The Mayor’s City of Yes initiative seeks to amend zoning rules to help the City recover more quickly from the pandemic, to create a greener city, to support small business growth, and to incentivize the creation of housing, at all levels, in all New York City neighborhoods. There are three proposed zoning text amendments that would be part of this initiative:

Zoning for Carbon Neutrality aims to modernize the zoning regulations in support of the City’s climate goals. The changes would focus on supporting a renewable energy grid, making our buildings clean and efficient, support for electric vehicle charging and micro-mobility options, and reducing waste and storm water. The text amendment was formally presented to the New York City Planning Commission on April 24th (you can view the video here), and is now in the public review process. The matter was heard at the May 22nd meeting of the Land Use & Waterfront Committee. The committee decided to vote favorably on Zoning for Carbon Neutrality, and a corresponding resolution on this Text Amendment passed our June Full Board meeting. You can find the resolution here.

Zoning for Economic Opportunity is focused on providing small businesses with the flexibility needed for them to change and grow, especially as the city recovers from the pandemic. The proposals would remove certain limitations on small businesses and ensure that our storefronts are occupied, and our neighborhoods remain lively spaces. There were public information sessions on Zoning for Economic Opportunity on June 13th that you can view here, on July 11th that you can view here, and on September 12th that you can find here. There will be a public hearing on this at CB6’s November 27th Land Use & Waterfront Committee meeting.

Zoning for Housing Opportunity is a direct response to our City’s housing crisis. This text amendment will modernize our zoning rules to allow for a little more housing in every neighborhood, improving housing availability and affordability. There was public information session on Zoning for Housing Opportunity held remotely on Zoom on Tuesday, September 27th; you can find the video of the public information session here.

To learn more about City of Yes, visit the Department of City Planning’s website here. Flyers describing the proposals are directly available here.

The CB6 Transportation Committee announced a project to reimagine a congested segment of 3rd Avenue (from 26th Street to 32nd Street) to increase the amount of sidewalk space available to pedestrians and outdoor dining alike. That way, there isn’t so much competition for tight space. CB6 commissioned Sam Schwartz Engineering to draft a concept plan for widening the sidewalks on this portion of 3rd Avenue, using a CB6 resolution as a guide. You can find Sam Schwartz Engineering’s concepts for the area here. If you live in and around the area, we’d love to hear your feedback on the project! Simply email us your thoughts at info@cbsix.org.