Developer withdraws variance requests after rezoning

Developer sought variance to build additional 2-family home in flood zone. The developer of three lots located on 130th Street in College Point, Queens, applied to BSA for a variance to construct three, two-family homes on property formerly occupied by the Ariel Rowing and Tennis Club. The developer’s applications represented that a hardship existed due to the lots’ location within a flood zone, which would require that the buildings be constructed on piles and without … <Read More>


Variance approved for 100- bed Village nursing facility

Six-story nursing home approved with enlarged floor plates and a side courtyard in lieu of rear yard. Village Care of New York, a not-for-profit entity and owner of 214 West Houston, an 11,253- square-foot lot in the West Village, proposed to replace an existing parking garage and construct a new six-story, 45,000-square-foot, 100- bed nursing home.

Village Care requested variances for lot coverage, rear yard, and setback requirements, arguing that the lot was shallow and … <Read More>


Variance approved for Mill Basin synagogue

Community opponents raised issues of parking and building height. Sephardic Center of Mill Basin proposed to construct a new 1 0,800 square-foot, two-story synagogue to replace its 20-year old, 6,800-squarefoot synagogue on the corner of Strickland and Mill Avenues in Mill Basin, Brooklyn. As proposed, the new synagogue would exceed the permitted floor area by 5,384 sq.ft., exceed the district’s permitted height by seven feet and fail to provide sufficient parking.

The Center claimed that … <Read More>


BSA denies variance to allow retail in Queens

BSA rejected owner’s site valuation and claim that buildings were of a “different era.” Sutphin Boulevard LLC, owner of three adjacent lots in a residential district totaling 24,649 sq. ft., sought to demolish four buildings housing auto-service and auto-storage space on one of its lots and construct a one-story 12,005-square-foot retail building spanning the three lots. The site, at Sutphin Boulevard and I I It h Avenue in Queens, has contained an auto-service station since … <Read More>


Circus school gets variance

Trapeze training required higher ceilings. The New Wave Circus Center sought BSA approval to locate a circus school in Coney Island where it planned to offer circus- related classes including tightrope walking, unicycle, trapeze and juggling. To accommodate the space needed for circus activities, New Wave would demolish a one-story commercial building at 2920 Coney Island Avenue and replace it with a newly constructed, 49-foot tall building covering the full extent of the 2,160-square-foot lot. … <Read More>


DeNiro hotel obtains variance

Contaminated soil remediation caused hardship. 377 Greenwich LLC, with principals Robert DeNiro, Ira Druckier and Richard Born, sought BSA approval for a 59,419- square-foot, seven-story luxury hotel in Tribeca that would exceed floor area, wall height and setback restrictions. DeNiro’s development team had started the permit process in 2003 by first seeking the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s approval for construction of a six-story building within the Tribeca West Historic District. After receiving approval, the six-story project … <Read More>