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>


Water filtration plant goes forward

Water filtration plant survives two lawsuits. In a 1997 settlement agreement with the federal government, the Department of Environmental Protection agreed to build a filtration plant for the Croton Reservoir. DEP selected 23 acres in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx to build the plant. In 200 1 , the Court of Appeals ruled that extended construction on park land required State approval. 7 CityLaw 41 (200 1 ). I n 2003, the state legislature … <Read More>


Community gardens slated for affordable housing

Site contains six community gardens. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development fIled an application for the disposition of City-owned land and designation of an Urban Development Action Area for the construction of the Courtlandt Avenue Apartments, a five-story, 1 67- unit, low-income housing project in the Bronx.

The 55,980 sq.ft. project site, bounded by Courtlandt and Park Avenues and East 158th and 159th Streets, is comprised of 16 lots, of which 1 1 are … <Read More>


Artwork on Landmarked Building Stays

Owner of 599 Broadway applied to Landmarks for permission to remove three-dimensional structure on wall. In 1973, a three-dimensional structure created by artist Forrest Myers was bolted to outside support braces on the northern wall of 599 Broadway at the intersection of Houston and Broadway, within the newly designated SoHo-Cast Iron Historical District, at the intersection of Houston and Broadway. In 1997, after an engineer recommended that the northern wall’s braces, upon which the … <Read More>


Residential Tower Approved to Face Brooklyn Bridge

After significant redesign, Commission approves building close to Brooklyn Bridge. Two Trees Management Company, the developer often credited with the dramatic conversion and rebirth of DUMBO, sought approval of a large project involving new construction, a building conversion, and demolition of a historic building close to the suspended side span of the Brooklyn Bridge. The City Planning Commission approved after the building’s western portion was reduced to match the height of the bridge’s roadway.… <Read More>


300-Foot Tower Approved for Chambers and West Street

Developer reduced tower by 60 feet and increased community facilities. The City Council approved, without additional changes, the City Planning Commission’s resolutions adopted on July 28, 2004 to allow construction of a 29-story mixed-use building at 200 Chambers Street. The Council’s action completes the designation of the site as an Urban Development Action Area, allows the transfer of City-owned land to the City’s Economic Development Corporation, and approves a special permit to modify … <Read More>