BSA upholds fuel storage in Western Union Building

Tribeca building’s 65 fuel tanks store more than 100,000 gallons. In 2002, the Department of Buildings issued violations to Hudson Telegraph Associates after inspectors found fifteen 275-gallon fuel storage tanks on six floors of the Western Union Building, an individual and interior City landmark located at 60 Hudson Street in Tribeca, Manhattan. The code only permits one 275-gallon tank on each story above the first floor. The 24-story, 1.2 million-square-foot Art Deco building houses telecommunications … <Read More>


BSA sustains permits on Queens waterfront site

Buildings granted permits for developer’s personal home on Little Neck Bay waterfront. On January 20, 2006, Buildings issued a certificate of occupancy to developer Carl Mattone, the President of Mattone Group LLC, for his personal home, a two-story, 5,369-square-foot house at 37-19 Regatta Place in Douglaston, Queens. The seven-sided, 11,801-square-foot lot lies within a residential district (R1-2) along the south side of Little Neck Bay’s waterfront. The lot is partially underwater with 10,756 sq.ft. of … <Read More>


Permit denied to developer who cheated on demolition

Developer caught on video demolishing building with mechanical excavator and without a permit. In July 2005, Isaac Katan, of Global Development, received demolition permits to dismantle the building at 182 15th Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn to make way for a new 62-unit, 11-story residential building. Buildings issued a stop-work order and then rescinded, stopping Katan’s work for almost a month from October 4th to November 11th. On November 16th, the City Council rezoned Park … <Read More>


BSA grants permit to controversial Queens spa

Spa obtained special permit despite Council member objection over use. On July 18, 2006, BSA granted a special permit to Spa World, allowing a 49,634-square-foot, three-story spa at 11-11 131st Street in College Point, Queens. The project site’s 30,124-square-foot lot was formerly vacant and is located in a manufacturing district that contains several residential and commercial uses. The three-story facility will provide sauna, skin, and massage treatments on the first floor; hot tubs, hot pools, … <Read More>


Five-story building approved for triangular lot

Underground storage tanks contribute to hardship. The owner of 1 Seventh Avenue South proposed to replace an existing auto service center with a five-story, mixed-use development.

The owner argued that the triangular shape of the small lot, the presence of four, 550-gallon under ground storage tanks, one waste-oil underground storage tank, gasoline contamination of the soil, the site’s proximity to the subway, and a nearby truck route to the Holland Tunnel created a hardship. The … <Read More>


BSA permits bldg. to exceed limits of new rezoning

Owner claimed soil cleanup and structural repair made smaller building infeasible. Prior to the City’s 183-block rezoning of North Brooklyn, Selik Realty sought BSA approval to convert a three-story manufacturing building on North 7th Street and Meeker Avenue in Williamsburg into residential units and to add four additional stories. When the site was rezoned in May 2005, residential use became permitted as of right, but Selik maintained its BSA application, seeking approval of a building … <Read More>