FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 4th, 2008

CONTACT:
Rachaele Raynoff, Press Secretary -- (212) 720-3471

STATEMENT FROM CITY PLANNING COMMISSIONER AMANDA M. BURDEN ON CITY COUNCIL ADOPTION OF 220 BLOCK REZONING OF LAURELTON, QUEENS

September 4, 2008 – “Today’s unanimous City Council vote to adopt City Planning’s 220 block rezoning of Laurelton, Queens exemplifies the Bloomberg Administration’s block-by-block strategy to preserve the city’s lower-density communities. Old zoning threatened the low-scale, one- and two-family character of Laurelton, one of the city’s most beautiful and verdant neighborhoods. We are privileged to have worked together with City Council Member James Sanders Jr., Community Board 13 and local civic associations to craft a rezoning that will protect the established built character while providing modest opportunities for mixed-use growth along Merrick Boulevard, the community’s ‘main street.’

Mayor Bloomberg recognizes that New York's lower density neighborhoods are vital to the city's health as we work to balance population growth with overdevelopment concerns. Since 2002, City Planning has put forward 30 rezonings in Queens to preserve the character of some of the city’s most cherished neighborhoods, relying heavily on community consensus. The Laurelton rezoning builds upon contextual zoning changes in the Cambria Heights neighborhood to the north, which was rezoned in 2005, and the Brookville neighborhood to south, which was rezoned in 2004. With the Laurelton rezoning, more than 3,900 blocks have been rezoned in Queens, or more than one-quarter of the borough.”

Department of City Planning
The Department of City Planning is responsible for the City's physical and socioeconomic planning, including land use and environmental review; preparation of plans and policies; and provision of technical assistance and planning information to government agencies, public officials, and community boards.

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