Inwood NYC Comments ->Inwood Comments Letter 03.20.18.

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410 West 207th Acquisition LLC Flair Beverages Corp.

c/o Taconic Management Company LLC 3857 9th Ave
111 Eighth Avenue, Suite 1500 New York, NY 10034
New York, NY 10011

New York City Economic Development Corporation Via Email

110 William Street
New York, NY 10013

We are writing to follow up on meetings and discussions we have had with the City highlighting the need for
certain changes to the proposed Inwood Rezoning proposal within the Sherman Creek sub-area. These
changes are necessary to help ensure viable development and achieve the objectives of the rezoning while
addressing a number of specific issues. We recognize that time is short and request a follow-up meeting to
review. These comments are being submitted by 410 West 207th Acquisition LLC-a joint venture between
affiliates of Taconic Investment Partners, Lee & Associates, & Flair Beverages that controls the Pathmark
Site at 207th Street and 9th Avenue-and affiliates of Flair Beverages, which control the balance of the other
sites referenced in this letter.

The following is a list of the amendments to the proposed zoning text that we propose be included in an ‘A’
application filed pursuant to Section 2-06 of the ULURP Rules. In preparing this list, we have assumed that
each of these items would be ‘out of scope’ of the original application and therefore require an ‘A’
application in order to be considered. If that is not the case with respect to any item, and it can be considered
as an amendment to the original application without need for an ‘A’ application, we would appreciate your
advising us as soon as possible. For ease of reference a map with the sites discussed below has been included
as Attachment A.

It is essential that the City, at the very least, maintains the densities and heights that have been proposed as
part of the rezoning. Both of these elements are necessary to achieve a viable neighborhood development
and for any developer to justify its risks in pursuing such a massive endeavor in what is currently a
manufacturing neighborhood. The City’s plan does a thoughtful job of concentrating the density along the
waterfront and tapering down to the existing context west of Tenth Avenue. It is also important to note that
with density comes those things that the community has expressed that they care most about; affordable
housing and jobs.

1. Size of Retail Spaces on the Pathmark Site and Flair Beverages Site: The size of the Pathmark (Site
1) and Flair Beverages (Site 2) sites (approximately 75,000 sf ) can accommodate a mix of retail uses
of varying sizes and types. The limitation of certain retail uses to 10,000 square feet under the UG 6
regulations that would apply in the C2-4 overlay district (including variety, clothing, dry goods,
furniture, and household appliance stores) is an unnecessary limitation and would pose challenges to
the ability to successfully subdivide the space.

We propose that the ‘A’ text include a provision that would raise the square footage limitation for
these uses to [15,000] square feet. Doing so would continue to allow for a mix of larger and smaller
spaces within the retail footprint. Towards that end, we also propose that the ‘A’ text include a
requirement to provide a minimum number of storefronts on the ground floors of the street frontages.
Similar requirements have been adopted for Essex Crossing (which was an EDC application) and
other sites and could be successfully deployed here to promote a mix of store sizes. The increase in
the permitted size of establishments currently subject to a 10,000 square foot size limitation would be