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Introduction
The
future of East 14th Street from the eastern boundary
of the Special Union Square District (approximately
at Irving Place) to Avenue C is of special interest
to the Department of City Planning as well as
Community Planning Boards 2, 3 and 6, which border
it. There is a renewed interest in the redevelopment
of several properties along the East 14th Street
corridor, and it is important that future development
be guided by planning and development objectives
that reinforce the existing neighborhoods.
The
Department of City Planning (DCP) undertook this
study of East 14th Street in order to reexamine
existing zoning controls. This report is intended
to serve as a public discussion document which
would help guide the decision-makers in evaluating
the rezoning of the area.
The
whole of 14th Street, from the Hudson River to
the East River, has long been a center of commercial
activity due to its excellent public transit access,
east-west continuity, the history of Union Square
as a commercial center, and its function as a
seam tying together diverse neighborhoods.
The
study area extends along East 14th Street from
University Place to Avenue C. It is bordered by
the Lower East Side to the south, Greenwich Village
to the southwest, Union Square to the west, Stuyvesant
Square and Stuyvesant Town to the north, and Con
Edison facilities to the east.
Commercial
and residential uses predominate along East 14th
Street just east of Union Square, whereas, between
Third Avenue and Avenue C residential walk-ups
with ground floor retail and single-story taxpayers,
interspersed with community facilities, prevail.
Some of the more significant influences on the
character of East 14th Street include Union Square,
the adjacent residential neighborhoods, and urban
renewal areas and historic districts, including
the Greenwich Village, St. Marks, and Stuyvesant
Square Districts.
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