>> Residential Zone

The areas surrounding Christie, Forsythe, and Allen Streets are obvious residential corridors, both in their scale and in their proximity to open space.

The goal of the Residential Zone is to recognize and preserve the residential character of Chrystie, Forsyth, Eldridge and Allen streets, and to encourage larger, mixed commercial and residential development along Delancey Street.

Their scale and proximity to open space establish Chrystie, Forsyth, Eldridge and Allen streets as the residential core of Chinatown’s neighborhood. Thus, this subdistrict would encourage residential development in this area. Additionally, with the redevelopment of Allen Street, the newly created lots would be zoned R7-A to further establish this area as the Residential Core.

Delancey Street, due to is width, is ideal for large-scale development. Since this is a major transportation artery, the ground floor would be restricted to commercial uses, and residential uses would be promoted on the upper floors. This would be achieved by up-zoning Delancey Street from a C6-1 to a C6-3C.

Delancey Street, a wide thoroughfare serving traffic en route to the Williamsburg Bridge, is suggested for increased residential development

Affordable Housing on Allen Street

The resizing of Allen Street would create 14 new lots, each measuring 126’ by 89’. These lots will be zoned appropriately to keep the new development contextual with historic buildings on Orchard Street.
Allen Street’s redevelopment would improve Chinatown’s housing situation in two ways. We propose that 30% of the new housing units in this development be earmarked for low-income households. This would create at least 200 new affordable housing units. Additionally, proceeds from the sale of these lots are estimated to be in excess of $40 million. This money could be used to create a Housing Fund to develop, renovate, and maintain affordable housing elsewhere in Chinatown. Also, up to 50 percent of these funds could be used to make improvements on Allen Street, thus providing a self-financing structure to this redevelopment.

Delancey Street

Delancey Street is a wide street, but most buildings along this street are six stories or less. New zoning for Delancey Street would accommodate buildings with 19 stories. Incentives for affordable housing development would result in the creation of 350 new affordable units.

Map: Delancey Street upzoning area and residential land uses

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