Unions, contractors, and developers call for public benefit corporation to replace DOB. On May 6, 2008, the City Council’s Housing and Buildings Committee heard testimony from the acting Commissioner of the New York City Department of Buildings, Robert LiMandri, and the public on a dozen proposed local laws aimed at improving safety at construction sites in the City.
Council Member Jessica Lappin sponsored Intro 760 that would give Buildings the power to order a … <Read More>
BSA rules that foundation work was sufficiently completed prior to rezoning. In June 2007, the Department of Buildings issued the owner of 74 Grand Avenue a permit to construct a five-story, 55,000-squarefoot residential building. The proposed building, to be located between Myrtle and Park Avenues in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, complied with the zoning requirements at the time. The next month, the City rezoned portions of Fort Greene from R6 to R6B, rendering … <Read More>
City seeks to create a Special Willets Point District; local businesses file lawsuit. On April 21, 2008, the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development began public consideration for their proposal to rezone a 61-acre area in Willets Point.
The area, roughly bounded by the Van Wyck Expressway, Roosevelt Avenue, 126th Street, and Northern Boulevard, is known as the “Iron Triangle” for its predominantly industrial … <Read More>
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 … <Read More>
Residential development approved for former manufacturing district. On March 10, 2008, the Planning Commission approved Real Estate Industrials’ proposal to build two, seven-story residential buildings and a public parking garage adjacent to an as-of-right residential building and an existing four-story Red Cross headquarters on West 49th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues. The as-of-right building would have 41 dwelling units, while the two additional buildings would have 124 units total. The developer would demolish four … <Read More>
Rezoning passed despite strong opposition by developers. On March 26, 2008, the City Council modified the Department of City Planning’s proposal to downzone 13 blocks along Grand Street and adjoining areas in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.
The area currently consists of three- and four-story buildings, many of which have ground-floor retail and residential use on upper floors. The contextual R6B zoning would limit building heights to either 40 feet at the street or 50 … <Read More>