Applicant Stark on land use context and neighborhood bridging
Stark describes current land uses no longer reflecting industrial zoning, the proximity to a successful Bloomberg-era MX district to the west, and the rezoning's role in bridging existing residential neighborhoods including the Marcy Houses.
Current land uses no longer reflect, again, what is happening on the ground.
If we were to zoom in, what you would see here is that many of the sites within the rezoning area are already held by community facility operators, are already operating as a sort of neighborhood retail dynamic within former industrial buildings.
In short, what you're seeing within the rezoning area is not industrial in nature.
It is ripe in time for these lots to see additional investment to support the residential neighborhoods that you see sort of flanking on the east and west sides of the rezoning area.
Next slide.
And you'll see that better positioned on this slide.
A lot of the justification for this rezoning is an outgrowth of time.
What you're seeing just to the west of the rezoning area is a previously rezoned MX district promulgated by the Bloomberg administration that has been wildly successful from a planning effort.
Tens of thousands of new residents are now living just west of this rezoning area.
They have all laid roots, made families, and now we need school seats to serve this community.
The rezoning will also serve a sort of bridging dynamic to the residential area to the east, the current legacy Marcy houses serving as a bridge between these two existing residential neighborhoods and bringing them together.