| The New York City Department of City
Planning (DCP) has proposed a rezoning of the West
Chelsea area in Community District 4 Manhattan.
The area is bounded generally by Tenth and Eleventh
Avenues from West 30th Street south to West 16th
Street. The rezoning would create the Special West
Chelsea District to provide opportunities for new
residential and commercial development, facilitate
the reuse of the High Line elevated rail line as
a unique linear open space, and enhance the neighborhood’s
thriving art gallery district. The
Zoning Proposal
Currently zoned primarily for light manufacturing
and commercial uses, the proposed Special West
Chelsea District would permit residential development
along Tenth and Eleventh Avenues and on some of
the midblocks, outside of the core of the neighborhood’s
art gallery district. Proposed regulations governing
building height and setback would respond to the
unique features of West Chelsea, including the
neighborhood’s many early 20th century loft
buildings, the adjacent Chelsea Historic District,
and the Hudson River waterfront.
The proposed reuse of the High Line as an elevated
open space is a critical component of the rezoning.
To encourage preservation of light and air around
the High Line, the proposal would allow development
rights to be transferred from the High Line to
designated receiving sites within the Special
District. New development along Tenth Avenue,
adjacent to the High Line, would also be subject
to a series of building bulk and use controls
to encourage connections to the High Line and
the preservation of light, air and views. Finally,
the existing manufacturing zoning would be retained
in the core of the art gallery district, along
the midblocks north of West 20th Street and south
of West 26th Street, to help ensure the continued
vitality of the galleries.
See the 
proposed
zoning map for West Chelsea.
For detailed information on the rezoning proposal,
download copies of the
Draft
Scope document (3.5m) and the
Environmental
Assessment Statement (3.2m).
Public Scoping
Hearing
The public is invited to comment on the draft
scoping document for the project’s Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) on October 2, 2003, 10:00
am at Spector Hall, 22 Reade Street. The draft
scoping document sets forth the analyses and methodologies
proposed for the project’s EIS. Comments
received during the draft scope’s public
hearing, and written comments received up to 10
days after the hearing will be considered and
incorporated as appropriate into a final scope
of work. The final scope of work will be used
as a framework for preparing the Draft EIS (DEIS)
for the proposed action. Once the DEIS is complete,
the formal Uniform
Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) will begin.
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West 16th Street and the High Line, looking west
West 26th Street, the High Line, and the Starret-Lehigh
Building, looking west
Tenth Avenue, looking north
Looking south above the High Line
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