PS 163 in Manhattan. Image credit: Citylaw.

Non-profit developer sought to build residence for the elderly in Manhattan adjacent to a public school. In 2012, Jewish Home Lifecare, a non-profit providing health care services, applied to the New York State Department of Health for a permit to construct a residential facility for the elderly and disabled to be located on West 97th Street in Manhattan next door to P.S. 163. After Lifecare submitted an environmental assessment statement and an environmental impact statement, pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act, the Health Department approved the facility. Parents from P.S. 163 and nearby tenants objected and filed an article 78 petition seeking to annul the Health Department’s approval. The parents and tenants claimed that the Health Department had failed to address adequately the risks of exposure to hazardous materials and noise-levels. (more…)

Mott Haven campus rendering. Credit: Perkins Eastman.

Community Group sued the School Construction Authority seeking a long-term maintenance and monitoring protocol for the Mott Haven School site. The Mott Haven school campus site, consisting of four public schools, was formerly a railroad yard in the South Bronx. The site contained soil and ground water that were significantly contaminated, and the site needed to be remediated before the campus could be built. The campus opened in 2010.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) accepted the most contaminated section of the Mott Haven campus site into the Brownfield Cleanup Program in 2005. The School Construction Authority (SCA) filed the final version of its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) in 2006. The EIS made detailed findings as to the environmental impacts of the project. The SCA completed the remediation measures on the site in 2007. (more…)

Atlantic Yards development site along Atlantic Avenue.

Court found ESDC’s environmental analysis insufficient due to change in Atlantic Yards project, but refused to halt project. In 2006, the Empire State Development Corporation approved the general project plan for Forest City Ratner Companies’ Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn. The $4 billion project includes a sports arena and sixteen high-rise buildings. Ratner agreed to purchase air rights from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority at the beginning of the project in order to facilitate the development of six of the buildings. The project’s environmental review assumed a ten-year build-out for the project and a completion date of 2016.

In June 2009, Ratner and the MTA renegotiated the terms of their agreement to permit Ratner to acquire the air rights over a fifteen-year period extending to 2030. In September 2009, ESDC adopted the project’s modified general project plan, but continued to assume a ten-year build-out with an estimated project completion date of 2019. As such, ESDC concluded that no additional environmental review was required.

Two community groups, Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council, filed a petition claiming that ESDC ignored the impacts of the renegotiated MTA agreement on the project’s time frame for construction (more…)

Public comments on plan to expand Lincoln Square campus in order to provide over 2.5 million sq.ft. of new floor area. On September 10, 2007, City Planning held a public hearing on the draft scope of the environmental impact statement for the proposed expansion of Fordham University’s Lincoln Square campus.

Fordham plans to build facilities for its law, business, social services and education schools, dormitories, a theater, and parking facilities on the block bounded by Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues between West 60th and West 62nd Streets.

Fordham would undertake the project in phases, allowing it to use its existing law school on the site while building the replacement school. Fordham would also convey rights to a private developer to build two residential buildings: one with 512 units and 68 accessory parking spaces and the other with 364 units and 137 accessory parking spaces. The proceeds from the conveyance would help finance the larger expansion. The buildings being studied in the environmental review would reach heights of over 600 feet. In total, the expansion will yield 2.38 million sq.ft. of academic and dormitory space, 701,073 sq.ft. of residential space, and 470 parking spaces. (more…)

Community and preservationists comment on plan to construct 2.6 million sq.ft. of housing on former factory site. On July 31, 2007, City Planning held a public hearing on the draft scope of an environmental impact statement for the proposed transformation of the Domino Sugar Refinery into a large mixed-use development with 2.64 million sq.ft. of residential space, 120,000 sq.ft. of retail space, 100,000 sq.ft. of community facility space, and 1,450 below grade accessory parking spaces. The developer, Refinery Management LLC, a joint venture made up of Katan Group LLC and the Community Preservation Corporation, propose to make 30 percent of the residential space, or 660 units, affordable housing.

The site is located on the Brooklyn waterfront directly north of the Williamsburg Bridge. The developer plans to demolish most of the buildings on the site to make way for the new development. The plan would, however, adaptively reuse the Refinery building. Comprised of the Filter, Pan, and Finishing Houses, the Refinery is currently under consideration for landmark status. On June 26, 2007, Landmarks held a public hearing on the designation but has not yet set a date for a vote. 4 CityLand 95 (July 15, 2007). If designated, Landmarks would need to approve any construction plan for the designated buildings. (more…)