The Department of City Planning identified central
Long Island City as a growth area with significant
potential for office, retail and residential development
and on July 26, 2001, the City Council adopted the
Department's initiative to rezone 37 centrally located
blocks in the area. This new zoning will facilitate
commercial development at increased densities and
allow new residences to mix with commercial and
light industrial businesses which are already allowed.
The goal of the zoning is to foster reinvestment
and redevelopment that takes advantage of Long Island
City's excellent mass transit access and its supply
of large, underdeveloped properties.
The adopted
Zoning Text Amendment is in pdf format.
Located in the center of the New York region
and five minutes from Midtown Manhattan by subway,
Long Island City provides a great opportunity
for companies needing reasonably priced office
space. The area’s traditional base of industrial
and distribution firms has broadened to include
offices, services and institutions as the city's
economic activity has diversified during the past
half-century. In the Long Island City core, the
rezoning replaces existing low density light manufacturing
zones with higher density, mixed commercial and
residential zones to allow as-of-right developments,
including office buildings with large, efficient
floor plates. The rezoning effort, combined with
additional city and state initiatives to develop
more attractive streetscapes, renovate subway
stops, improve the flow of traffic and provide
new targeted tax and economic development incentives,
lays a strong foundation to support Long Island
City’s continued growth and enhance its distinct
sense of place.
The rezoning area is at the eastern end of the
Queensboro Bridge, generally between 23rd Street
on the west, 41st Avenue on the north and the
Sunnyside Yards on the east. Busy transit stops
at Court Square and Queens Plaza are hubs within
the area. The rezoning adds 34 blocks to a three-block
section located at Court Square that was rezoned
in 1986 for high density development and facilitated
the construction of the Citibank building, a 1.25
million square-foot office tower. The rezoning
area forms a compact, pedestrian- and transit-oriented
precinct characterized by a mix of industrial,
residential and commercial uses. Elevated mass
transit and roadway structures traverse the area's
streets and blocks, while small landscaped seating
areas and a public park near Court Square offer
respite to area employees and residents. Several
underbuilt sites, containing at least 50,000 square
feet of space, provide development opportunities
near area subway stations.
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