Old Howard Beach, Hamilton Beach and Broad Channel

Prior to the 2017 rezoning, Broad Channel was zoned R3-2 with C1 and C2 commercial overlays located in two areas along Cross Bay Boulevard. Hamilton Beach was zoned R3-1 with a C1-2 commercial overlay in Coleman Square, a commercial node located to the north of the neighborhood. These zoning districts were unchanged since 1961 when the current Zoning Resolution was adopted and did not reflect the established building pattern in these two neighborhoods, which is predominately detached residential buildings on narrow lots, or the current and future flood risk.

Old Howard Beach is currently zoned R3-1 and R3-2 within the rezoning area, which reflects a low-density residential neighborhood. Like Broad Channel and Hamilton Beach, the neighborhood’s zoning has remained unchanged since 1961 and does not consider current and future flood risk. Limiting future development to detached housing in the majority of the area and semi-detached housing along one block of Huron Street will strengthen the neighborhood against future flooding by providing easier ways to elevate and retrofit existing and future homes and maintain neighborhood character.

The flood risk in Broad Channel and Hamilton Beach is complicated by the fact that these neighborhoods have extensive shorelines, mostly under private ownership, and investing in shoreline protection would be difficult and costly. In addition, proposed regional investments in coastal infrastructure only address risk from storm surge and will not protect against high tides. Moreover, each neighborhood has limited transportation access options during a storm or flood event, making evacuation and emergency access challenging.

Due to the exceptional flood risk in Broad Channel, Hamilton Beach, and Old Howard Beach, the adopted land use regulations are intended to limit increases in population, while simultaneously allowing individuals to make property investments to safeguard their existing homes and businesses in ways that are consistent with the built context.

The rezoning seeks to achieve the following objectives:

• Reinforce each neighborhood’s character and established building patterns by replacing existing zoning with new lower-density contextual zones.
• Address flood risk and limit the density of future development by restricting residential development to detached buildings, which are easier to elevate and retrofit to flood resistant standards.
• Reflect the concentration of water-dependent uses such as marinas on the eastern shoreline of Broad Channel.
• Provide commercial buildings in Broad Channel and Hamilton Beach relief from high off-street parking requirements that may make retrofitting more challenging.

The rezonings for Broad Channel and Hamilton Beach in 2017 and the proposed rezoning for Old Howard Beach reflect the neighborhoods’ exceptional flood risk and its established development patterns. Each of the neighborhood rezonings work in tandem with the citywide text amendment Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency to provide more flexibility in retrofitting existing homes and constructing new homes to resilient standards.

The rezoning for Broad Channel includes:

•  The establishment of a new Special Coastal Risk District to denote the flood risk and limit development to single-family residences, and also prohibit community facilities with sleeping accommodations
•  A rezoning from R3-2 to R3A to limit new development to detached houses and reflect the area’s lot width conditions.
• A rezoning from R3-2 to C3A on Broad Channel’s south-eastern shore to bring existing marinas into zoning conformance.
• A rezoning from C1-2 to C1-3 to help commercial uses on small lots that may not be able to accommodate the off-street parking requirement under current zoning reconstruct if damaged or destroyed.

The rezoning for Hamilton Beach includes:

• The establishment of a new Special Coastal Risk District to denote the flood risk and limit development to two-family residences to lots at least 40 feet wide, and also prohibit community facilities with sleeping accommodations.
• A rezoning from R3-1 to R3A, which would limit new development to detached houses and reflect the area’s lot width conditions.
• A rezoning from C1-2 to C1-3 in Coleman Square to more adequately reflect existing commercial uses and development patterns.

The proposed rezoning for Old Howard Beach includes:

• A rezoning from R3-2 and R3-1 to R3X to limit new development to detached houses that are easier to retrofit and elevate.
• A rezoning from R3-2 to R3-1 to limit new development along Huron Street to semi-detached homes that are characteristic of the block.

DCP worked with the communities in Broad Channel, Hamilton Beach, and Old Howard Beach to advance rezonings that prevents a substantial increase in population in these vulnerable neighborhoods and promote a detached housing typology that is easier to make flood resistant in order to better protect the neighborhoods against future flooding.

On October 19, 2020 the Department of City Planning certified the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) application for the Resiliency Rezoning in Old Howard Beach (210133 ZMQ). Over the next seven months, the public will be able to formally comment on the proposal.

The public review milestones for Old Howard Beach are shown on DCP’s Zoning Application Portal.

On February 21, 2017 the Department of City Planning certified the ULURP applications for the Resiliency Rezonings in Broad Channel (N 170257 ZRQ and C 170256 ZMQ) and Hamilton Beach (N 170267 ZRQ and C 170255 ZMQ). During this time, the public had the opportunity to formally comment on the proposal. Community Boards 10 and 14, the Queens Borough President, the City Planning Commission, and the City Council Zoning Subcommittee held hearings and issued formal recommendations prior to its adoption by City Council on June 21, 2017.

Milestone	Date
Department of City Planning Certification	February 21, 2017 - View the presentation
Queens Community Board 10 Review	April 6,, 2017 - View the presentation
Queens Community Board 14 Review	April 19, 2017 - View the presentation
Queens Borough President Review	April 27, 2017 - View the presentation
City Planning Commission Review	May 22, 2017 - View the presentation
City Planning Commission Approval	June 7, 2017
City Council Hearing	June 20, 2017 - View the presentation
City Council Approval	June 21, 2017