A few interesting items on Community Board 3's December meeting agenda:
- On Monday, December 7th, the Land Use, Zoning & Housing Committee will resume discussions about development of SPURA (the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area). Committee Chair David McWater had threatened to shelve the SPURA debate, but after a heated conversation last week, agreed to place the issue on next month's agenda.
- At this same meeting, there will be discussion about 183 East Broadway, a stalled residential building near the historic Forward Building. The agenda says there will be a "variance request for height and floor area for project." The committee will also weigh whether to endorse the East Bowery Preservation Plan, "to extend the low-rise zoning of west Bowery (in the Little Italy Special District & NoHo Historic District) to the east side."
- On Wednesday, December 9th, the Transportation Committee will hear a briefing from the DOT about the chaos being caused in Lower Manhattan by a large number of tour and charter buses trying to navigate the streets. They have apparently prepared a report addressing "layover options." According to the agenda, the report "considers alternative parking solutions for buses serving Lower Manhattan, including possible use of Pier 42." They'll also hear a request from Eastern Express for "new commuter van service to/from Chinatown at Bowery & Division."
Many of these items are, of course, fairly cryptic. We'll be trying to get more information next week. You can see the full agenda on CB3's web site.
