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Giant Swath of Lower East Side Land To Lie Fallow Forever

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For 43 years or so, the empty swath of parking lots on the south side of Delancey Street, right by the Williamsburg Bridge entrance, have sat. And sat, and sat, and sat. Every now and then, there's the hint that maybe something will happen to the area, known to urban planning geeks as the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area, or SPURA. Last summer brought the usual rumblings of quasi-nothingness, and wise observers figured that was that for SPURA in the news this year.

But no! Out of nowhere, earlier this week, Community Board 3 came forth with a plan for the blighted site. We'd almost gotten excited about the details—mixed-use housing, new retail, and the like—when LES blog The Lo-Down amended its reportage to note that CB3 hadn't actually produced a "plan," but rather "guidelines to come up with a plan."

Ah, right. Sure. "Guidelines to come up with a plan." All of which sounds like great news for fans of giant empty parking lots, which look as likely as ever to outlast us all.
· A SPURA Plan vs. SPURA Guideliens [The Lo-Down]