1.0 Project Description A. INTRODUCTION Terra Cotta, LLC, the Applicant, proposes to expand and enhance the production operations of Silvercup Studios in Long Island City (Figure 1-1). Silvercup Studios is the Northeast’s largest television and movie production studio facility. The expanded production studios would increase employment, enhance opportunities in one of New York City’s key industries, and help to further establish New York City as the Northeast’s premiere location for film and television production. The Proposed Action, through the development of “Silvercup West,” would also provide for a mix of uses intended to further enliven the Queens waterfront with the development of new residential, office, cultural, and recreational uses, and the provision of improved access to the East River on the Project Site. Provided in this chapter of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is a description of the Proposed Action in sufficient detail to provide the public and decision-makers with a clear understanding of the full range of governmental actions required to implement the Proposed Action and to assess its impacts. Included is: • A description of the Proposed Action (i.e., the discretionary public action(s) required to implement the Project). • A detailed description of the proposed development project (the “Project”) for which discretionary public actions would be required. • A description of the planning rationale and purpose and need for the Proposed Action. B. PROJECT IDENTIFICATION 1. Overview The Applicant seeks approval by the City Planning Commission (CPC) of an amendment to the zoning map for the area bounded by the northern boundary of the existing M1-4 district to the north at the northern limit of the Queensboro Bridge, the midpoint of Vernon Boulevard to the east, the midpoint of 43rd Avenue to the south, and the East River to the west (the Rezoning Area) (Figure 1-1). The Rezoning Area comprises Block 477, Lots 7, 13, 15, 20 and 24. In addition, the Applicant is seeking related CPC and Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) approvals to enable development of an approximately 2.77 million gross square feet (gsf) mixed-use development (Silvercup West) on Block 477, Lots 13, 15, 20, and 24 (the Project Site). The floor area ratio (FAR) of the proposed project would be approximately 8.0. The Project Site is bounded by the Queensboro Bridge on the north, Vernon Boulevard on the east, 43rd Avenue on the south, and the East River on the west. The Project Site (Block 477, Lots 13, 15, 20, and 24) is located within an M1-4 district, and is also located within the area covered by the Waterfront Access Plan Q-1 (WAP) for Northern Hunters Point. The Project would be privately financed by Terra Cotta, LLC, and require a number of City, State and federal approvals, as detailed in Section F of this chapter. The Build Year for the Proposed Action is 2009. SILVERCUP WEST FEIS 1-1 1.0 Project Description FIGURE 1-1: PROJECT LOCATION SILVERCUP WEST FEIS 1-2 1.0 Project Description FIGURE 1-2: REZONING AREA AND PROJECT SITE SILVERCUP WEST FEIS 1-3 1.0 Project Description The Applicant intends to obtain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the Project. Several aspects of the Project would be important to achieving certification. These include the location of the Project Site in the vicinity of extensive public transit and existing utilities infrastructure, a carefully managed construction process, water and energy efficiency in building operations, the building materials selected, and efforts to achieve good indoor environmental quality. Identified and potential soil and water contaminants on-site would be managed in conformance with all local and state requirements (see Chapter 17, “Hazardous Materials”). Stormwater run-off would be appropriately managed to ensure that water quality and wildlife habitat would not be adversely affected (see Chapters 13, “Infrastructure”; 14, “Solid Waste”; 15, “Energy;” 16, “Natural Resources”; and 20, “Waterfront Revitalization Program”). Further, there would be no significant adverse impacts to existing water supply or Water Pollution Control Plant operations. Through its location and design, Silvercup West would be carefully integrated into its surroundings to ensure its place as an environmentally sustainable part of Long Island City throughout the lifetime of the structure. The approximately 6.0-acre Project Site is currently occupied, in part, by a temporary New York Power Authority (NYPA) facility on Lot 24, the former New York Architectural Terra Cotta Company building on Lot 20, and a New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) open storage pile of sand and salt located within the mapped but unopened segment of 43rd Avenue on the southern edge of the Project Site (Figure 1-3). 2. Preferred Development Program and Potential Variations The proposed Project would be comprised of a broad range of uses, including television and film production studios, residential, office and retail uses, museum and/or other cultural or community facilities, a health club, a restaurant, and a catering facility. The Preferred Development Program represents the Applicant’s current development plans for the Project Site. The FEIS would also evaluate three variations to the Preferred Development Program, in which the office space is replaced by an equivalent amount of residential space (Variation 1: Residential), the community facilities are replaced by an equivalent amount of studio uses (Variation 2: Studio), and the office space is replaced by an equivalent amount of residential space and the community facilities are replaced by an equivalent amount of studio uses (Variation 3: Residential and Studio). These variations are assessed at the end of each chapter throughout the FEIS. Table 1-1 provides a summary of the Preferred Development Program and the three potential variations. All three variations could be accommodated within the building envelope that has been designed for the Preferred Development Program and would, therefore, require the same land use-related approvals as those for the Preferred Development Program. The variations provide the Applicant the flexibility to adjust the proportion of uses based on potential changes in market conditions and are analyzed in the FEIS to provide an assessment of the full range of potential impacts which could result from approval of the Proposed Action. SILVERCUP WEST FEIS 1-4 1.0 Project Description FIGURE 1-3: VIEWS OF SITE SILVERCUP WEST FEIS 1-5 1.0 Project Description FIGURE 1-3: VIEWS OF SITE (CONTINUED) SILVERCUP WEST FEIS 1-6 1.0 Project Description TABLE 1-1: PREFERRED DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AND POTENTIAL VARIATIONS Preferred Development Variation 1 Variation 2 Variation 3 Program (Residential) (Studio) (Residential and Studio) Use (gsf) (gsf) (gsf) (gsf) Residential 1,044,970 1,700,018 1,044,970 1,700,018 Commercial 816,538 161,490 816,538 161,490 Office 655,048 0 655,048 0 Retail 76,581 76,581 76,581 76,581 Health Club 40,013 40,013 40,013 40,013 Catering 44,896 44,896 44,896 44,896 Cultural/Community Facility 126,401 126,401 0 0 Studio/Studio Support 346,574 346,574 473,282 473,282 Loading/Parking 433,761 433,761 433,761 433,761 TOTAL Floor Area 2,768,551 2,768,551 2,768,551 2,768,551 Public Open Space (Upland Connection and 55,000 55,000 55,000 55,000 Esplanade) Some aspects of the Preferred Development Program would stay the same in all three variations. These include the retail and restaurant space, the catering facility and the health club. However, as noted above, the variations include possible changes to the amounts of residential space, office use and studio and support space, and the community facility. Specifically: • One variation (“Variation 1: Residential”) replaces the 655,048 gsf of office space with an equivalent amount of residential space containing 655 apartments. • A second variation (“Variation 2: Studio”) replaces the 126,401 gsf cultural facility with an equivalent amount of studio and studio support space, including two additional studios. • A third variation (“Variation 3: Residential and Studio”) replaces the 655,048 gsf of office space with an equivalent amount of residential space containing 655 apartments and replaces the 126,401 gsf cultural facility with an equivalent amount of studio and studio support space, including two additional studios. In all cases, the development would be subject to a Restrictive Declaration, described below, which would result in the same bulk and building envelope in the Preferred Development Program and the three variations. The Preferred Development Program and each of the three variations would also provide approximately 1,400 accessory parking spaces and new publicly accessible open space, and, although not subject to any action by the CPC, the restoration of the New York Architectural Terra Cotta Company building on Lot 20 within the Project Site. Both the NYPA power generating facility and the DSNY open storage pile of de-icing salt and sand located on the Project Site would be moved prior to construction of the Proposed Action under separate actions from those of the Proposed Action. 3. Restrictive Declaration To ensure that the Project as constructed is within the building envelope shown on the drawings approved by the CPC and the City Council pursuant to the City Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP); that the public open spaces are developed; and that the mix of uses in the Project is substantially consistent with either the Preferred Development Program or one of the three variations SILVERCUP WEST FEIS 1-7 1.0 Project Description described above, the Project sponsor would, prior to application for a building permit for the Project, execute and record against the Project Site one or more Restrictive Declarations that would: • Provide design standards and requirements, and an envelope within which the Project’s bulk could be arranged.