New zoning district approved for Bayside

New district created to curb development of Queens “McMansions.” On March 14, 2005, the Planning Commission unanimously approved the Bloomberg administration’s largest proposed down-zoning to date and a new citywide zoning district to be applied first to Bayside, a Queens neighborhood characterized predominantly by single-family detached homes. The approved 350-block down-zoning of Bayside, commenced at the urging of Council Member Tony Avella and local residents, seeks to end the rising development in Bayside of semi-detached … <Read More>


Sale of Two Columbus Circle gets go ahead

Environmental study ruled proper; Landmarks not obligated to hold public hearing. Two Columbus Circle, the white marble-clad, nine-story modernist building fronting Columbus Circle, was at the center of two suits filed against the City. The building, commissioned in 1964 by the A & P Supermarket heir Huntington Hartford for the Gallery of Modern Art, was donated to the City in 1980 after the Gallery closed. In 2003, the Planning Commission approved its sale from the … <Read More>


New zoning plan ok’ed for Queens neighborhoods

140 blocks rezoned to stop out-of-character development. The Planning Commission unanimously approved an extensive rezoning of two of Queens oldest residential neighborhoods; Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill, both of which have seen a measurable increase in out-of-character development over the past four years. A lot-by-lot analysis completed by the Planning Department found an inconsistency between the existing building types and the zoning, which was unchanged since the City’s initial adoption of zoning districts in 1961. … <Read More>


Good faith reliance overcomes BSA’s denial of variance

Owner built glass-enclosed stairwell after receiving approval from Buildings and Landmarks. In 1999, George Pantelidis, owner of a four-story townhouse at 116 East 73rd Street in Manhattan’s Upper East Side Historic District, obtained a Buildings permit to build a glass-enclosed stairwell in the rear yard of the townhouse. The stairwell allowed the Pantelidis family, who resided on the first two floors, to go from one floor to another without using the public stairs. Prior to … <Read More>


John Jay College wins major expansion approval

John Jay faced the largest space deficit in the CUNY system. On January 5, 2005, the Planning Commission approved the 513,500 sq.ft. expansion plan for John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which, with its link to John Jay’s Haaren Hall along Tenth Avenue between West 58th and West 59th Streets, will create a unified urban campus occupying the full city block from Tenth to Eleventh Avenues between West 58th and West 59th Streets.

In addition … <Read More>


Watchtower’s full-block project approved

Watchtower reduced height to gain approval of complex. On December 2, 2004, following extensive negotiations between the developer and Council Members Leticia James and David Yassky, the City Council approved the 736,400 sq.ft. development proposed by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., subject to a height reduction. The modification, which reduced the street-wall heights of the Front Street buildings to 82 ft. and a maximum height of 110 ft. away from … <Read More>