Councilman Eric Ulrich speaks about the massive Ozone Park rezoning that was approved by the City Council on Tuesday – the final step needed in order for the plan to be implemented. Photo Courtesy William Alatriste/NYC Council
The New York City Council on Tuesday approved a plan to rezone 530 blocks in Ozone Park, giving the final stamp of approval need to implement far-reaching and long-awaited changes that area leaders and residents said will help to maintain the neighborhood’s character while funneling business to the appropriate corridors.
The plan, which updates zoning maps that have not been altered since 1961, was undertaken in response to concerns raised by Community Boards 9 and 10 and others that the current zoning does not reflect existing building patterns. It is the second largest rezoning approved during the 12 years that Mayor Bloomberg has led the city.
Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), an Ozone Park native who has been at the forefront of the rezoning, said he was proud to vote Tuesday.
“The new zoning enacted into law today will protect Ozone Park from overdevelopment and help create a more livable neighborhood,” he said in a statement. “It will also spur new modest development, especially in the commercial districts, thereby creating jobs and increasing property values.”
According to the Department of City Planning, recent building trends have lead to the demolition of traditional detached one- and two-family homes.
In their stead developers have built semi-detached, attached and multi-family buildings.
Current zoning rules also do not separate major corridors from residential streets, so recent development has not occurred in commercial areas.
The area to be updated is bounded by Rockaway Boulevard, Atlantic Avenue and 101st Avenue to the north; the Queens-Brooklyn border to the west, the Belt Parkway to the south; and the Van Wyck Expressway and Lefferts Boulevard to the east.
There are three goals for the changes: reinforce the residential character and current building patterns in the neighborhood, direct some new resident and mix-used development to major corridors and mass transit hubs and prevent commercial encroachment into residential areas.
Some increased development is expected along the three commercial corridors included in the rezoning: Rockaway Boulevard, 101st Avenue and Liberty Avenue.
Ulrich has previously said city planners painstakingly studied the neighborhood block to block to make sure the proposed rezoning accurately reflected the area.
The City Council’s approval marks the final stage in a months-long review process that involved Community Boards 9 and 10, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and the City Planning Commission.
“The City Council’s approval of our rezoning plan for Ozone Park is the culmination of an effort that has been long sought by the local community, and it will provide a framework for more orderly and sustainable growth for the neighborhood,” Bloomberg said in a prepared statement. “This important milestone, which represents the second largest rezoning initiative we have undertaken in the last 12 years, punctuates our tremendous efforts to ensure development is consistent with the character of neighborhoods, while at the same time fostering new business and housing opportunities near mass transit links.”
On Tuesday Councilman Ruben Wills (D-Jamaica), who also represents part of the rezoned area, said the plan takes a balanced approach to ensure the one and two-family distinctive characters native to South Ozone Park remain in place.
“Out-of-character structures and overdevelopment has become far too common in our communities,” he said. “That is why it was important that we undertook these aggressive measures to protect the integrity of our neighborhoods.”
Marshall said the rezoning will help protect vulnerable blocks within the neighborhood.
By Bianca Fortis
