By Kathianne Boniello
The City Council voted unanimously last week to rezone 74 acres in Little Neck Pines to prevent further development and preserve the character of the community that is dominated by one- and two-family homes, Councilman Mike Abel (R-Bayside) said.
The proposal was originally submitted for rezoning by Community Board 11 under the 197a Plan, an ambitious attempt to rezone key areas of the district so that the zoning laws would conform with existing structures.
First drafted in 1991, the plan, which got its name from Section 197A of New York City's charter, sought new zoning in commercial zones, residential zones and environmental regions of Little Neck and Douglaston that would reflect what is already there. The plan was rejected in May 1998.
The proposal to rezone Little Neck Pines would restrict development to one- and two-family detached and semi-detached homes.
Little Neck Pines is bordered by Northern Boulevard on the south, Little Neck Parkway and the city line to the east, 39th Avenue to the north and 246th Street on the west.
There was no opposition in the City Council to rezoning the 74 acres in Little Neck Pines, which was approved on March 29.
“Little Neck is one of the neighborhoods in New York City that is becoming rarer each day,” Abel said. “As progress and development and population rise and stretch our boundaries, it is rare communities such as Little Neck that serve as a reminder of what many areas in New York City and Queens used to be.”
Community Board 11 Chairman Bernard Haber said at the board's December 1998 meeting the group had put the proposal to rezone Little Neck Pines on “the fast-track” to protect the area.
“There have been rumblings of development in the area,” Haber said at the December meeting. “There is an urgency to this proposal.”
While the city Planning Commission rejected the 197a Plan last year, Haber said the rezoning of Little Neck Pines, an area dominated by one-family homes, was permitted by the commission as a separate effort.
John Ostendorf, president of the Little Neck Pines Civic Association and a Little Neck Pines Committee member, testified at the City Council hearing.
The committee was formed in 1997 and “had this very issue as its goal,” he said. “On behalf of the community, we are certainly pleased that we have seen this important zoning change finally come to fruition.”
