The city is gearing up for a rezoning that could bring 12,000 homes to Jamaica, Queens.
With nine months left of the first (and possibly last) term of the Adams administration, one neighborhood rezoning is on the cusp of being approved by the City Council, one just started public review and another is about to do the same on Thursday.
City Planning will certify the plan to rezone a swath of Jamaica to allow for the construction of more than 12,000 homes in the Queens neighborhood, of which 4,000 would be income-restricted through the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program. In fact, this would be the largest MIH area ever mapped, according to City Planning. The administration also projects that the rezoning could net 2 million square feet of commercial space.
The certification kickstarts the monthslong land use review process, known as the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. The plan covers more than 300 blocks in and around Downtown Jamaica and will ultimately need buy-in from local Council members Nantasha Williams and James Gennaro, as well as City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, all of whose districts will be affected by the rezoning.
Here’s a quick recap of where the Adams administration’s neighborhood rezonings stand:
— The Atlantic Avenue rezoning is in the home stretch. On Wednesday, City Planning approved the plan, affecting a 21-block stretch in Central Brooklyn, which the city expects 4,600 new homes will be built. The plan now heads to the City Council.
— In August, the City Council approved the rezoning of 46 blocks in the Bronx, where a projected 7,000 homes are expected to be built over the next 10 years.
— City Planning kicked off public review of the Midtown South rezoning in January, which would bring 9,700 units to the area.
— The city released a draft for the planned Long Island City rezoning last June, which could create 14,000 units.
Of course the unit projections depend on developers having the appetite to build said units. Right now, the environment for ground-up development isn’t, shall we say, great. Developers have bemoaned interest rates, high construction costs, the threat of tariffs and the wage requirements for projects looking to receive the property tax break 485x.
What we’re thinking about: What would it take for one of the mayoral candidates to overtake Andrew Cuomo as the presumptive frontrunner before the June primary? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Jamaica, Queens, is named after… beavers? The neighborhood is not named after the Caribbean island but is believed to instead derive from “jameco,” the Algonquin word for “beaver,” according to the New York Times.
Elsewhere in New York…
— A fourth person in New York has been diagnosed with measles, Gov. Kathy Hochul confirmed on Wednesday. About 81 percent of 2-year-olds in New York have received their first dose of the MMR vaccine, despite federal recommendations that children get the shot between 12 and 15 months old, Gothamist reports. Three of the confirmed cases were in NYC, with one reported out of Suffolk County.
— It is the end of an era. The MTA will stop selling MetroCards at the end of the year, the New York Times reports.
— Former First Deputy Mayor Maria-Torres Springer has a new gig, City & State reports. She is starting a fellowship at the Ford Foundation.
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Wednesday was $6 million for a 1,264-square-foot, sponsor-sale condominium unit at 685 Fifth Avenue in the Plaza District. McKenzie, Jade Mills and Alexander Boriskin of Douglas Elliman had the listing.
Commercial: The most expensive commercial closing of the day was $68.5 million for a 92,722-square-foot, 105-unit apartment building at 237 11th Street in Park Slope. Davidson Kempner sold the property to Living, N.Y.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $18.7 million for a 3,851-square-foot condo at 33 East 74th Street in Lenox Hill. Kevin B. Brown and Craig George of Sotheby’s International Realty have the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for a 60,702-square-foot, five-story school building at 1472 Boston Road in Crotona Park East. Matthew McChesney of KSS Architects filed the permit on behalf of Civic Builders.
— Matthew Elo
