Additional space for the Whitney Museum approved

Downtown satellite would anchor southern end of High Line. On August 11, 2008, the City Planning Commission approved the Whitney Museum’s plan to build a six-story, 175,000-sq.ft. building at 555 West Street in the West Village of Manhattan. The proposal includes 50,000 sq.ft. for new indoor exhibits, 97,400 sq.ft. for museum support facilities, and 27,600 sq.ft. for a maintenance and operational facility at the southern terminus of the High Line elevated park. The site is … <Read More>


Traffic and obstructed views at issue in Bedpan Alley

Hospital For Special Surgery’s proposed 12-story building over the FDR Drive at East 71st Street. Image: Hospital for Special Surgery/Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects

Hospital for Special Surgery proposes 12-story building over FDR Drive. On August 11, 2008, the City Planning Commission unanimously approved the Hospital for Special Surgery’s special permit application to build a new 86,869 sq.ft., 12-story outpatient center on a 21-ft. high deck over the FDR Drive between East 71st Street and … <Read More>


Rezoned owner allowed to complete construction

DOB stop-work order of no consequence in vested rights analysis. On April 25, 2007, the Department of Buildings issued a permit to the owner of 1447 Rosedale Avenue to construct a three-story, two-family home. Two weeks later the City Council approved a rezoning in Park Stratton which changed the zoning on the owner’s lot from R6 to R5, thereby rendering the proposed project out-of-compliance with maximum permitted floor area, parking, lot coverage, residential density, and … <Read More>


Commission OKs 63-story Lexington Ave. tower

Lord Norman Foster-designed 63-story tower at 610 Lexington would use air rights from Seagram Plaza. Image: Foster + Partners.

Transfer of air rights from landmarked Seagram Building facilitates construction. On July 2, 2008, the City Planning Commission approved the special permit and zoning text amendment proposed by developer Aby Rosen, allowing his 63-story project at 610 Lexington to proceed to City Council for a vote. The proposed mixed-use building on the southwest corner of … <Read More>


Text change approved protecting Carroll Gardens

Landscaped front yards in Carroll Gardens. Photo: Molly Brennan.

City Council approves “narrow streets” characterization. On July 23, 2008, the City Council approved a text amendment designed as a stopgap to curb out-of-character development in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn. The proposal amends the zoning text to identify six blocks of Carroll Gardens as having “narrow streets,” addressing a unique situation in that Brooklyn neighborhood. The affected blocks have deep, landscaped front yards that … <Read More>


Hudson Square rezoning compromise passes Council

Last minute compromise worked out by Speaker Quinn. The City Council voted on July 23, 2008 to approve the rezoning proposal of KMG Greenwich LLC after Speaker Christine Quinn, who represents the district, worked out a last-minute agreement with the developer.

KMG’s original application sought to rezone over five blocks of the manufacturing-zoned Hudson Square to a zoning which would permit residential construction as-of-right. On KMG’s lots, the plan will facilitate conversion of the vacant … <Read More>