BSA’s decision to deny developer’s request to complete construction was irrational since it had previously granted similar requests. Menachem Realty Inc. submitted professionally certified plans to Buildings for a sixstory residential condominium at 1623 Avenue P in Midwood, Brooklyn. Buildings issued a building permit based on the plans, and Menachem began excavation and foundation work. Before the foundation was completed, Buildings performed an audit of the plans, raised eight objections, and issued a letter stating … <Read More>
Search Results for: City Council
Court upholds BSA ruling denying vested rights
Bronx developer claimed non-compliance with zoning law was minimal and should not impede vesting of rights. Developer GRA V LLC applied for an excavation and foundation permit from the Department of Buildings for construction of a 63- unit apartment building in a neighborhood of one- and two-family buildings within the Bronx’s Van Cortlandt Village. Despite an Administrative Code requirement that permit applications be accompanied by a lot diagram survey prepared by a licensed surveyor, the … <Read More>
Court rejects challenge to Brooklyn rezoning
Owner claimed that City illegally spot zoned his two lots. In 2006, the City Council voted to rezone 80 blocks of Midwood, Brooklyn, including two lots on Ocean Avenue owned by Jacob Fetman. When the City Council voted on the plan, it modified the initial district proposed by City Planning for the west side of Ocean Avenue between Avenues L and M, giving the west side of that block a different zoning district than the … <Read More>
Suit challenges Randall’s Island concession
Claim alleges that the City improperly skipped land use approvals in Randall’s Island agreement on private school use. Parents of public school students and community residents from East Harlem filed an article 78 petition in Supreme Court on June 14, 2007, seeking to void the City’s approval of a concession agreement between 20 private schools and the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation. The petition asks the court to invalidate the agreement and force the City to … <Read More>
BSA overturned on Queens vested rights case
Buildings made initial error in not issuing building permit. In 2003, Hamida Realty sought plan approval from the Department of Buildings for two, three-family homes on two adjacent lots that would share a foundation and a common wall. Buildings approved the plans, but Hamida waited over a year to apply for permits. When it applied, Buildings granted the permit for one building, but held the second permit, erroneously requiring Hamida to submit a site safety … <Read More>
Local Law to preserve housing preempted
Affordable housing programs controlled by federal and state law. After multiple hearings on the declining number of affordable housing units, the City Council passed Local Law 79 of 2005 over a mayoral veto. The law gave tenants the right of first refusal to purchase their buildings when the owners sought to remove the properties from certain assisted rental housing programs. The law also allowed tenants who did not purchase their building to stay in their … <Read More>