New 12-million gallon sewage storage facility to be built. The Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services sought approval of a 3.6-acre site selection for a combined sewage overflow storage facility to reduce stormwater sewage discharge emitted into Westchester Creek. The development required Commission approval for the site selection, acquisition of 155,900 sq.ft. of land and a special permit allowing the sewage facility in a residentially-zoned area of the Bronx.

The site is located along an unmapped street in the southwestern portion of the Bronx Psychiatric Center, roughly bounded on the north by Waters Place, east by Eastchester Road and west by Industrial Place. The sewage facility would include a two-story operation building, with air treatment and mechanical facilities, and a 25- foot deep underground storage tank, 348 ft. by 170 ft. in dimension. (read more…)

Commission approved Verizon’s consolidation plans. Verizon New York, Inc. sought to rezone two sites that it occupies in Clinton, Manhattan. The first proposal would rezone a 45,200 sq.ft. site at the intersection of Eleventh Avenue and West 43rd Street from M2-3 to C6-4. The second would rezone a 143,300 sq.ft. full-block area, bounded by Eleventh Avenue, West 47th Street, Twelfth Avenue and West 48th Street, from M2-3 to Ml- 5. The Commission unanimously approved both. Verizon intends to sell the up-zoned West 43rd site and consolidate operations into a new building located within the West 47th Street rezoning.

The rezoning on the two West 43rd lots would allow commercial/ residential uses and increase the sites’ permitted building size from 90,400 sq.ft. to 452,000- 542,400 sq.ft. Verizon argued that the one-story warehouse and six-story office on the site were antiquated, out-of-character and required upgrading. (read more…)

Commission approves iconic design for 518-foot mixed-use development in Harlem. On September 8, 2004, the City Planning Commission approved a 493,646-square-foot mixed-use development containing 230 hotel rooms, 100 residential units, office space, retail space, and a 369-space public parking garage. To achieve the size and design, the developer, 1800 Park Avenue LLC, sought a rezoning of the project site to allow the hotel and an increased floor area as well as two special permits to allow the parking garage and modify height and setback. Marriott International would lease the hotel component.

The project site, on the west side of Park Avenue at East 125th Street, is at a vital axis point of the Central and East Harlem neighborhoods and is immediately adjacent to the MTA MetroNorth 125th Street station. The area is primarily residential with mostly four to six-story residential buildings. The tallest building is 33-stories, located at 3rd Avenue and 123rd Street. (read more…)

After significant redesign, Commission approves building close to Brooklyn Bridge. Two Trees Management Company, the developer often credited with the dramatic conversion and rebirth of DUMBO, sought approval of a large project involving new construction, a building conversion, and demolition of a historic building close to the suspended side span of the Brooklyn Bridge. The City Planning Commission approved after the building’s western portion was reduced to match the height of the bridge’s roadway.

Two Trees sought approval of a 200-unit residential, mixed-use development with a 327-space parking garage. The original design had a 178-foot residential tower fronting on Water Street and a 23-foot height at the Dock/Front corner, which is directly beneath the Brooklyn Bridge. Three buildings would be demolished. One of these – 54 Water Street – is within a landmark district on state and national registers. The project also involved the rehabilitation of a vacant 4-story brick building in the state and national historic district. (read more…)

Water park concession awarded to Aquatic Development Group. The City’s Department of Parks & Recreation and the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation obtained approval for a 26-acre, indoor-outdoor water park on Randall’s Island. The water park will include 18.7 acres of outdoor wave pools, slides, and a circular waterway, along with a 7.25-acre glass-roofed, indoor facility that will provide the same attractions during cold weather. It will be the first urban water park in the United States. Approval of the water park required a major concession approval from the Commission pursuant to the City’s Charter §197(c) and a determination of consistency under the City and state waterfront revitalization plan.

Following Parks’ 1998 Randall’s Island master plan, which included the water park, the Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals for the water park’s construction and operation, ultimately selecting Aquatic Development Group, Inc. The project site currently contains open space, 10 baseball diamonds and a 123-space surface parking lot. The 10 diamonds will be relocated, expanded, and improved as part of the master plan. Parking for the water park and other new attractions will be accommodated by construction of a 2,800-space parking facility beneath the spans of the Triborough Bridge. Free shuttles will taxi people from the parking location to the water park and the park’s other new facilities. (read more…)