2 Astoria Blocks Would Be Transformed By New Rezoning, Plans Show

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Two low-rise Astoria blocks containing a nightclub, a couple of Mexican restaurants and a gas station may be redeveloped into multi-story apartment buildings, according to newly filed rezoning plans.

The proposal, filed with the City Planning Commission late last month, would rezone the south side of 31st Avenue between 42nd and 43rd streets, as well as the adjacent triangular block facing Newtown Road that has long housed a gas station.

The first block, currently home to the Coco La Reve nightclub, the Mexican restaurant Dulce Cultura and a two-story apartment building, would become a six-story residential building containing 33 apartments — with between seven and 10 affordable units — as well as 8,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, according to the plans.

The applicant behind the rezoning plans, listed only as 42-18 Development LLC, bought up the block's four properties between 1998 and 2003, according to city records.

Meanwhile, the second, triangular block contains a Citgo gas station and the Acapulco Sports Bar & Restaurant. Unlike the first block, however, it is not owned by 42-18 Development LLC, and it is unclear whether its owner is involved in the rezoning application. (The City Planning Commission sometimes adds nearby properties to rezoning plans without an owner's involvement.)

In any case, the triangular block would be rezoned to accommodate a similar residential project as the first block: hypothetical plans included in the rezoning papers say it would also stand about six stories tall, containing 20 apartments — including around five affordable units — and 2,100 square feet of commercial retail on the ground floor.

A flurry of development

If approved, the project would take about 18 months to build and be completed by 2024, according to planning documents. First, however, it must wind its way through the city's monthslong public review process for land-use changes, which will start with a hearing by Community Board 1 later this year and culminate with a final vote by the City Council.

A few other sites would also undergo less visible changes as part of the rezoning: residential areas on the middle portion of the first block and the north side of an adjacent block, bounded by 43rd and 44th streets, currently have a commercial overlay, which could allow a business to open up there. Those overlays will be removed, in order to "preserve the existing residential character of these areas," according to planning documents.

The new building on the first block would stand 65 feet tall and contain more than 30,100 square feet of residential space between its 33 apartments, averaging out to roughly 900 each. It would also include a dozen accessory parking spaces and bike parking in the cellar.

The second, more hypothetical building would also be 65 feet tall, with early 23,700 square feet of residential space between its 20 apartments — an average of roughly 1,200 each. The cellar would include seven parking spaces.

The affordable apartments in both buildings will be created through the city's Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program, with details about their pricing levels to be determined by the City Planning Commission when the project is certified in the coming weeks.

This is only the latest significant development plan to be proposed in Astoria, with a slew of others in various stages of planning and construction.

About a mile west, a block-sized project that would add 352 apartments and a trade school to an industrial block of 34th Avenue got a conditional thumbs-up from Queens Borough President Donovan Richards this week, despite a resolution of disapproval from Astoria's community board in March. It now faces review from the City Planning Commission, followed by the City Council.

Over near Kaufman Astoria Studios, meanwhile, the huge and controversial Innovation QNS development has just begun its own public review, with a community board hearing later this spring.

And on the Halletts Point Peninsula, three different major projects are taking shape: the Durst Organization's seven-tower Halletts Point project, where construction will soon start on the third and fourth buildings; the 1,400-unit Halletts North project, which got a go-ahead last month from Community Board 1; and the multi-building Astoria Cove development, which recently stirred to life after a yearslong delay.