Mayor de Blasio Announces Progress on Affordable Housing Plan

17,300 units of affordable housing were created or preserved in 2014.  On January 15, 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio held a press conference to announce the financing of over 17,300 units of affordable housing during 2014.  These units, 11,185 preserved and 6,191 of new construction, were financed as a part of the Mayor’s Housing New York plan to preserve and build 200,000 units of affordable housing by the end of Fiscal Year 2024.  According to … <Read More>


Waivers Granted to Convert Manufacturing Building to Storage Facility

BSA found no reasonable return with a conforming use of the property.  On December 9, 2014 the Board of Standards and Appeals voted to grant the applicant, 290 Dyckman Properties, LLC, three waivers to allow conversion of a former manufacturing building into a self-storage facility.  The building is located at 290 Dyckman Street in Inwood, Manhattan, at the corner of Dyckman Street and Henshaw Street.  The building is two stories covering a lot area of … <Read More>


Permission to Operate Sidewalk Café Upheld on Appeal

Landlord was required by lease to consent to tenant’s operation of a sidewalk café, absent a good-faith basis.  DMF Gramercy Enterprises, Inc. has operated Pete’s Tavern, a sidewalk café at 129 East 18th Street in Gramercy, Manhattan, and claims to be the longest continuously-operating bar and restaurant in New York City.  DMF Gramercy has operated Pete’s since 1964 when it entered into a lease with the building’s then-owner. The current owner is the Lillian Troy … <Read More>


CPC Hears Special Permit Request for New Through-Block Building

Commissioners focused on the building’s sustainability and the proposed parking garage. On January 7, 2015 the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on applications for two special permits for a proposed building at 7 West 21st Street in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District of Manhattan. The proposed building is 185 feet tall, with ground-floor retail and residential units on the upper floors. The permits would allow a waiver of the 150-foot setback requirement and … <Read More>


Special Permit Granted To Enlarge Building in Historic District

BSA found the proposed expansion would not alter the neighborhood character or interfere with any pending public improvements.  On December 9, 2014 the Board of Standards and Appeals voted to grant the applicant, Galt Group Holdings, a special permit to extend the rear portion of an existing building as part of the building’s conversion into a single-family home.  The building is located at 127 East 71st Street in Manhattan’s Upper East Side Historic District, … <Read More>


Landmarks Approves New 14-story Tower in Historic District

Project will entail the demolition of 1961 office and warehouse building occupied by the Catholic Medical Mission Board. On December 16, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve an application for a new building at 8 West 17th Street in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District. The site is currently occupied by a 3-story 1961 commercial building designed by the firm Belfatto and Pavarino, known mostly for their ecclesiastical architecture.