Proposed OneLIC Neighborhood Plan Takes a Step Forward with City Planning Approval
On September 3rd, Mayor Eric Adams, joined by New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) Director and City Planning Commission (CPC) Chair Dan Garodnick, announced approvals by the CPC of the city administration’s OneLIC Neighborhood Planning. The ambitious proposal is the largest residential rezoning that New York City has pursued. Despite Long Island City being one of the city’s economic and cultural hubs, there are areas within the Queens neighborhood that “remain stymied by outdated zoning that has restricted new housing and left significant sections of the waterfront unimproved and inaccessible to the public” according to the press release by Mayor Adams’ office. The proposed OneLIC plan would update local zoning in the area stretching from the East River waterfront to Crescent Street and Queens Plaza North to 47th Avenue, with one segment reaching further up to 39th Avenue between 21st Street and 23rd Street. The plan now heads to the city council for review and a final vote; and if passed, it will open the door to nearly 14,700 new homes, of which approximately 4,300 units will be permanently affordable under Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH). In addition, over 3.5 million square feet of commercial and industrial space will be created, as well as public realm improvements, including the creation of an accessible unified and resilient waterfront. New economic opportunities for the neighborhood will also be generated by the expected creation of 14,400 new jobs. The OneLIC Neighborhood Plan is one of five neighborhood plans initiated by the Adams Administration of which three of been passed by the city council — the Bronx-Metro North Station Area Plan, the Midtown South plan, and the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan, with the neighborhood plan in Jamaica also advancing, and once passed, “the Adams administration’s rezoning efforts to date are expected to create nearly 130,000 new homes, more new housing than the previous two mayoral administrations’ rezoning efforts combined.”