NEW YORK, NY July 13, 2009 —The City Council approved a rezoning of a 30-block industrial area of the South Bronx, the eighth such large-scale rezoning in the Bloomberg administration. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman reports that like its predecessors, this plan will increase population while adding little new park space.

REPORTER: Back in the 1990's, the city developed planning guidelines that are still in effect. They say redevelopment projects should ideally add two-and-a-half acres of open space for every 1,000 new residents.

But a WNYC analysis of planning documents finds that Mayor Bloomberg's eight largest rezonings clock in at half that ratio. Hudson Yards, Greenpoint-Williamsburg and other big rezonings will provide space for 88,000 new residents once they're built out, but they only set aside 90 acres of new open space.

The Mayor's office says it's hard to build parks in a crowded city, and that the administration has instead emphasized improvements, such as green ways and waterfront access. For WNYC, I'm Matthew Schuerman.

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