Synagogue eliminated residences to obtain variance

Synagogue had sought approval of eight market-rate residential units as part of new synagogue and yeshiva. BSA granted a variance to Congregation Somlou, permitting a four-story synagogue with a yeshiva and a single accessory apartment for use by a rabbi at 245 Hooper Street, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Somlou initially proposed to construct a five-story building with eight market-rate residential units, requiring variances for floor area, height, setback, lot coverage, and rear yard size. Community Board … <Read More>


Hotel approved for splitzoned lot

BSA okays hotel only after reduction of 18,000 sq.ft. After four proposals and five public hearings, BSA approved development of a 48-foot tall, four-story transient hotel in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn. The site of the hotel, at 806/814 Coney Island Avenue, is comprised of five contiguous lots totaling 32,153 sq.ft., split by commercial (C8-2) and residential (R5) districts and currently contains a one-story garage. The owner required a variance to permit the hotel’s proposed size in … <Read More>


Variance for midtown building amended

342 Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. Photo: Kevin E. Schultz

BSA grants office, retail, and church building variances from Grand Central Subdistrict requirements. 340 Madison Owner LLC, the owner of 342 Madison Avenue, a 48,265-squre-foot lot between East 43rd and 44th Streets in Manhattan, proposed to enlarge an existing 21- story, 503,487-square-foot office, retail and church building. 340 Madison, which received variances on March 23, 2004 to transfer floor area across a zoning district and … <Read More>


HPD’s conversion of vacant school approved

Former school at 217 W. 147th Street in Harlem. Photo: Kevin E. Schultz

HPD argued that variance would avoid demolition of 1905 school building. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development, owner of 217 West 147th Street, a 29,975-square-foot lot in Harlem, proposed to convert a vacant school into a 56-unit residential building with a community facility space in the cellar. The school, constructed in 1905 and declared obsolete by the Board of Education in … <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>


BSA approves 7-story SoHo residential building

Fire-damaged building in historic SoHo to be restored and increased in height. Morty Lipkis, owner of 44 Mercer Street, a 2,480-square-foot lot in SoHo, proposed to replace a vacant fire-damaged building zoned for manufacturing with a 102-foot tall, seven-story mixed-use building. The proposed building would serve residential and retail uses with 12,549- square-feet of floor space, requiring variances for use and rear yard size. The site’s current two-story structure abuts a rear building and offers … <Read More>