| On April 16, 2008 the City Council adopted the Westerleigh rezoning as proposed. The zoning changes are now in effect. |
The Department of City Planning proposes to rezone 75 blocks in the north-central portion of the Staten Island neighborhood of Westerleigh in Staten Island's Community District 1. The rezoning covers two sections of the Westerleigh neighborhood. Sub-area East is bounded by Kingsley, Ravenhurst and Egbert avenues to the north; Manor and South Greenleaf avenues to the east; Markham Place, and Cromwell and Kemball avenues to the south; and Deems, Wardwell and North avenues to the west. Sub-area West is generally bounded by College Avenue to the north; Bidwell and St. John avenues to the east; Watchogue Road to the south; and Cromwell Avenue to the west.
In recent years, the concerns of the residents of Westerleigh have risen as one- family detached homes have been replaced with two-family homes, or in some cases, several two-family homes. Streets in certain parts of Westerleigh are exceptionally narrow in width and cannot easily accommodate increased traffic. Additionally, the infrastructure in these sections was not built to handle an increase in population density. The combined effects of increased development, narrow streets, and an unusually high predominance of one family homes, has generated exceptional problems with traffic, parking, noise, safety, and other infrastructure issues.
In response to these concerns, the Department of City Planning (DCP) undertook an analysis of the neighborhood and the development patterns that have been and will continue to shape the area's future growth. DCP crafted a carefully tailored rezoning to recognize the existing neighborhood character and other physical attributes of the area. The rezoning will help to prevent future out-of-character development in this neighborhood.
The rezoning proposal seeks to:
- Preserve the existing character of the neighborhood by limiting new construction to single-family detached homes.
- Allow a housing density in the area that would not cause an undue burden on existing facilities and infrastructure.
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