Overview

The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, in coordination with NYCEDC and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), is sponsoring an initiative of the City of New York to facilitate the Seward Park Mixed-Use Development Project, an approximately 1.65 million square foot mixed-use development located on nine sites on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in Community District 3.

The Seward Park Mixed-Use Development Project will fill a gap in the urban fabric that has persisted for 45 years. The goals of the project are to create a thriving, financially-viable, mixed-use, mixed-income development; to provide affordable and market-rate housing units, retail and other commercial uses, and neighborhood amenities; and to knit the project sites sites back into the larger, vibrant Lower East Side neighborhood.

Map of Project Sites

History

The Seward Park Extension Urban Renewal Area (SPEURA) was created in 1965 with a plan for commercial and housing development, and demolition began on the sites in 1967. Portions of the plan were implemented, but five sites have remained undeveloped and are largely used for surface parking. There were several attempts to develop the remaining SPEURA sites over the years, but the proposals failed to move forward generally due to a lack of consensus on the best use of the sites.  The SPEURA plan expired on July 22, 2005, forty years after its adoption. Additional City-owned sites in the vicinity include the Essex Street Market and related market buildings.

Community Process

With the goal of gaining broad community consensus on a development program for the project site, Community Board 3's (CB3's) Land Use, Zoning, Public and Private Housing Committee embarked on a planning process for the sites starting in 2008 and invited the City to be part of the discussions. NYCEDC, HPD, and the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) participated in the process, providing technical support and resources to facilitate the community’s discussion and analysis. Over the course of more than two years, CB3 worked to develop a set of project guidelines that CB3 unanimously adopted in January 2011. The guidelines call for a mixed-use and mixed-income development that is reflective of, and compatible with, adjacent communities.

CB3 subsequently worked with the City to understand the urban design opportunities of the project and passed a set of urban design principles in June 2011. CB3 recommends that the design of the proposed development conform to the principles of contextual design, such that building orientation and access should support and enhance the existing pedestrian realm and integrate with the existing neighborhood. Together, these project guidelines and design principles express the community’s desired mixed-use, mixed-income characteristics of the program for the project site and urban design preferences with respect to the site’s layout, height, and density.

Upcoming Meetings

CB3's Land Use, Zoning and Public and Private Housing Committee is holding a town hall on April 18, 2012 at 6:30pm at University Settlement (184 Eldridge Street, 2nd Floor) to discuss the Seward Park ULURP and DEIS. Prior to the town hall, from 5-6pm, the City will hold a separate Technical Questions and Answer Session for matters related to the ULURP application (184 Eldridge Street, 2nd Floor).

Environmental Review

In September 2011, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development as lead agency began the environmental review process for the Seward Park Mixed Use Development Project. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement was filed on March 23, 2012. The documents related to this process can be found below.

Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)

Draft Environmental Impact Statement

Scoping Documents

Environmental Assessment Statement 
Positive Declaration 
Draft Scope of Work
Public Scoping Notice 
Final Scope of Work

Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP)

The Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) is the formal City public review process for land use changes. The Seward Park Mixed-Use Development Project ULURP was certified on March 26, 2012. CB3’s guidelines serve as a broad framework for defining key elements of the Project proposal.

Overview of Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP)

ULURP Documents

ULURP Application
Technical Drawing Set (Part I)
Technical Drawing Set (Part II)
Technical Drawing Set (Part III)
Note: Due to the large file size of the full document, the Technical Drawing Set has been posted in three parts.

Public Documents

NYCEDC, HPD, and DCP were invited to participate in the process by CB3. The City presentations from prior meetings are posted below. Additional information will be posted during the ongoing process.

Seward Park Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) Presentation - March 8, 2012
Draft EIS Transportation and Delancey Street Presentation - February 15, 2012 
EIS Scope of Work Presentation - July 27, 2011 
Essex Street Market Discussion II - June 27, 2011 
Essex Street Market Discussion - May 25, 2011
Urban Design Presentation - May 2, 2011 
City Process Presentation - May 2, 2011 
City Process Info Sheet - May 2, 2011 
Seward Park Process Info Sheet - Spanish Translation
Seward Park Process Info Sheet - Chinese Translation 
Seward Park Model Images 
Seward Park Planning Process - March 30, 2011
Seward Park City Update - CB 3 Presentation Feb 28, 2011 
Seward Park Urban Design Presentation - Feb 28, 2011 
Facilitation Presentation 4 - October 20, 2010 
Facilitation Presentation 3 - July 29, 2010 
Facilitation Presentation 2 - June 21, 2010 
Facilitation Presentation - April 20, 2010 
Seward Park Process - CB 3 Presentation Sept 10, 2009 
Seward Park Overview - CB 3 Presentation June 8, 2009 
Seward Park Update - CB 3 Presentation March 8, 2009