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PRESERVING
YOUR HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD
ZONING
Zoning is a powerful tool that can help both designated and undesignated
historic neighborhoods protect their built fabric. Because historic
district designation and zoning are completely separate entities,
many historic districts are protected from demolition and insensitive
change to their buildings but are not adequately protected from
out-of-scale new development on vacant lots within the district.
In addition, the areas surrounding historic districts are often
ill-zoned so that the areas just outside the district boundaries
permit large-scale buildings that overshadow and hem in the historic
neighborhood. Advocating for a change in zoning that better reflects
the built scale and configuration of the protected neighborhood
is therefore another way community groups can protect their historic
districts.
HDC is currently finishing up a study of the zoning in and around
historic districts that includes recommendations for zoning changes
for each district, where necessary. Please contact our office for
details.
For undesignated districts, a re-zoning can be an important way
to protect your neighborhood if you have been turned down for historic
district designation or if the designation process is not happening
quick enough.
If you are considering advocating for a re-zoning, speak with your
local community board and your borough’s planning office.
Manhattan Borough Office:
22 Reade Street,
6th Fl. West
New York, NY 10007-1216
Tel. 212-720-3480
Bronx Borough Office:
One Fordham Plaza, 5th Fl.
Bronx, NY 10458-5891
Tel. 718-220-8500
Brooklyn Borough Office:
16 Court Street, 7th Fl.
Brooklyn, NY 11241-0103
Tel. 718-643-7550
Queens Borough Office:
120-55 Queens Blvd., Room 201
Kew Gardens, NY 11424
Tel. 718-286-3170
Staten Island Borough Office:
130 Stuyvesant Place, 6th Fl.
Staten Island NY 10301
Tel. 718-556-7240
IMPORTANT WEBSITES
The Municipal
Art Society’s Planning Center
The Planning Center at MAS provides information about planning in
New York City and most importantly a guide to community-based planning
and 197-a plans in their publication, “Planning for All New
Yorkers: Briefing Book of Community-Based Plans, 2nd Edition”
which is available online.
The Planner’s
Network
The
Department of City Planning
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