Pier 5. Image Credit: Google Maps

The City authorized Pier 5 on the Harlan River to be development for housing. The City acquired Pier 5 on the Harlem Riven, a 4.4 acre parcel of land in The Bronx, in 2006 during the $60 million renovation of Yankee Stadium and transferred control of the land to the Parks Department. Pier 5 is bounded on the north by Mill Pond Park, on the east by the Major Deegan Expressway, on the south by 149th Street. Parks fenced off Pier 5 and kept it closed for a most of the following ten years. Parks occasionally rented the land to private companies to host carnivals and small events. Between June 2013 and August 2014 Parks allowed the Bronx Council for Environment Quality to collect air quality data and to conduct environmental experiments on Pier 5. The Council permitted members of the public to come on the land for educational and research purposes. Ultimately Parks allowed the Department of Transportation to use Pier 5 for equipment storage. (read more…)

Adult entertainment businesses continue their decades-long fight against zoning rules that restrict business locations. In the latest installment in the City’s efforts to restrict adult entertainment establishments, a federal court enjoined enforcement of the City’s zoning resolution. This is the latest court action in a series of actions that began in 1994. (read more…)

View of Co-Op City from the New England Thruway. Image Credit: Google Maps

Owner’s sought to install on a single pole a 9,000 square foot of billboard space capable of running 54 separate advertisements.  In February 2018, Baychester Retail III LLC filed applications with Buildings to install a 9,164 square foot LED billboard made of 27 two-sided panels mounted on one pole on a commercial property located near Co-op City, in the Baychester neighborhood of the Bronx near the New England Thruway. The large billboard would be capable of displaying 54 video screen advertisements, since each of the 27 panels could display advertisements on both sides. (read more…)

Crane in front of 461 Dean Street, Brooklyn. Image Credit: Google Maps

Crane operator operated a tower crane without proper license. On April 14, 2016, Wayne Miller, a hoisting machine operator, was working with J.F. Stearns Comp. LLC , a construction company, at 461 Dean Street in Brooklyn. The Department of Buildings served a summons Miller for operating a tower crane without the proper endorsement and without a proper renewal. (read more…)

45 Great Jones Street, Manhattan. Image Credit: Google Maps

Tax Commission withdrew favorable property tax assessment following audit. 45 Great Jones Street in Manhattan was constructed in 2014 and contains a retail space and five cooperative apartments. The property owner challenged the assessed value for the years 2016/2017 and 2017/2018. The Tax Commission approved a nearly 40 percent decrease in property value for both tax years. The Tax Commission reduced the assessed value for 2016/2017 from $3,244,032 to $2,012,612, and for 2017/2018 from $3,503,554 to $2,026,796. (read more…)