Variance approved for Mill Basin synagogue

Community opponents raised issues of parking and building height. Sephardic Center of Mill Basin proposed to construct a new 1 0,800 square-foot, two-story synagogue to replace its 20-year old, 6,800-squarefoot synagogue on the corner of Strickland and Mill Avenues in Mill Basin, Brooklyn. As proposed, the new synagogue would exceed the permitted floor area by 5,384 sq.ft., exceed the district’s permitted height by seven feet and fail to provide sufficient parking.

The Center claimed that … <Read More>


BSA denies variance to allow retail in Queens

BSA rejected owner’s site valuation and claim that buildings were of a “different era.” Sutphin Boulevard LLC, owner of three adjacent lots in a residential district totaling 24,649 sq. ft., sought to demolish four buildings housing auto-service and auto-storage space on one of its lots and construct a one-story 12,005-square-foot retail building spanning the three lots. The site, at Sutphin Boulevard and I I It h Avenue in Queens, has contained an auto-service station since … <Read More>


Circus school gets variance

Trapeze training required higher ceilings. The New Wave Circus Center sought BSA approval to locate a circus school in Coney Island where it planned to offer circus- related classes including tightrope walking, unicycle, trapeze and juggling. To accommodate the space needed for circus activities, New Wave would demolish a one-story commercial building at 2920 Coney Island Avenue and replace it with a newly constructed, 49-foot tall building covering the full extent of the 2,160-square-foot lot. … <Read More>


DeNiro hotel obtains variance

Contaminated soil remediation caused hardship. 377 Greenwich LLC, with principals Robert DeNiro, Ira Druckier and Richard Born, sought BSA approval for a 59,419- square-foot, seven-story luxury hotel in Tribeca that would exceed floor area, wall height and setback restrictions. DeNiro’s development team had started the permit process in 2003 by first seeking the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s approval for construction of a six-story building within the Tribeca West Historic District. After receiving approval, the six-story project … <Read More>


Variance granted for former bus garage site

New residential/commercial building approved after substantial height reduction. TTW Realty LLC, owner of a 60,000-square-foot lot at 19-73 38th Street within a manufacturing district in Astoria, applied for a use variance to construct a ten-story, mixed-use development containing retail and community facility space at street level and 108 residential units above. The proposed 150,000-square-foot building would contain 195 parking spaces, accessory to the proposed uses.

In its BSA application, TTW explained that in 1997 ten … <Read More>


Variance granted for Bay Ridge building

Owner relies on hardship and changes in the area. The owner of 6002 Fort Hamilton Parkway in Bay Ridge applied to BSA to convert a three-story commercial/warehouse building, zoned for manufacturing, to a 124,880-square-foot residential building with 90 units, ground floor retail and public parking for 90 cars. The building had been used as a dairy processing center for the Borden Milk Company, an auto service space, roller skating rink and, until recently, as a … <Read More>