New York City Council Approves Largest Rezoning in 2 Decades
Some 15,000 new units will rise as part of this initiative.
The New York City Council has greenlit the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan, a rezoning initiative that paves the way for nearly 15,000 new apartments, including 4,350 affordable homes across Long Island City in Queens, N.Y.
This bill marks the largest rezoning in more than two decades, as well as the fifth over the past two years. One of the previous initiatives was the Atlantic Avenue Mixed Use Plan in Brooklyn, N.Y., which OneLIC touches upon, modifying its nonresidential zoning to allow industrial, arts and community facilities.
OneLIC rezones 54 city blocks, an area where Amazon had previously intended to build its headquarters roughly seven years ago. One development that will kick off following this bill is a 314-unit project with 79 income-restricted apartments at 78-01 Queens Blvd., contributing to the new multifamily construction across the metro. Apex Development Group owns the property, according to Yardi Matrix data.
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This effort also allows for 3.8 million square feet of commercial, light industrial and community space, in addition to a new waterfront esplanade, transportation and public realm enhancements, upgrades to parks and open spaces, as well as public education improvements, among others. More than $905 million is earmarked for this endeavor.
Queens’ inventory set to grow even further
OneLIC isn’t the only bill to increase Queens’ stock. Just last week, the City Council approved the Jamaica Neighborhood Plan, another initiative that, together with OneLIC, may bolster the borough’s inventory by 26,500 units.
Queens comprised more than 32,300 units in planning and permitting stages, while its pipeline consisted of approximately 7,700 apartments underway, of which 39.5 percent were within fully affordable projects as of November, the data provider shows.
