Hearing were held on twelve buildings over two meetings, with vary degrees of opposition— Citicorp Center Complex will be voted on separately at a later date. On November 22, 2016, Landmarks voted to designate eleven buildings in the Midtown area as individual City landmarks. Public testimony on the buildings was considered at two meetings on July 19 and September 13 of 2016. Landmarks undertook the surveying of the area as part of a mayoral program … <Read More>
Former Citicorp Center Designated an Individual City Landmark
Modernist structure last item designated of the buildings identified in Landmarks’ East Midtown Initiative. On December 6, 2016, the Landmarks Perseveration Commission voted to designate the former Citicorp Center and St. Peter’s Church, at 601 Lexington Avenue, an individual City landmark. The complex comprises of a 59-story office tower, a smaller office and retail building, and a church, as well as a public plaza and open-air concourse. Completed in 1978 to designs by … <Read More>
COMPLETE VIDEO: The 139th CityLaw Breakfast with Commissioner Steven Banks
On Friday December 16, 2016, the Center for New York City Law at New York Law School hosted the 139th CityLaw Breakfast. The event speaker was New York City Department of Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks.
City Council Members Berate Applicant for Withdrawing MIH Commitment; Deny Application
The proposal would allow for the construction of a new ten-unit, four-story residential development on a vacant Brooklyn lot. On December 12, 2016, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises heard testimony on an application for the rezoning of three lots at 14–18 Carroll Street, in the Columbia Street Waterfront District neighborhood in Brooklyn Community District 6. The developer proposed the construction a ten-unit residential building on three vacant lots, totaling 6,229 square feet … <Read More>
City Council to Consider New Oversight Controls on BSA
Ten bills will be aired for public opinion to place restrictions on and revamp the processes of the Board of Standards and Appeals. On December 6, 2016, Council Member Ben Kallos introduced five new bills regarding the oversight and operations of the Board of Standards and Appeals at the City Council’s stated meeting. The Board of Standards and Appeals, which was originally created to be an independent board tasked with granting “relief” from the zoning … <Read More>
Audit Faults Landmarks’ Record Keeping, Enforcement of Fee Requirement
Comptroller found that Landmarks did not record issuance dates for Certificates of No Effect, did not send timely notices to applicants who submitted incomplete applications, and did not reconcile permit fees collected by Buildings with permits issued by Landmarks issued. On November 30, 2016, the New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer released an audit report on the Landmarks Preservation Commission procedures and controls surrounding the issuance of Certificates of No Effect. Certificates of No Effect … <Read More>