Ten-year permit granted to Eden Day Spa. BSA approved the application of Eden Day Spa to legalize its existing spa at 388 Broadway between White and Walker Streets in Tribeca. The spa, a “physical cultural establishment” under the zoning code, required a special permit to be located within a manufacturing zone.

At the legalization hearing, Eden Day Spa, which has been at this location since 2001, did not face opposition. BSA approved a tenyear permit, but prohibited any transfer in ownership by Eden without its prior approval. (more…)

85-foot cell phone tower disguised as flagpole. The owner of 186-05 120th Road in the R4 zoned district of Jamaica, Queens sought a special permit to construct an 85-foot wireless communications radio tower with 12 small panel antennae. The owner stated that the tower would be minimally visible over the roof line of surrounding houses, further concealed by trees, and that the mechanical equipment and wiring would be located underground and in the basement of an existing building on the site. The applicant argued that the 85-foot height was the minimum needed for cell phone coverage. In response to community concerns, the tower was relocated toward the rear of the property and redesigned to resemble a flag pole.

BSA granted the application, finding that the tower would not interfere with the privacy, quiet, light and air of the neighborhood. BSA, however, restricted maintenance hours for the tower, required additional slots for other cell phone companies, and required that the flag be replaced once a year, maintained, and lit at night. (more…)

Tower to have been built adjacent to Brooklyn Bridge withdrawn within hours of Council’s vote. With only one day remaining in the Council’s 50-day review deadline, Two Trees Management Co., the developer of a proposed 178-foot residential tower adjacent to the Brooklyn Bridge side span, withdrew its application on October 13, 2004, the same day Council scheduled its vote.

The project was proposed for DUMBO along Water, Dock, and Front Streets, with a part of the site located directly beneath the Brooklyn Bridge. The Planning Commission had approved the 178-foot tower with 200 residential units, 327 parking spaces, retail and community facilities space on August 25, 2004, only after the developer reduced the building’s height closest to the Brooklyn Bridge from 170 ft. to 88 ft., matching the Brooklyn Bridge roadway. Furthest from the Bridge, the building’s height remained 178 ft. (more…)

Philip Ramulla testifies before the Board of Standards and Appeals. Image credit: BSA

Existing zoning regulations would not have permitted proposed three-story building.  On March 4, 2015, the Board of Standards and Appeals voted to grant Mangone Developers Corporation a variance for a proposed three-story senior housing building in Midland Beach, Staten Island. The proposed building is located at 1891 Richmond Road in a Special Natural Area District of Staten Island, at the corner of Richmond Road and Adams Avenue.

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Applicant claimed that a conforming commercial office building would not yield a reasonable return. DJL Family Limited Partnership applied to BSA for a variance to construct a new seven-story building with 12 apartments and ground floor retail on Spring Street between Crosby Street and Lafayette Street in SoHo, Manhattan. DJL sought a variance because the proposed residential and retail uses were not permitted within the M1-5B district. If granted the variance, DJL planned to demolish the existing one-story commercial building on its 4,766 sq.ft. lot in order to facilitate construction.

DJL claimed that the lot size was too small to construct a conforming commercial office building that would generate a reasonable return. DJL could construct 3,625 sq.ft. floor plates, but would be compelled to devote an average of 630 sq.ft. per floor to stairways, elevators, and bathrooms, resulting in a 17 percent loss of the rentable area per floor. DJL added that a 7,250 sq.ft. commercial building would also need 630 sq.ft. per floor for its building core, but would only lose nine percent of rentable area per floor. (more…)