Currently, the area is a combination of industrial, commercialand residential buildings at the southern tip of the borough. Withmore than one third of the lots in the proposed rezoning areavacant or underutilized, the city feels the plan would promote newmixed-use development and help create a 24/7 neighborhood wherethere already is ample infrastructure and transit services toaccommodate it.

Approximately 400 new residential units are expected to becreated through conversion and new development. The proposed zoningwould allow a variety of uses at appropriate scale to currentbuildings throughout much of the district and would permitadditional density on the larger lots near the water's edge. A 1997mixed-use zoning, the first ever in the city, covered five blocksthat were zoned for manufacturing and did not permit residentialuse. These blocks have since become known for their Antique Rowalong Bruckner Boulevard and Lincoln Place with some residentialuse.

"It is heartening to see how mixed-use zoning has contributed tothe resurgence of this neighborhood," adds Burden. Community Board1 plans to hold a public hearing on Oct. 28 at Lincoln Hospital.This is just part of a city-wide rezoning effort that covers otherneighborhoods including West Chelsea, the Hudson Yards andGreenpoint-Williamsburg.