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Projects & Proposals > Queens > North Corona Rezoning

North Corona Rezoning - Approved!
Goals and Objectives

Goals and Objectives | New Zoning Districts

On September 17, 2003, the City Council unanimously adopted the Department of City Planning’s rezoning proposal encompassing 120 blocks in North Corona, Community District 3, Queens. This followed approval by the community board on May 15, by the Borough President on June 20 and by the City Planning Commission on July 23, 2003 ( read the CPC Report). The approved changes, the first comprehensive revision of the area’s zoning since 1961, are the result of more than a decade of close consultation with Community District 3, especially its Land Use Committee, the Queens Borough President’s Office and its Zoning Task Force.

The North Corona rezoning is bounded by 32nd Avenue / Astoria Boulevard on the north, 114th Street on the east, Roosevelt Avenue on the south, and on the west, the boundary is defined by a stepped line of north - south running streets beginning at 89th Street at Roosevelt Avenue and ending at the intersection of 93rd Street at 32nd Avenue.

Existing Land Use and Neighborhood Character

Land Use Map North Corona

View larger map in pdf

North Corona is mostly a residential community (see Land Use Map). The widely varied residential building types reflect North Corona’s historical development patterns, beginning with its origin as the village of West Flushing in 1854 and its early growth concentrated south of Roosevelt Avenue along the then recently completed Long Island Rail Road. After World War I, completion of the #7 IRT “el” on Roosevelt Avenue stimulated higher-density residential development in North Corona. Walk-up and elevator apartment buildings were constructed in the 1920's and 30's on blocks west of Junction Boulevard. To the east, closely spaced one- and two-family residences were built on relatively narrow lots next to larger parcels with detached, one-family homes of the earlier era.

Development in the decades after the Second World War was typified by the "tower-in-the-park" apartment houses built along the northeastern and western edges of the rezoning area. The few, scattered residential developments built since then have not addressed the need for new housing spurred by a dramatic increase in population over the last decade. Moreover, the areas zoning, virtually unchanged since 1961, did not reflect existing residential building types, thereby allowing new development that did not fit in with the prevailing neighborhood character.

The North Corona rezoning seeks to balance neighborhood growth with preservation. It will reinforce the neighborhood’s low-density character by limiting building heights on interior residential blocks. And it will provide opportunities for higher-density, mid-rise housing on wide streets served by public transit and for mixed-use commercial and residential development on major shopping corridors.

photo of southeast corner of 108th Street and Astoria Blvd. • Foster new residential and mixed-use development at higher densities on portions of Astoria, Northern and Junction boulevards.
Between 1990 and 2000, Community District 3 had the largest increase in population of any district in the city, adding over 40,000 new residents. To address the pressing need for new housing for North Corona, the rezoning provides for increased residential density on the area’s wide streets.

Image: Southeast corner of 108th Street and Astoria Boulevard. R6 zoning replaces R5 to stimulate new residential development.

photo of 108th Street • Prevent out-of-character development and maintain the established scale of buildings on neighborhood side streets.
The area’s 1961 zoning designations did not reflect neighborhood building patterns and allowed high-rise developments on side streets between Roosevelt and 35th / 34th avenues where lower rise buildings predominate. Noting the existing scale of residential development on these streets, the rezoning establishes building height limits and requires the front wall of a building to be set back from the sidewalk.

Image: Out-of-scale new residential construction on 108th Street. A contextual designation (R6B) replaces R6 zoning.

photo of Existing mixed-use on 37th Avenue

•Support ground floor retail uses and mixed-use development by matching commercial overlays with existing development patterns.
The former commercial overlay districts did not reflect actual patterns of street-level retail uses. The rezoning increases the number of overlay districts, but reduces their depth to prevent retail uses from spilling over onto residential streets.

Image: Existing mixed-use (retail and residential) on 37th Avenue. Overlay district added to reflect development patterns.

Goals and Objectives | New Zoning Districts

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