Court declares art organization, not building owner, owns artwork on exterior wall of SoHo historic district building. In September 2004, Judge Deborah A. Batts allowed the Board of Managers of Soho International Arts Condominium to proceed with its Fifth Amendment takings claim against the City, pending an inquiry as to who owned the well-known minimalist sculpture by artist Forrest Myers that had been attached to 599 Broadway since 1973. (See CityLand’s past coverage here.)
The City argued that 599 Broadway was the current owner of the artwork because City Walls, Inc., a non-profit organization that played a significant role in financing and installing the three-dimensional structure, had abandoned the artwork when it ceased to function as a corporation. In the alternative, the City argued that 599 Broadway had obtained title through adverse possession. (more…)
City amended law to obstruct loopholes. In 1993, adult establishments had proliferated within the city, growing from only nine in 1965 to 177 in 1993. A 1993 Planning Department study, precipitated by this increase, concluded that adult uses produced secondary negative impacts like increased crime, property value depreciation and a reduction in commercial activity in areas where the uses were heavily concentrated. This study became the basis of a 1995 citywide zoning amendment that prohibited adult establishments within residential districts and within 500 feet of schools and churches.
The 1995 zoning restrictions defined adult uses as a commercial enterprise that used a substantial portion of its business for adult content, but failed to explicitly define “substantial portion.” Buildings interpreted “substantial portion” as a business that devoted at least 40 percent of its floor area to adult uses. Adult use businesses then reconfigured their floor area to circumvent the 60/40 rule. (more…)
Settlement came after gardeners filed Article 78 petition. As reported in the November issue of CityLand, the City Council’s October 13, 2004 approval of the Courtlandt Avenue Apartments, a 167-unit, affordable housing development slated for Melrose Commons, would result in the demolition of several Bronx community gardens. The development site, comprising 16 lots, occupies most of the block between East 158th and East 159th Streets, and Park and Courtlandt Avenues.
On November 23, 2004, gardeners active in three Bronx Green Thumb Gardens filed a petition to stop the City’s demolition of the gardens and to declare the Planning Commission’s approval of the development unlawful. On November 24th, a temporary restraining order was granted and negotiations followed. (more…)
346 Broadway. Image Credit: Brett.
Landmarks acted within its authority when it approved the LLC’s certificate of appropriateness. On March 28, 2019, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the Certificate of Appropriateness granted the Landmarks Preservation Commission for 346 Broadway in 2014 was proper, reversing two lower courts’ decision. In 1987, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated 346 Broadway as an interior landmark. The designation included the building’s banking hall and the 13th floor clock tower, which houses a mechanical clock. At the time of designation, the City owned the building and the clock tower was opened to the public for weekly tours.
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City and Suburban Homes Company, First Avenue Estate. Image credit: LPC.
Developer claimed that Commissioners irrationally and prejudicially analyzed hardship application, and that designation amounted to an unconstitutional taking. In 1990, Landmarks designated the City and Suburban Homes Company, First Avenue Estate an individual City landmark. The block-sized development is bounded East 64th and 65th Streets and York and First Avenues. Built between 1819 and 1915, it was constructed to provide high-quality housing to low-income New Yorkers in an alternative to crowded, poorly ventilated tenement buildings. The First Avenue Estate is one of only two full-block light court tenement complexes in the City. (more…)
