Every month CityLand creates a comprehensive set of charts to track land use applications undergoing public review. This includes new applications filed with the Department of City Planning and the Board of Standards & Appeals, applications certified into the City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, and applications before the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
We track these applications throughout the review process and until a final decision has been made by the competent City Agency. The majority of these decisions are available on the Center for New York City Law’s CityAdmin database (found at www.CityAdmin.org). When possible, we have provided a link within our Filings and Decisions chart to provide easy access to the relevant documents (i.e. application materials or a final decision).
New Filings and Decisions chart May 2012
Court previously overturned DEC’s denial of developer’s application and ordered additional analyses. A developer planned to construct a 341-unit mixed-use building on a 17,700 sq.ft. parking lot at 29 Flatbush Avenue in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. An environmental assessment of the site revealed the presence of lead and semi-volatile organic compounds. The developer subsequently applied to the State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Brownfield Cleanup Program.
DEC determined that the property did not meet the statutory definition of a brownfield site and denied the application. Although DEC acknowledged that the property’s contamination levels exceeded regulatory standards, it found that the contamination would not complicate development of the site. The developer filed an article 78 petition challenging the determination.
Justice Arthur M. Schack vacated the decision, ruling that DEC’s interpretation of its “complication of development” test contravened the statutory requirement that the definition of a brownfield site be broadly construed. Justice Schack, however, noted that an improper denial did not mean the site should be automatically included in the program and ordered the developer to submit to DEC additional environmental and financial studies. 7 CityLand 80 (June 15, 2010). (more…)
DEC denied access to State’s brownfield cleanup program on theory that contamination did not complicate development. In 2007, a developer purchased a 17,700 sq.ft. former parking lot at 29 Flatbush Avenue in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, intending to build a 342-unit residential building. An environmental assessment of the site’s subsurface revealed the presence of lead and at least seven semi-volatile organic compounds at levels exceeding regulatory standards. In April 2008, the developer filed an application with the State Department of Environmental Conservation to participate in its Brownfield Cleanup Program.
DEC determined that the property did not meet the statutory definition of a brownfield site and denied the application. DEC acknowledged the presence of contamination at levels above regulatory standards, but found that it would not complicate the site’s future development. In its denial, DEC stated that the contamination appeared to be limited to historic fill, and that its random distribution indicated there would not be a need to excavate and dispose of any soil. DEC concluded that clean up costs would be insignificant compared to the anticipated value of the site after the proposed development. The developer filed an article 78 petition challenging the determination. (more…)
Community believes that unprotected rowhouse neighborhood faces development pressure. On October 28, 2008, Landmarks heard testimony on a proposed historic district encompassing about 870 buildings in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. The area is generally bounded by Grand Army Plaza, Flatbush Avenue, Pacific Street, and Washington Avenue. If designated, the historic district would be Brooklyn’s largest. The neighborhood includes significant structures, such as the 1887 Duryea Presbyterian Church, but its historic character lies in its residential rowhouses, spanning a variety of styles and built throughout the latter half of the 19th century. 5 CityLand 107 (Aug. 15, 2008).
Residents generally expressed support for Landmarking. Many testified that inappropriate rear yard additions, blocking neighbors’ views and light, had proliferated in recent years. Gib Veconi, Chair of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council, claimed that “the character and scale of Prospect Heights is threatened today by development seeking to maximize the amount of floor area available,” and that under the current zoning, many of the area’s lots were 25 percent underbuilt, and some as much as 75 percent. (more…)
- Former Loew’s Kings Theatre. Photo: Jonathan Reingold.
Request for Proposals seeks tenant for 80-year-old building in need of $70M in repairs. The New York City Economic Development Corporation is seeking proposals for a developer to lease, rehabilitate, and reuse the former Loew’s Kings Theatre at 1025 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn.
The vacant building, located between Beverly Road and Tilden Avenue, opened in 1929 as Loew’s flagship theater. The designers of the 3,195-seat, French Renaissance-style building were heavily influenced by the Palace of Versailles and Paris Opera House. Its unique design features include a 70-foot-high orchestra dome, ornate plaster walls, and crystal chandeliers. Because the building has been vacant since 1978, extensive rehabilitation work is required on the theater’s exterior and interior. Sections of the roof are missing, interior walls are water damaged, and the theater contains lead, asbestos, mold and guano. EDC estimates that it will cost 70 million dollars to rehabilitate the building. (more…)
