This week, the City Council overwhelmingly passed legislation that rezones large areas of East New York, by a vote of 45-1. This amendment is the first major rezoning to be passed after the recent Zoning for Quality and Affordability (ZQA) and Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) amendments were approved in late March.
The rezoning affects almost 200 blocks in East New York, and creates the city’s first Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Designated Area (MIHA), where low-income housing will be required to be provided as part of any new residential development. This new MIHA is mapped mainly along Fulton Street, Atlantic Avenue, Liberty Avenue, and Pitkin Avenue east of Pennsylvania Avenue. The rezoning also creates a new Special Mixed Use District, encouraging light manufacturing uses, and new Special Enhanced Commercial Districts, promoting ground floor commercial uses in established commercial areas. East New York is the first of a number of neighborhoods targeted by the mayor for rezoning as part of his affordable housing plan.
More information about the proposal can be found here, and the full approved text is available on the City Council’s website.