December Parks Committee Report for Manhattan CB3
A zoning change is needed to re-open a public bathroom that has been closed for over 70 years. Also, Magical Children's Garden!
Author’s note: Tal and I serve on the Parks Committee of Manhattan Community Board 3 together. I write the newsletter Friends of New York City Abundance. The views expressed here only represent my own and not Manhattan Community Board 3.
Magical Children’s Garden Renovation Plans
The Magical Children’s Garden recently presented a vision for its future. The renovation plan includes new fencing, bioswales, and even a tree house.
The garden sits just south of P.S. 20 Anna Silver. To make this happen, the garden says it has verbal funding commitments from Councilperson Chris Marte and NYC Parks. The tree house architect also pledged pro bono work for the project.
In 2024, the garden made the news for prevailing in a legal battle against a high profile landlord who thought he had bought a portion of the garden.
Zoning Change for Allen Street Mall
Background: Allen Street Malls
The Allen Street malls date back to the mid-1920s. They consist of nine sections between Houston and Broadway, totaling about 1.6 acres. While Allen Street is technically a city-owned right-of-way managed by the Department of Transportation (DOT), NYC Parks has managed the malls themselves for a century.
Background:ULURP
ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) is the formal multi-step review process for any zoning change in NYC. The public review process starts with a presentation to the local Community Board.
NYC Parks presentation to the Community Board
NYC Planning presented a ULURP application to change the zoning for the block of the Allen Street malls between Delancey and Rivington.
The proposal does two main things:
Changes the status from “Right-of-Way” to “Parkland”: This moves ownership of this mall from the DOT to NYC Parks.
Creates a Zoning Exception: Even though a park cuts the street width below the 75-foot “wide street” threshold, this change keeps the “wide street” definition for zoning purposes. This could have impacted the allowed height of the buildings nearby, etc.
Why does this matter? The restroom on this mall was built in the 1930s but has been shuttered since the 50s. For ten years, the city has discussed reopening it via a “concession-funded” model (where a private vendor pays for the upkeep). The DOT decided that to allow a concession, the land must officially become a park.
The actual Request for Proposals (RFP) to rebuild the restrooms won’t happen until the ULURP finishes—likely at least six months from now.
Questions to NYC Planning
Q: Is this demapping all of the Allen Street malls?
A: No, just the section with a restroom.
Q: Will the Community Board get a chance to review the vendor RFP for the concession?
A: Yes. NYC Parks must come to the Community Board within 40 days of issuing an RFP.
Q: How does the community benefit from a private concession? Will it lead to gentrification?
A: The benefit will be opening up this site that has been shuttered for so long. Right now it is an eyesore.
Q: Have you already engaged the City Council member? Getting their approval is part of the ULURP process.
A: Yes, we have began engaging the then-City Council member in 2018 when we first realized a ULURP was needed. The proposal just got certified on December 1st by NYC Planning, so as a first step we are presenting to the Community Board.
Q: Could more demapping of the Allen Street malls happen?
A: We don’t currently have funding to do more ULURPs.
Q: Is there a possibility of making Allen Street malls a single mall? Or, connecting some of the currently divided malls?
A: That is out of scope for this particular project.
Q: Why is funding a bottleneck for ULURPs occurring?
A: Parks needs to pay surveyors in order to come up with a proposal. That limits how many ULURPs can occur.
Community Board vote on ULURP
The committee technically has five options it can enter into the city portal for its decision: favorable, favorable with conditions, no objections, no objections with conditions, not favorable. The board voted favorable with a resolution heading to the full board for approval.
Parks Manager Updates
Corlears Hook Park tree lighting just happened. More tree lightings coming up at other parks.
The Sarah D. Roosevelt Park Alliance appreciates clean-up efforts by NYC Parks.
(In November, the committee discussed quality-of-life issues affecting Sarah D. Roosevelt Park).
East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) Timeline Updates
(Normally, the NYC Department of Design and Construction gives project updates on ESCR but tonight gave timeline specific comments).
Overall, Project Area 1, the northern portion of the project, won’t be completed until 2027. That represents a year-long delay.
Why the delay?
Underground Obstructions: Old underground structures from circa 1937 (when this part of the park and the nearby FDR Drive were built) damaged drills.
Contamination and compliance: Crews discovered lead-contaminated soil, which as discussed in the November meeting triggers a formal handling and notification process.
Questions about ESCR Timeline Updates
Q: Is the track part of the delays until 2027?
A: Yes, part of the delay
Q: Is the connector timeline affected by this delay?
A: The connector is a separate contract, so it has its own timeline. Construction on that should begin in early 2028 with completion around 2030.
Q: Avenue C along ConEdison (which straddles Project Areas 1 and 2) is in pretty terrible shape, and a lot of bikers and runners hit this area. Can it get some attention?
Q: Can we get The Labyrinth back?
A: We have a saying: just because the construction is over, it doesn’t mean the park is over. This is great feedback for NYC Parks.