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June 3, 2023  |  By TBA In Community Board Six, Turtle Bay News

Community Board 6 June 2023 Newsletter

Stuyvesant Cove Park Reopens
A group of people cutting a blue ribbon Description automatically generated
Left to right: Former CB6 Chair Jane Crotty, Solar One CEO Stephen Levin, City Council Member Keith Powers, NYC DDC Commissioner Tom Foley, City Council Member Carlina Rivera, CB6 Chair Kyle Athayde, NYCEDC Chief Infrastructure Officer Joshua Kraus. Photo courtesy of CB6.
As many of our readers know, there have been closures in Stuyvesant Cove Park due to the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project over the last 3 years. We welcome the news that Stuyvesant Cove Park is now open again! There will be additional work in the park for the rest of the year, but the park is now open to the public again, which is what counts. Manhattan Community Board 6 (CB6) was present on May 31st to commemorate the reopening. CB6 Chair Kyle Athayde recognized the community residents and past and present CB6 members who, in the late 90’s and turn of the millennium, helped create the park. The event presented a perfect opportunity for CB6 Chairs past and present to reminisce and celebrate this great day for the district.
A group of people posing for a photo Description automatically generated
Left to right: Current CB6 Chair Kyle Athayde, Former CB6 Chair Arnold S. Lehman, Former CB6 Chair Jane Crotty, and Former CB6 Chair and Current CB6 Member Martin Barrett. Photo courtesy of CB6.

Kyle thanked Solar One and the New York City Economic Development Corporation for their stewardship of this wonderful space over the last two decades. And he congratulated the countless workers and firms that brought this project to fruition. And on behalf of CB6, a City agency, Kyle highlighted our sister city agencies: Design and Construction, the Mayor’s Office of Resiliency, Parks and Recreation, Transportation, Environmental Protection, and City Planning. Without whose tireless efforts and inter-agency cooperation, the entire ESCR project would not be possible.

Manhattan Community District 6 has the least amount of open space in the borough, so this newly rebuilt Stuy Cove Park really is something precious for our community. This park will offer residents, New Yorkers at large, and visitors to our great city a wonderful place to sit and enjoy being outside. And if we’ve learned nothing else from living through a pandemic, it’s that our open spaces are some of the most vital resources our community has. We should protect them and call on our local officials create more of them.


A New Type of Crosswalk Coming to Our District

A new type of crosswalk coming to Manhattan Community District 6, at the intersection of Second Avenue and East 54th Street: a Raised Crosswalk.

Raised Crosswalks are similar to speed humps, except that they have a flat top for pedestrians to cross on. This new type of crosswalk is expected to slow vehicle speeds, improve pedestrian visibility by elevating the pedestrian to the height of the curb, and increase accessibility by providing a level crosswalk for pedestrians. This pedestrian treatment is new to the district, but not new to New York City, as this crosswalk treatment has been applied to other crosswalks in Manhattan. This crosswalk is currently under construction, and the New York City Department of Transportation anticipates completing this by mid-June.


Affordable Housing Opportunities Coming to Our Neighborhood

There are three affordable housing opportunities in our neighborhood currently! It’s important for you and your neighbors to be aware of all these opportunities, because these housing developments are all allocating 50% of its affordable housing units to residents of the districts the units are built in. The opportunities are at:

  • 508 3rd Avenue: Learn more about the affordable housing opportunity through this flyer, and apply for the opportunity through NYC Housing Connect.
  • 300 East 39th Street: Learn more about the affordable housing opportunity here, and apply for the opportunity through NYC Housing Connect.
  • 200 East 23rd Street: Apply for the opportunity through NYC Housing Connect.

Please pay attention to the income ranges eligible for different apartments, as that will affect your eligibility for the apartments. Also remember to pay attention to the application deadlines.



Mayor’s Proposals to Amend NYC’s Zoning Rules Begin Public Review

The Mayor’s City of Yes initiative seeks to amend zoning rules to help the City recover more quickly from the pandemic, to create a greener city, to support small business growth, and to incentivize the creation of housing, at all levels, in all New York City neighborhoods. There are three proposed zoning text amendments that would be part of this initiative:

Zoning for Carbon Neutrality

aims to modernize the zoning regulations in support of the City’s climate goals. The changes would focus on supporting a renewable energy grid, making our buildings clean and efficient, support for electric vehicle charging and micro-mobility options, and reducing waste and storm water. The text amendment was formally presented to the New York City Planning Commission on April 24th (you can view the video here ), and is now in the public review process. The matter was heard at the May 22nd meeting of the Land Use & Waterfront Committee. The committee decided to vote favorably on Zoning for Carbon Neutrality, and a corresponding resolution on this Text Amendment will be before the Full Board meeting on Wednesday, June 14th.

Zoning for Economic Opportunity

is focused on providing small businesses with the flexibility needed for them to change and grow, especially as the city recovers from the pandemic. The proposals would remove certain limitations on small businesses and ensure that our storefronts are occupied, and our neighborhoods remain lively spaces. This proposal will hold a public information session on Tue., June 13th at 7 PM. You can register for the June 13th information session here.

Zoning for Housing Opportunity

is a direct response to our City’s housing crisis. This text amendment seeks to ensure that every neighborhood does its part to help meet housing needs and provide equitable access to housing for all New Yorkers.

To learn more about City of Yes, visit the Department of City Planning’s website here. Flyers describing the proposals are directly available here.


Upcoming Meetings

Our upcoming meetings in the next several days include a Transportation Committee meeting on Monday, an Environment & Parks Committee meeting on Tuesday, and a Health & Human Services Committee  meeting on Thursday.

You can find information on these meetings and others by visiting the CB6 website, which you can do by clicking on the button below. Please make sure to check our website regularly, as meeting agendas are subject to change.

Learn More About Upcoming Meetings

CB6 Office Closure this Month

The CB6 office will be closed on Monday, June 19th for Juneteenth.

Even though the CB6 office is closed on that day, 311 will still be available. Additionally, if you have a service request issue, you can still reach out to help@cbsix.org and we will follow up with you after our office reopens.

Alternate Side Parking will also be suspended on June 19th, but you will still need to feed the meter.

Please check the Department of Sanitation’s social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram), their press release page, or 311 for more information on trash and recycling collection as we get closer to Memorial Day.


CB6 at It’s My Park Day in Stuyvesant Square Park