City Planning Approves City-Initiated Special Garment Center District Rezoning

Zoning changes will bring many buildings into compliance and will lift manufacturing space preservation requirements. City officials step in to ensure garment manufacturing has a continuing place in the district. On September 26, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on a proposed rezoning of the Special Garment Center District by the Department of City Planning, in conjunction with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC). The Special Garment Center District encompasses … <Read More>


Extra Payment for Repair Work Denied

Contractor sought compensation for repairing damages caused during an additional work contract. In 2009, Sanitation entered into a $161 million contract with Prismatic Development Corporation to improve the North Shore Marine Transfer Station in Queens.  Prismatic, following Sanitation’s plans and specifications, installed a new deck and concrete overlay on the Transfer Station’s exterior ramp.  The concrete overlay later developed extensive cracking.  Sanitation conceded that an error in the design documents provided by Sanitation to Prismatic … <Read More>


City Council Denies Proposed Development Next to Merchant House Museum

Supporters of preserving the Merchant House Museum rejoice in victory, but the battle may not be over as future demolition and construction is possible. On September 26, 2018, the City Council voted to disapprove the application for a rezoning at 27 East 4th Street in Manhattan. The Application would have allowed for an 8-story, 28-room hotel or office building with a restaurant and lobby below the second floor, with approximately 17,141 square feet of … <Read More>


UES Tenement Development To Keep Landmark Status Despite Owner’s Lawsuit

Building owners claimed landmark status caused financial hardship. Stahl York Avenue Co., LLC, tenement development owner of 429 East 64th Street and 430 East 65th Street in the Upper East Side, sued the City and the Landmark Preservation Commission in January 2016, asking the court to release the property landmark status in order to permit demolition and construct new high-rises for larger profits. Stahl York Avenue sought to demolish the two buildings, which are part … <Read More>


City Council Approves Inwood Neighborhood Rezoning Despite Residents Disapproval

On August 8, 2018, the City Council approved the Inwood Neighborhood Rezoning amidst resident concerns and disapproval. Mayor Bill de Blasio and Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez celebrated the rezoning approval. The rezoning was developed over the course of three years and affects 59 city blocks in the northern Manhattan neighborhood. The Economic Development Corporation, together with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, and the Department of Small Business … <Read More>


Dead Vehicle Storage Violation Upheld

Property owner stored unregistered vehicles in residential area as part of his automotive hobby. On April 7, 2017, the Department of Buildings charged Juan Castillo, a property owner in an area zoned for residential use, with illegally operating an auto body mechanics shop in a garage on his premises, and with permitting the dead storage of vehicles.