Appellate Court Upholds BSA Approval of Rooftop Additions

Tenant objected to BSA’s interpretation of Multiple Dwelling Law that legalized sixth-floor additions to East Village tenements. In October 2006, Ben Shaoul, the owner of two adjacent five-story tenements located at 514 and 516 East 6th Street in the East Village, filed an application with the City’s Department of Buildings seeking an alteration permit to add two floors to each building. The proposal did not comply with the fire safety requirements of the Multiple … <Read More>


BSA Approved Addition to Four East Village Tenements Despite Opposition

Department of Buildings denied developer permits because plans did not comply with Multiple Dwelling law and community opposed out-of-character building enlargements. In March 2011, Terrence Lowenberg applied for alteration permits to build one-story additions on four pre-1929 apartment buildings at 329 to 335 East 9th Street in the East Village of Manhattan. Lowenberg planned to enlarge 331, 333, and 335 East 9th Street from five stories to six stories, reaching a height of 67 feet, … <Read More>


BSA Approves Upper West Side Townhouse Addition

Owners’ plan to enlarge fourth-floor co-op violated multiple dwelling law. In December 2010, Felix and Lisa Oberholzer-Gee sought a building permit to enlarge their 1,000-square-foot, fourth-floor co-op in a five-unit townhouse at 159 West 78th Street in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The Oberholzer-Gees proposed building a set-back, 646-square-foot rooftop addition. Buildings denied the permit because the plans violated the multiple dwelling law’s restrictions on enlargements of converted dwellings. The Oberholzer-Gees applied to the Board … <Read More>