Eric Palatnik testifies before the Board of Standards and Appeals. Image credit: BSA

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, between Park Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east. (more…)

Second Department ordered BSA to determine whether special permit findings were met. In 2005, Alexis Lyublinskiy obtained an alteration permit to enlarge his one-story home at 136 Norfolk Street in Manhattan Beach. Initial demolition and construction work did not match building plans, and Lyublinskiy eventually demolished all but one of the original building’s walls and built a two-story house.

Buildings issued a stop-workorder after discovering that the house did not conform to the approved plans. Buildings rescinded the order, but later issued a second order after determining that the house exceeded the permitted floor area and violated wall height and side yard regulations. Instead of revoking the permit, Buildings issued a letter allowing the permit to be categorized as an alteration rather than new construction. (more…)

Owner’s application to Buildings failed to disclose actual conditions or intentions with respect to demolition. Alexis Lyublinskiy hoped to enlarge his one-story home at 136 Norfolk Street in Manhattan Beach. After his architect self-certified permits, demolition and construction work began that did not match the permits. Lyublinskiy eventually demolished three walls and constructed a two-story home that violated zoning restrictions on floor area, wall height and yard limitations.

The Department of Buildings then issued a stop-work order and notified Lyublinskiy that it planned to revoke the permit. Instead, Buildings issued a letter to Lyublinskiy categorizing the work as an “enlargement” rather than new construction; this allowed him to apply to BSA for a special permit to legalize the work. (more…)

Sports Center received 10-year extension; filed house ruled as-of-right. In 1995, Chelsea Piers, L.P., owner and developer of Chelsea Piers at Piers 59-62 between West 17th and West 23rd Streets in Manhattan, received a special permit from BSA to operate a gym and sports facility on an 181,781-square-foot portion of Pier 60 that eventually became the Chelsea Piers Sports Center and Fieldhouse. The Sports Center contains an 115,960-square-foot health club with a pool and facilities for weightlifting, yoga, aerobics, boxing and pilates. The 65,821-square-foot Fieldhouse provides gymnastics, soccer, basketball, floor hockey, baseball and dance.

When the permit expired, Chelsea Piers requested a 10-year extension for the Sports Complex, but asked that the Fieldhouse be excluded from the permit since the space’s use was now as-of-right. Since the Fieldhouse’s use was uncertain during Chelsea Piers’ development, the owner’s original special permit included it. The owners ultimately decided to operate the Fieldhouse as-of-right under a use definition allowing “gymnasiums used exclusively for basketball, handball, paddleball, racquetball, squash and tennis.” (more…)

Eric Palatnik testifies before the Board of Standards and Appeals. Image credit: BSA

The Board granted the permit after confirming the neighborhood’s character would not be altered. On March 10, 2015 the Board of Standards and Appeals granted a special permit to Athina Orthodoxou to enlarge a non-complying two-story two-family home at 337 99th Street, in an R4-1 zoning district in the Special Bay Ridge District of Brooklyn.  The Special District was established in 2005 to protect Bay Ridge from high-density development.  (See additional CityLand coverage here.)

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