136-324 Publicly Accessible Open Space Requirements

Publicly accessible open spaces shall be provided within Flexible Open Space A Location and Flexible Open Space B Location, as applicable, as shown on Map 7 (Mandatory Street Walls and Flexible Public Open Space Locations) in the Appendix to this Chapter. Open Space A shall contain a minimum of 23,000 square feet, and Open Space B shall contain a minimum of 7,000 square feet.

(a)        A portion of the required publicly accessible open space located within Open Space A shall have a minimum width of 80 feet within 55 feet of Mott Avenue. Open Space A shall extend from Mott Avenue to the nearest private street required pursuant to Section 136-323 (Private streets), and shall maintain a minimum width of 60 feet.

(b)        Publicly accessible open spaces shall comply with the provisions of Sections 37-725 (Steps), 37-726 (Permitted obstructions), 37-727 (Hours of access) 37-728 (Standards of accessibility for persons with disabilities), 37-73 (Kiosks and Open Air Cafes), 37-74 (Amenities) and 37-75 (Signs), except for the following modifications:

(1)        Section 37-73 (Kiosks and Open Air Cafes) shall be modified as follows:

(i)        paragraph (a) of Section 37-73 shall be modified to permit a kiosk to occupy an area no greater than 400 square feet within Open Space A, provided that such kiosk has a maximum width, measured along the same axis as the minimum width of Open Space A pursuant to paragraph (a) of this Section, of 20 feet, and provided that any canopies, awnings or other sun control devices extending from such kiosk shall be limited to a distance of five feet from such kiosk;

(ii)        paragraph (b) of Section 37-73 shall be modified to limit the aggregate area of open air cafes to no more than 40 percent of the publicly accessible open space, to allow open air cafes to occupy up to 50 percent of street frontage along Mott Avenue, and to eliminate the requirement that open air cafes be located along the edge of the publicly accessible open space; and

(iii)        paragraphs (c) and (d) of Section 37-73 shall not apply to the certification of open air cafes in the Special District, and the filing of plans for open air cafes in the Borough Office of the City Register shall not be required;

(2)        Section 37-741 (Seating) shall be modified as follows:

(i)        the requirement for a minimum of one linear foot of required seating for every two linear feet of street frontage within 15 feet of the street line shall not apply;

(ii)        the requirement of one linear foot of seating for each 30 square feet of public plaza area shall be modified to one linear foot of seating for each 60 square feet of publicly accessible open space; and

(iii)        seating for open air cafes may count toward the seating requirement, in the category of moveable seating, provided that 50 percent of the linear seating capacity is provided through other seating types;

(3)        For Open Space A, Section 37-742 (Planting and trees) shall be modified to require that at least 15 percent of the area of the publicly accessible open space shall be comprised of planting beds with a minimum dimension of two feet, exclusive of any bounding walls. For Open Space B, Section 37-742 (Planting and trees) shall be modified to eliminate the requirement for such planting beds;

(4)        Section 37-743 (Lighting) shall be modified to provide that for publicly accessible open spaces fronting on Mott Avenue, the lighting fixtures installed by the Department of Transportation within the street shall be included in the calculation of the required level of illumination;

(5)        Section 37-744 (Litter receptacles) shall be modified to require a minimum of one litter receptacle per 5,000 square feet of publicly accessible open space;

(6)        Entry plaques for publicly accessible open spaces shall be provided as described in paragraph (a) of Section 37-751 (Public space signage systems), except that one such plaque shall be located at each point of entry from a street to such publicly accessible open space; and

(7)        Section 37-753 (Accessory signs) shall be modified as follows:

(i)        paragraphs (a), (c) and (d) shall not apply;

(ii)        paragraph (b) shall be modified to permit non-illuminated or illuminated accessory signs, and the permitted surface area of such signs shall be as permitted by the underlying district, as if the publicly accessible open space were a street; and

(iii)        paragraph (e) shall be modified to permit any number of accessory signs within the publicly accessible open space, subject to the remaining provisions of such paragraph (e).