Chapter 2: Land Use, Zoning, and Public Policy A. INTRODUCTION
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Chapter 2: Land Use, Zoning, and Public Policy A. INTRODUCTION Under the June 2012 City Environmental Quality Review (CEQR) Technical Manual guidelines, a land use analysis evaluates the uses and development trends in the area that may be affected by a proposed project, and determines whether that proposed project is compatible with those conditions or may affect them. The analysis also considers the project’s compliance with, and effect on, the area’s zoning and other applicable public policies. As described in Chapter 1, “Project Description,” Cornell University, together with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), is seeking a number of discretionary approvals to support and allow for the development of an applied science and engineering campus on Roosevelt Island (the proposed project). The proposed project would result in the development of up to approximately 2.13 million square feet (sf) consisting of academic space; residential units for Cornell leadership, faculty, postdoctoral fellows, Ph.D. candidates, and master’s students; corporate co-location space; an Executive Education Center with hotel and conference facilities; and two central utility plants. Campus-oriented retail would be provided within this program, and the proposed project would also result in a minimum of 2.5 acres of new publicly accessible open space, as well as up to 500 parking spaces. As shown on Figure 2-1, the project site is located on the southern portion of Roosevelt Island, south of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. This chapter analyzes the change in zoning, land use, and density on the project site and also analyzes the potential effects of the proposed project on a larger study area, which is defined as the entirety of Roosevelt Island. As detailed in this chapter, the Cornell NYC Tech project would improve land use conditions by creating a vibrant mixed- use academic-oriented development on a site that would otherwise be occupied by a vacant hospital complex and vacant land. The proposed project would be supportive of applicable public policies, and would not result in any significant adverse impacts to land use, zoning, or public policy. B. METHODOLOGY According to the CEQR Technical Manual, a detailed assessment of land use, zoning, and public policy is appropriate if a proposed project would result in a notable change in land use or would substantially affect regulations or policies governing land use. An assessment of zoning is typically performed in conjunction with a land use analysis when the action would result in a change in zoning or result in the loss of a particular use. Therefore, a detailed analysis has been prepared that describes existing and anticipated future conditions for the 2018 and 2038 analysis years, assesses the nature of any changes to these conditions that would be created by the proposed project, and identifies those changes, if any, that could be significant or adverse. This chapter analyzes the effects of the proposed project on: the project site, where the land use effects of the proposed project are direct; the rezoning area, which encompasses the project site, 2-1 N E 83 ST E 82 ST E 81 ST EAST EAST AV END E 80 ST 33 RD E 79 ST E 78 ST ST 12 34 AV E 77 ST E 76 ST E 75 ST 35 AV 10 ST 10 E 74 ST 11ST EAST RD 9 ST 9 E 73 ST 10.9.12 PARK AV PARK MAIN ST MADISON AV VERNON BLVD VERNON E 72 ST 36 AV E 71 ST 14 ST 14 FIRST AV FIRST SECOND AV THIRD AV LEXINGTON AV LEXINGTON YORK AV YORK 37 AV E 70 ST 12 ST 12 E 69 ST 38 AV E 68 ST WEST RD E 67 ST 39 AV E 66 ST 13 ST E 65 ST 40 AV E 64 ST 21 ST 24 ST 22 ST E 63 ST 23 ST 41 AV CRESCENT ST E 62 ST 28 ST E 61 ST 29 ST 27 ST AV 41 F D R DR 41 RD E 60 ST QUEENSBORO BR QN PLZ E 59 ST E 58 ST 42 RD 12 ST 13 ST 1000 FEET E 57 ST F D R DR 43 AV 24 ST 500 E 56 ST 43 RD 0 22 ST EAST RD 9 ST E 55 ST SCALE 44 AV E 54 ST ST 11 10 ST E 53 ST 44 RD E 52 ST 44 DR E 51 ST 5 ST 5 45 AV E 50 ST Figure 2-1 Industrial and Manufacturing Land Use Study Area RAMP Transportation and Utility Public Facilities and Institutions Open Space and Outdoor Recreation Parking Facilities EAST RIVER Vacant Land Project Site Vacant Building Rezoning Area (Special Southern Under Construction Roosevelt Island District) Study Area Boundary Residential Residential with Commercial Below Hotels Commercial and Office Buildings Cornell NYC Tech Cornell NYC Tech DEIS the adjacent roadway, and the promenade, and would also be directly affected; and a study area, where indirect effects may occur. The study area for this analysis is defined as being all of Roosevelt Island, where the proposed project would have the greatest potential to affect land use trends. Various sources were used to comprehensively analyze the land use, zoning, and public policy characteristics of the study area, including field surveys, land use and zoning maps, and online sources from Cornell University, the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP), the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation of the State of New York (RIOC), and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (NYCHHC). C. BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT HISTORY ROOSEVELT ISLAND Roosevelt Island, a 147-acre island in the East River between Manhattan and Queens, was formerly known as Blackwell Island, named after the family that owned it until 1823. The first development occurred on the Island when the City of New York purchased it and established Blackwell’s Prison, which opened in 1832. Subsequently, the New York Lunatic Asylum opened on the Island in 1841, followed by Penitentiary Hospital in 1849, the city’s first almshouses in 1850, a minimum security workhouse for petty crime offenders also in 1850, Smallpox Hospital (the nation’s first hospital to treat patients with smallpox) in 1856, and Charity (City) Hospital in 1857. In 1921, the Island was renamed Welfare Island, reflecting its dominant land use. Goldwater Hospital opened in 1939, followed by Bird S. Coler Hospital in 1952. By this time, many of the older establishments on the Island had closed, and their abandoned structures were used for training by the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). By the 1960s, Goldwater Hospital, Coler Hospital, and FDNY training activities were the only active uses on the Island. In 1968, the city initiated plans for the redevelopment of Welfare Island, which was renamed in 1973 in honor of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The New York State Urban Development Corporation ([NYSUDC] today, doing business as the Empire State Development Corporation [ESDC]) signed a 99-year lease for the Island with the City of New York in 1969, and retained architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee to create a General Development Plan (GDP) for the proposed redevelopment. Under Johnson and Burgee’s plans, the Island’s first residential complex opened in 1975, followed by three additional housing complexes in 1976, at which time the Island contained 2,141 apartments. Also in 1976, the aerial Tramway connecting the Island to the east side of Manhattan opened, as subway service to the Island was not yet available. The next residential development was completed in 1989, when Manhattan Park, containing 1,107 apartments, opened. With subsequent development, today the Island contains approximately 5,000 dwelling units that house approximately 12,000 residents. A subway station was opened on Roosevelt Island in 1990. ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION RIOC was established by New York State in 1984 to manage the operation, maintenance, and development of the Island. Prior to the establishment of RIOC, there were other State agencies in charge of the Island’s operations, such as the Welfare Island Development Corporation and later the Roosevelt Island Development Corporation. The RIOC Board of Directors is composed of nine members, including: the Commissioner of the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, who serves as the chair; the New York State Director of the Budget; and seven public members nominated by the Governor with the advice and consent of the State Senate. Of the seven public members, two members are recommended by the Mayor of New 2-2 Chapter 2: Land Use, Zoning, and Public Policy York City, and five members must be residents of the Island. RIOC is charged with assuming the 99-year lease with the City of New York that was entered into in 1969, and implementing the GDP. The City of New York provides basic municipal services and maintenance of the Roosevelt Island Bridge, and MTA is responsible for the subway station on the Island and the bus service to Queens. RIOC supplements these services, and is responsible for the following: • Red Bus: the on-Island bus system, Red Bus offers service connecting the tramway and subway station to locations throughout the Island. • Automated Vacuum Collection (AVAC): AVAC is the Island’s pneumatic tube garbage collection system. • Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department (RIPSD): the Island’s law-enforcement agency that protects the Island's property including all community facilities, storefronts, and certain contracted residential buildings, and enforces state and city laws on the Island. RIPSD employs approximately 40 officers.