spaces. This is the public space at the Flatiron Building where the BID has some of the existing sub-concessions per their concession agreement. You see the kiosk in that image there. This is also an area where the BID hosts a lot of art and programming.

Next slide: we move to the other big premier public space across the street from the Flatiron Building, 23rd Street up through 25th Street. Here we have plazas as well as Worth Square and a shared street. Part of our larger collaboration is with our colleagues in the Parks Department as well as the Madison Square Park Conservancy, who maintains these adjacent park spaces.

Next slide: we see the northern portion of the district, 25th to 28th Street. These were blocks that were very successful as open streets with outdoor dining during the pandemic. Part of Broadway Vision has really looked to fully pedestrianize more of these blocks to promote more outdoor dining as well as public seating.

Next is 28th and 29th Street — again, those expanded pedestrian spaces that bring safety but also lots of opportunity for gathering, meeting and greening. The last slide is 29th through 31st Street, which is the northernmost portion of the district before we get to Herald Square.

Next slide: I wanted to give a brief overview of some of the longer-term and really exciting changes coming to the corridor. Separate from the major concession but very interrelated is the City's investment in a full street reconstruction and really major redesign of this corridor. We have been designing the southern portion of the district for quite some time. We are now in final design and excited to get out to the community for workshops and present to the community board for this southern portion of the section later this fall.

Next slide: you can see this southern section, 21st to 27th Street, where we will be fully reconstructing the street. The curbs will go away, the paint and gravel will go away, and we will have a fully transformed, greener, more vibrant public space that will also have important things like utility connections, which will allow the partners to manage the space and hold events as well.

The last slide shows the future capital phases, 27th Street all the way up to the north, which is currently in scoping with our colleagues at the Department of Design and Construction. That will also go through a robust public engagement process — public workshops, community board and ultimately the Public Design Commission for review.

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With that I am going to turn it over to my colleague Kyle. Good morning everyone. I am Kyle Gorman from the DOT Public Realm team. I am a Director of Programs, Operations and Partnerships. Lastly, we wanted to highlight a little bit more about what concessions actually look like in these plazas. If we move two slides ahead please, I will give a brief overview of concessions. These promote the positive and active use of these spaces and create opportunities for small businesses. There are a few different types of concession agreements that DOT does. Predominantly today we are really talking about the plaza concession agreement, which allows the BID to host commercial events and derive fees from those commercial entities that are hosting those events, entering into sponsorship agreements and having sub-concessions, which we will talk about briefly. Typically these are multi-year agreements that can be up to 20 years, which is something that we are looking to pursue with the BID.

Next slide please. On the types of concessions: commercial events are done in collaboration with the Street Activity Permit Office, SAPO, who collects a fee. The City has a fee schedule for the different types of events that can happen in these spaces when commercial entities want to host different types of marketing opportunities for themselves. Our plaza partners also get to collect a fee based on a similar type of schedule that is developed in coordination with the BID. These are sometimes Nike or Netflix or what have you, who are able to host these usually single-day events to promote some sort of new initiative or marketing opportunity for that particular business.

Next slide: a limited amount of sponsorship is in no way to be considered advertising. It is more of just a way to give a small callout to a business or some type of organization that is able to sponsor some element. We have very specific parameters and requirements for what this looks like in the public realm and usually it is relegated to logos and branding.

Next slide: in a number of our plazas we have structures that are kiosks that allow for the sales of food and other types of merchandise. The Flatiron BID has for a number of years operated...

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...a kiosk themselves as well. This is a more formal structure for a small business to sell food and beverage or small types of merchandise. We have seen unique types of kiosks in our public spaces across the years. DOT itself also has a standard design that we incorporate in the capital build-out of these spaces.

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Which will be contemplated in the capital project that Emily had mentioned as well. Next slide. Through our sub concessions, typically sub concessions come by way of markets, but you can enter into quite a number of different types of sub concessions. The most predominant one is a ten-table style market that usually includes some sale of merchandise or food, typically on a seasonal basis, or more year-long when it comes around for a farmer's market, connecting folks to local fresh food and locally made goods. This is done in coordination with quite a number of agencies, especially depending on the different types of market concessions that will take place, but this is another type of activation.

Next slide. A lot of times we try to pair these concession opportunities with some sort of public benefits, so we have a lot of great use cases around the City where we have a sub concession — like a small kiosk that is selling food and beverage — that is paired with some sort of event or programming that still provides a public benefit in this space, while still allowing a small local business to make some sort of revenue as well as creating a revenue stream for the BID.

And then just the last two slides, because I know we are almost at time. Talking about one of our newest types of sub concessions is concession seating. This is our form of outdoor dining on plazas through our concession agreements. It should be noted that this is separate and distinct from the dining out program, which is the general outdoor dining program in New York City. We allow for typically up to 33% of a plaza to be occupied by concession seating for those businesses, but when we go through a major concession, as we are talking about today, that can be up to 50%. That is something we have talked very closely with the Council Members about, and how exactly we would operationalize that in coordination with the BID and DOT and other agencies. So we feel very strongly about maintaining this but also maintaining the public space benefit of these concession seating opportunities. And just on the last slide, you can get a little visualization of what concession seating looks like. We are happy to talk about that more.

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Thank you. I have a question before I hand it over to CM Wilson and Epstein. Who has been maintaining the pedestrian-oriented features along this stretch of Broadway?

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That has been the Flatiron NoMad Partnership. How frequently will DOT inspect the concession area and what oversight will be maintained once the agreement is

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executed? Great question. So as part of DOT's regular concession process, we require that our concession partners provide quarterly reports and we also have some requirements for audited financial statements. So there is a team at DOT in our concessions division who is reviewing that on a regular basis. We also have teams that are out and about on the corridor, either because we are organizing a meeting with the BID or we have received some public questions or a 311 request. There is a whole host of different reasons why DOT would be out on site looking at various things in the plaza. We do not have an exact regimented process, but any time anything new is installed we not only review internally first but then we will do a site visit to look at the installation and confirm it meets the proposal. Thank you for that

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response. Does the annual public reporting show revenue that is collected and how do those funds get spent in major concession areas? So as part of again the requirement for our concession agreement, that is exactly what we are looking at — all of the revenue coming in and then how it is going to various allowed expenses per the terms of the concession agreement. That is not something we post online but it is something that is part of the record. Yes. All right, thank you for that.

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CM Epstein and CM Wilson, whoever wants to go first. Thank you, and thank you for spending time with us as we go through these questions and issues. I think you and your team have been really helpful, so I appreciate that. We talked a lot about environmental issues and I think we are all in the same place around trying to become more environmentally friendly. What role will DOT have in planning and overseeing whatever agreements we come to in the end? So we have talked with your office about working to certainly make sure that as part of the agreement itself we are being explicit that all of both our partner and its sub-concessionaires need to follow all relevant rules related to environmental law. We are also committed to, where possible, promoting recycling, composting and other environmentally friendly practices. That is something we will again coordinate closely with the BID on to make sure that it is feasible and playing out in all the activities.

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And the BID is going to report to you on those issues in your agreement with the BID. So again there will be some specificity in the agreement itself, but a lot of the agreement in terms of RFP proposals and things like that we are in conversation with them about. Certainly we know it is a really important value here but also honestly citywide, so it is something that yes, we will be making sure we do to the extent possible — environmentally safe practices and operations.

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And so if there was an issue with the BID, you will be a

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backup. Absolutely.

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Yes, very committed. We are the long-term stewards of these public spaces and I am happy to engage with you at any point. Yes. And just on the public seating, we have spent a lot of time talking about making sure that it is there and that people know public seating is available. What role will DOT play in ensuring that is happening and that there are notices and information up for the public so they are aware? Yes, so public seating is incredibly important to us. All of these spaces are public space. So we will be not only reviewing and approving the proposals that look at the balance of the public seating as well as the concession seating, but that will be something that we are evaluating as these spaces are evolving. The life of these spaces changes a lot over the years, so we do not see it as being static. It will be something we care deeply about and will be evaluating. We will also be regularly checking in to make sure that the setups that are reviewed per the sub concessions are actually in place and not encroaching or creeping into the other spaces that are for open accessible public seating. About putting in public water fountains and a public bathroom — and I know this is a little further down the pike — I am wondering what DOT's commitment to those public improvements is and where you see this happening in the context of the work that we are doing in the area.

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Yes, thank you. Those are all important elements for a healthy, thriving space. So we are working with our colleagues at the Department of Design and Construction to integrate public drinking fountains and water bottle filling stations into the capital design, and we are currently in conversations with our colleagues in a few City agencies about the ability to provide a public restroom. So we will be exploring

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those elements. There are a lot of technical constraints to those, but these are things that we are in conversation with sibling agencies

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about. I just want to make sure that DOT is committed to making that happen. Yes. Okay, thank you.

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I would also like to echo CM Epstein's comments about the collaboration and responsiveness from DOT. Thank you very much. I know it has been a lot of back and forth but I appreciate you all being at the table the whole time in really good faith. I have a couple of questions. In their recommendations, Community Board Five emphasized the importance of permanent separation between pedestrian areas and the proposed two-way bike lane. Can DOT explain how the capital design will physically separate pedestrians?

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So we are still in design and we will be sharing a lot of these details with the public when we go back to the community board. But one of the great things about the capital design is we have a lot more tools that we are able to use versus just paint and gravel. There are a few different elements that we are looking at. One is actually designing more planting in between the two-way cycling and the pedestrian space, so it will naturally feel separated. We are also looking at tactile surfaces — a little bit of a raised bump, if you will — which will help both visually and for people with visual impairments to feel the difference between the cycle track and the pedestrian space, as well as tactile domes where we have a physical crossing indicated. Those are some of the elements that we are looking to incorporate into the final design so it will feel more separated. In some of the blocks we are actually lowering the cycling lane a little bit lower than the sidewalk grade, so again there will be a little bit of a physical distinction clarifying which space is for whom.

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Is the business improvement district consulted during this design process? If we are talking about planting, I imagine they are going to be taking care of those. Are they part of that design

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process? Absolutely. We have a big meeting this week to dig into some of those details. But yes, absolutely, our design process is heavily reflective of the reality that our plaza partners are responsible for the long-term maintenance and management of the spaces, and we want to make sure we are designing both to a really world-class public standard but also one that our partners can maintain and sustain.

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Community Board Five also recommended relocating the Citi Bike station between 29th and 30th Street to improve pedestrian circulation. Has DOT evaluated that recommendation and what factors will determine whether or not that station is relocated?

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So we are discussing with our bikeshare colleagues at DOT different layouts for Citi Bike with the capital design. We have a few proposals that we will be sharing with the public as part of the southern portion. That northern section that you are mentioning, between 29th and 30th, we are not there yet in design, but as we look to fully reimagine the street we will be looking at how all the different pieces fit together and have a balanced, cohesive design. Citi Bike will be one of those elements. Balancing great, and

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then my last question. As part of the Midtown South Mixed Use points of agreement, the administration committed to advancing a kid-first district between West 22nd and West 25th Street as well as creating two additional car-free blocks. Can you provide an update on the status of these commitments?

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So we are looking at additional opportunities to pedestrianize blocks of Broadway and those will be proposals that we bring back to the public at the workshop stage of our capital redesign, so more to come on that soon. Our team is also working on the kid-friendly proposal. We are currently in the planning stages with our BID colleagues along the corridor and hope to have more to circle back on that soon. Okay, thank you, Chair.

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Are there any members of the public who wish to testify remotely or in person regarding this proposal? Potentially? Yeah. Okay, no? You sure? Thank you, Chair, for asking that. We do not have members of the public who want to testify in person or

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online. However, CM Felder, I believe, has a question. I have two

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questions of a general nature. Number one, about Citi Bike. It has been around for many, many years. Those bikes — for example, if after a year or two there are bikes that have been sitting there for who knows how long, and you know, one bike a week is used — removing those bikes. The reason I ask is that I see in my own district and I see it all over the City, there are certainly places where it is used, but there are other places where it is just not used for whatever reason. Unless this is some sort of cultural art exhibit, if they are not being used I would like to know — can you respond to that? So our team is not responsible for Citi Bike, but we appreciate your question. I can say that there is a big team at DOT and for every single Citi Bike there is data about where that bike is and the different docks, so we are happy to go back and have them provide you with a little bit more

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information about that. I appreciate that very much. And the second

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question is about helmets. I do not understand it. You — and when I say "you" I mean DOT — I remember distinctly when they started obligating drivers to use seat belts because of safety. I am very familiar with, for whatever reason, the accidents that occur with cyclists who do not wear helmets — to the cyclists and to the people that, unfortunately, if they bump into them, you know, that is that.

So I do not get the whole thing. I want to understand it. And it is not just you — you can send this to your friends there as well. I do not understand how the City functions without having a... I do not know what you want to call it. One street... you know, I do not know. I know that my kids — I am not the disciplinarian, never was. I always used to say when the kids asked me, I said it is okay with me, but there is Mommy, and then she would kill me because I know.

But a helmet — you could not get on a bike without a helmet. My wife trained the kids from an early time, and then they get older and instead of continuing you say okay, now it is okay. And the City has no program obligating people who are using City streets. I understand if someone wants to ride around their alley in circles without a helmet, but they are using City streets without helmets and that has been going on for years. And to top it all off, you are sitting across from a City program — the bicycle program in the City. I am almost done. To ensure the safety of cyclists by obligating anyone using a City street, whether on a bicycle or anything else, certainly if they are using a City street, just like you buckle up, you have to have a helmet. I do not understand it. So you can have your friends at DOT get back to me on that as well. I would appreciate it.

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Yeah, absolutely. DOT cares incredibly deeply about safety and we do have a lot of amazing teams that are partnering with elected officials to hand out free helmets to people all across New York City, so we would be happy to connect you with them.

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I do not want free helmets. I want everyone to have to wear one. Thank you, Council

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You may begin your testimony, which is limited to ten minutes. You should start to conclude at eight minutes. When you begin your presentation, please restate your name and the name of your organization. You may begin.

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Thank you, Chair Louis and Council Members. My name is Frank San Jack. I am with Ackerman. We are land use counsel for the applicant and I am joined by Andrew Esposito representing ownership. Next slide please.

This is an application in Queens Community District 4 to establish an R7X C2-4 zoning district that would facilitate the construction of a 13-story mixed use development with approximately 119 apartments on 108th Street in Corona. Next slide please.

As shown in the zoning map on the screen, the rezoning area is on a north-south corridor through the area and the rezoning area is located between 47th Avenue to the north and 48th Avenue to the south. It was zoned R6B in 1989. The R6B is adjacent to R5 zoning districts. Next slide please.

This land use map shows that the rezoning area and the blocks to the north are occupied by non-conforming industrial uses. There is no commercial overlay and industrial uses are not permitted in R zoning districts. 108th Street has a mix of non-conforming commercial and industrial uses. The rezoning area is transit-oriented with bus access along 108th Street and Corona Avenue to the west. The 7 train is approximately a half mile to the north of the rezoning area. As you can see, the mid-blocks beyond 108th Street are generally lower density residential and there are some community facility uses. The park is just a block to the east. Next slide please.

So this photograph facing east, you can see the rezoning area. Again, it is just that block front on 108th Street between 47th and 48th Avenue and it is occupied by non-conforming auto-related uses. Then you can see some of that surrounding residential context, generally lower density but multi-family row houses. There is a five-story basement multi-family building immediately to the east of the site along 48th Avenue. Next slide please.

The proposed R7X envelope is a medium density residential zoning district which is appropriate at this transit-oriented site, which is on the block front of a wide commercial corridor. The C2-4 would allow local commercial uses, retail and service uses on this historically mixed-use stretch of 108th Street. Next slide please.

The project details are shown here. Again, this is a mixed use building rising to 13 stories. The R7X permits a floor area ratio of 4.0, so the full development would be about 120,000 square feet with commercial and community facility space as well as parking. I will note that the parking required here would be for about 13 spaces but, recognizing demand in the area, we are providing about three times as much.

There will be a set-aside for Mandatory Inclusionary Housing as shown on this slide. The proposed development has again 119 total apartments, 30 of which would be permanently affordable under Option 1, which requires a set-aside of 25% of the residential floor area and a weighted average of 60% AMI with 10% at 40% AMI. This results in 12 units at 40% AMI and 80% AMI and six at 60% AMI, representing a spectrum of affordability within this district. Next slide please.

Community District 4 has a critical need for housing where 54% of residents are rent-burdened. This is the sixth highest rent-burdened population in New York City and the second highest in Queens, higher than Queens overall at 46% and New York City overall at 44.5%. So we believe that the introduction of new housing investment and new development at the site with the inclusion of Mandatory Inclusionary Housing would be appropriate and we welcome any questions. Thank you.

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I have a couple of questions and I will hand it over to CM Thomas-Henry. Last week we approved an application zoned as R7A for a development three blocks south of the site. How was this R7X district selected and why is R7X appropriate for the site?

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Thank you. So, you know, the 108th Street rezoning just a few blocks to the south — this site, we looked at R7X because it is entirely on 108th Street, the block front, about 200 by 100 feet along 108th Street. It is closer to transit resources and the context is different from the project to the south. On 108th Street, higher density homes are sort of within the block where the rezoning is contemplated. So we believe that the separation created by virtue of this rezoning area and project site being on the block front made the R7X more appropriate.

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Okay. And can you share your current proposed breakdown of units for the development? I know you shared some of it earlier, including affordability levels and the mix of unit sizes.

(00:46:06)

Sure. If we could just go back one slide, that should provide the affordability breakdown. And then as far as the total breakdown, this is a building that the initial illustrative design has only one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, so it is approximately 60% one-bedrooms and 40% two-bedrooms. Thank you.

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I will now recognize CM Thomas-Henry. Thank you, Chair. A couple of questions to piggyback on CM Louis's question.

(00:46:44)

About the bedroom mix — have you considered any three-bedrooms or a larger number of two-bedrooms versus one-bedrooms?

That is something we had not considered but we are happy to look into it.

Okay. So Community District 4 has expressed concerns, as you can imagine, about affordability within the proposed development. While there is a wide range of MIH options, have you considered using Option 3 to reach lower AMI bands?

This is again something we had not considered but we are happy to look into it.

Okay. There were also quite a few recommendations that came from the Borough President. Have you been able to review those and are those things that you are in line with?

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I will just jump back to the Option 3 question quickly. I will note that, as you are aware, MIH Option 1 requires a 25% set-aside for affordability. There would be fewer affordable units with Option 3 — Option 1 would allow for 25% while Option 3 would allow for only 20% affordable units. So that was one aspect of thinking about using MIH Option 1. And then with respect to the Borough President's conditions...

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I can highlight a couple of them that again are of great importance to the community as well. Utilizing local residents for working on the construction of this project — a minimum of 30% MWBE with quarterly reporting on hiring initiatives to both the Borough President's office and my office.

So we have no objection to that condition.

Okay. And also, what are you considering for the community facility spaces as well as the commercial spaces?

So we have had some conversation with your office and at this point we have some ideas about potential tenants for the community facility. We would like to continue that conversation with input and your feedback. We have had initial discussions with CommonPoint but have not selected a specific user for this space, so we are happy to continue that conversation and to have some feedback from you as to an appropriate community facility tenant.

Okay. And as you can imagine, there are a lot of families in this area and we are in desperate need of park space. Would you be open to investing in the local parks for any improvements needed?

We do not fully understand what that would look like generally. To answer your question, we are just concerned with what that would look like and how that would work in the context of seeking a discretionary action before the City Council.

Sorry about that. And then the last thing — I did see it is an all-electric building. Is that correct?

(00:50:12)

That is correct. And so, along those lines, the building will have a number of sustainability features as well as resiliency features built in. We have no objection to the Borough President's condition to incorporate bioswales and rain gardens. We understand that DOT has some new programs relating to bioswales and rain gardens and tree pits, so we are happy to look into that as well.

(00:50:40)

Definitely, because we have had quite a few flooding issues so that would be greatly appreciated. And last but not least — and we have discussed this — the height. This literally would be the tallest thing in this part of the district by twice the size.

We understand, CM, and we have looked into some potential design changes that would lower the height. We are happy to share those with you moving forward.

(00:51:06)

I appreciate it and I appreciate your constant communication and working with my office on this project. Thank you.

(00:51:13)

Appreciate it. Colleagues, are there any questions?

(00:51:20)

Thank you. So I agree — I think it is looking very out of character for what the neighborhood currently looks like now. And the fact that the community board has not necessarily been in favor of this, can you outline some of the community engagement you have had with some of the local neighbors? If there have been any opportunities to meet with them, to talk them through what their needs are and what they would like to see out of the project, outside of the community board meetings?

(00:51:53)

Outside of the community board meetings, no. We availed ourselves to the ULURP process, the Land Use Committee, and then had hearings with the Land Use Committee and the full community board.

(00:52:08)

So none with the direct neighborhood? No outside engagement?

(00:52:11)

I think, you know, Andrew has a relationship with some of the community board members and has spoken to them about specific concerns — sorry, excuse me — the community board members, and has had some offline conversations, but not any real direct engagement with the community.

Can I just add some color on that?

(00:52:28)

So I do have an independent relationship with some of the members of Community Board 4. We have had some very spirited — I would not even call them debates — conversations stemming from an earlier project at 78-00 Queens Boulevard where we worked with CM Krishnan's office in addition to Community Board 4 and we have been able to achieve some creative results that I think they are relatively pleased with. So we have had frank conversations, even to the extent you may not be privy to, about how to certainly hear them and work with them. Height has been a significant component. So I can tell you that, for what that is worth, it counts.

(00:53:06)

Thank you. I am going to kick it back to CM Thomas-Henry. Do you have another one?

Just one more question, as you heard...

(00:53:13)

Chair Louis mentioned there was another development recently approved in this corridor a couple of blocks down and there are potential other developments along this stretch. Are you open to collaborating with the other developers in terms of design and, when you are thinking about the commercial space, some type of coordination so that all developments are working cohesively with each other in terms of preserving the character of the neighborhood as well as not looking to monopolize the retail?

Absolutely. And to be...

(00:53:50)

perfectly clear, my office represented the other development, so establishing that coordination was easy to do and we are happy to keep your office looped in on that.

(00:54:03)

Appreciate it. And we have a personal relationship with that owner and developer as well and we have spoken preliminarily. But I think that is actually a really great idea. I am also thinking in terms of the community facility — for example, to the extent they are going to have any, we do not need the same services, et cetera. So I think if we all speak on that point that would be smart.

(00:54:20)

Yep, we are all on the same page. Appreciate it. Thank you.

(00:56:48)

Good afternoon. Chair and members of the Subcommittee, Jeremy Cousins-Freed, Frank Harris, Shriver Jacobson — land use counsel for the application at the 200 Kent Avenue Rezoning. Next slide please.

We are here today to discuss two proposed actions. The first is a Zoning Map amendment to rezone the project area from an M1-4 light manufacturing district to an M1-4A/R7X District, which would establish a Special Mixed Use District. This would result in approximately 143 dwelling units, 29 of 43 of which would be affordable, depending on the selected option. Next slide please.

A brief overview of the status of this application is warranted at this point. Brooklyn Community Board 1 voted favorably with conditions, as well as the Brooklyn Borough President. Those conditions related mostly to the use levels as well as the desire to see light uses on the ground floor of this building. City Planning approved this unanimously as well. Next slide.

The site is located on the Williamsburg waterfront on the west side of Kent Avenue, bounded by River Street, Metropolitan Avenue and North Third Street. You might call this South Williamsburg, but it is kind of in an area that is being actively redeveloped by the potential River Ring project as well as Domino. Next slide please.

Just walking around the site, you can see in this image looking to the northwest — the existing building is largely vacant. It was developed as a commercial office building with ground floor retail. There is, as we will see in an upcoming slide, a Trader Joe's on the ground floor. The second floor, which has a unique kind of metal cladding, was meant to screen a second floor parking structure that was to meet a prior zoning requirement for parking here. Next slide please.

As I mentioned, the Trader Joe's is at the corner of North Third Street and Kent. Some additional retail fronts on Kent Avenue, but as I mentioned, the upper floors as well as the remaining retail ground floor have remained vacant. Next slide.

Trader Joe's is mostly, if not almost entirely, located below grade. You can see here the office entrance on North Third Street as well as a curb cut and two elevators that were intended to bring cars up to the second floor. Next slide.

The site — we are looking at the building's River Street frontage and the Trader Joe's sub-grade parking entrance, where 43 parking spaces are located. Next slide please.

Looking north here, the photo to the left is the currently vacant — or used for commercial vehicle storage — site where River Ring is intended to be developed, and we are looking north to the Austin Nichols Building and the Williamsburg waterfront. Next slide please.

The site, as I mentioned, is located in an M1-4 District. Zoning in this area was originally modified as part of the Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezoning back in 2005. Since then it has been somewhat of a patchwork where private actors — owners and operators — have rezoned different pieces of property. Those rezonings have mostly resulted in MX-8 districts in particular. Next slide please.

You can see here the varied land uses in the area. What was maybe 20 or 30 years ago a more industrial, warehouse, light manufacturing portion of the City has become a pretty vibrant mixed use district where maker spaces, commercial as well as residential have begun to predominate. Next slide please.

Here you can see the site relative to the built context. The building and the site, along that waterfront, there are some pretty sizable skyscrapers that have been built as well as proposed. City Planning as well as the general built context here is to transition from east to west in terms of height and density. Next slide please.

As I mentioned, this is just a representation of the Zoning Map change from an M1-4 to an M1-4A/R7X District, which would allow for future mixed use development. Next slide.

On the screen right here you can see the proposed development. We have added the River Ring buildings in the built context for the future. The development area is approximately 22,000 square feet. As I mentioned, the proposed development is a partial conversion of the existing building as well as an enlargement on top of that converted building. This would result in approximately 93,000 residential square feet. The proposed development would retain the 43 parking spaces for Trader Joe's in the basement and have a commercial ground floor and second floor as well. Next slide please.

This is a rendering showing how the building will look with the River Ring buildings to the west along the waterfront. We think it fits very nicely within the built context and would be a welcomed addition to the neighborhood. Next slide. I will turn it over to Julio, the architect from Hill West, who will take it away.

(01:03:46)

Good afternoon. My name is Julio Magarino. I am with Hill West, architect for the applicant.

On this slide, as you can see, the proposed building will retain the existing ground floor storefront frame. Its glazing will remain. The existing metal panels will be replaced in kind with a brushed aluminum metal finish.

The existing second floor currently has solid opaque metal panels, which were constructed as screening for the previously required parking. The applicant proposes to reclad the facade with a curtain wall and metal panels, same as the ground floor.

The existing third through fifth floors have a curtain wall system. The applicant proposes to reclad the facade with a window wall and metal panel system. Next slide please.

The proposed enlargement, floors 6 through 14, features two different floor plates that alternate and integrate with the existing structure below. The alternating floor plates, combined with the slap-cover metal panels, accentuate the facade's articulation and create a unique identity for the project in this active developing neighborhood. Thank you. I will turn it back to counsel.

(01:04:52)

Just to wrap up — as I mentioned, the proposal here is to rezone the property to an M1-4A/R7X District to allow for mixed use development. As you can see on this slide, the ground floor and second floor as proposed will be commercial use. There will be significant open space on top of the building's podium, and then the enlargement, which will be residential, will be built above. We think this is a great addition to the neighborhood. It activates a mostly vacant commercial office building and provides new market rate and affordable housing for an area that is very much in need. Thank you.

(01:05:42)

Thank you. I have a couple of questions. Could you discuss some more how the construction of the new addition will be achieved on the existing building, and whether you plan to keep the existing businesses open during construction?

(01:05:55)

Sure. So this has been a discussion with the community as well as the Council Member. We are currently in conversations with Trader Joe's and the other tenants in the building, and they will remain open during construction. Construction will be staged in a way — because we have four frontages — to allow for those businesses to remain open and to have as minimal disruption

(01:06:23)

as possible. The unique aspect of this building was that even though it was built back when this was actually zoned M3-1, over 65 to 67 years ago, it was structurally built to support an overbuilt addition as we are proposing today. So someone very smart designed this building from a structural standpoint to allow for a future enlargement. From a construction standpoint and a structural standpoint, we think this is doable and very

(01:07:05)

feasible. They started to work for you in advance, I guess. When do you

(01:07:12)

anticipate starting construction, and how long do you anticipate the construction to take? So in an ideal circumstance, 2027 construction commencement — that assumes approval of the ULURP as well as the preparation of building permits. Given that, it is fair to say 2027

(01:07:37)

is a fair assessment. I can turn this over to Julio to weigh in. I believe the construction timeframe would be truncated given the limited demolition required here and no excavation required here. So there are significant construction benefits to repurposing the existing building, including the podium, that can assist with getting this to market as quickly as possible.

(01:08:09)

That is correct. I think construction on a building this size could be 18 to 24 months. Being that a third of the building already exists, it could probably be within 12 to 15 months.

(01:08:25)

Does your client want to continue to develop or resell?

(01:08:31)

Our client fully intends to develop this. Okay.

(01:08:36)

You are proposing a mixed use manufacturing and residential district. However, your current proposal does not include manufacturing uses. Why did you choose this mixed use zoning district and how does the district benefit your proposal?

(01:08:50)

It is a good question, and it is one we have been asked by the Borough President staff and the Borough President as well as the Community Board. As to light manufacturing uses that are permitted pursuant to the district zoning, we are committed to reaching out to local organizations to encourage light manufacturing uses here. The reason why it was selected as a zoning district was because that district allows for the greatest flexibility of non-residential uses, and it is the predominant district in this area. So when you look at the neighborhood on a broad scale — and I do not know if we want to go back to that slide — you can see that the Special Mixed Use District is kind of a patchwork throughout this area of Williamsburg. So it makes sense from a land use planning standpoint. It also makes sense from a flexibility of use standpoint.

(01:09:51)

Got it. And could you provide a unit mix and affordability breakdown for your residential

(01:09:57)

units? Sure. More detail is in the application's racial equity report. I can tell you that as proposed, the building, based on certain factors, proposes to contain up to 143 dwelling units, of which 29 of 43 would be affordable. The applicant is open to options 1 and 2. There have been conversations with the Council Member about selecting option 1. Either option works with the development proposal and we fully intend to develop in accordance with that option.

(01:10:37)

And can you also give us the bedroom count?

(01:10:41)

Given that this is an illustrative building, we have not developed that bedroom count at this point. There is an illustrative bedroom count in the racial equity report. What I would note is — and we heard this at the Community Board — there is a desire for this neighborhood to have larger units with more bedrooms, and we understand that desire and we are looking to meet that.

What is the applicant proposing? What is the applicant thinking about when it comes to bedroom count? I think at this point it is a little early to weigh in on the bedroom count. I will say that there is a standard studio, 1, 2, 3 bedroom mix that is in that racial equity report. I would think of that somewhat as the floor and not the ceiling. We would, if anything, trend towards larger units rather than smaller units. This is not going to be all studios. I do not imagine that is the applicant's intent.

(01:11:39)

Okay. I have a couple of questions about the Council Member, who had to step out. The Community Board asked that you consider redesigning the bike parking in the Trader Joe's parking lot for better and safer access. Will you make best efforts to fulfill that request?

(01:11:56)

I can say yes. The applicant does intend to work with Trader Joe's. I would just note — and we have given this response to the Community Board as well as to the Council Member, and I think the Council Member is fully aware of this — the bike spaces are within the Trader Joe's leased premises. So the applicant fully intends to use best efforts to work with Trader Joe's to make sure that that space is better configured, including incorporating community feedback as to how we can make it safer and more accessible.

(01:12:30)

Consider that part of the feedback they said they wanted. All right. The Borough President has asked that you identify light manufacturing tenants that can occupy the building's commercial spaces. Will you make best efforts to do that, including working proactively with Evergreen, North Brooklyn Business Exchange and Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center to identify tenants?

(01:12:54)

Yes. The applicant has made that commitment to the Borough President and to Commissioner Osorio at the City Planning Commission.

(01:13:02)

Perfect. Are you using 485-X? Have you proposed or already considered 421-a?

(01:13:11)

At current, because this is a partial conversion and a partial enlargement, it is still an open question whether 485-X as a tax abatement program will be looked to. So we do not have that answer at this time.

(01:13:29)

Got it. Counsel, are there any members of the public who wish to testify remotely or in person regarding this proposal?

(01:13:36)

No, there are no members of the public signed up online or in person.

(01:13:40)

For members of the public here — sorry — if there are any members of the public who wish to testify regarding this proposal remotely, please press the raise hand button now. If you are in person, please identify yourself to one of the Sergeants at Arms. This is the last call. You have 30 seconds.

Being there are no members of the public who wish to testify regarding Land Use items relating to the 200 Kent Avenue mixed use residential rezoning proposal, the public hearing is now closed. These items are now laid over. This applicant panel is now excused.

That concludes today's business. I would like to thank the members of the public, my colleagues, Subcommittee counsel, Land Use and counsel staff and the Sergeants at Arms for participating in today's meeting. This meeting is hereby adjourned.