Council overturned on refusal to remove use restriction

Brooklyn developer still cannot build housing. Middleland Inc. sought to rezone three lots on DeKalb Avenue and Spencer Street in Brooklyn and remove a 1975 restriction recorded on the site that limited its use to accessory parking for an adjacent IBM plant, closed since 1993 and now occupied by a Home Depot. Middleland planned to construct housing on its site.

Despite the Planning Commission’s approval, the City Council rejected both of Middleland’s requests, citing the … <Read More>


Landmarks rejects Madison Avenue tower by vote of 9-1

Developer invited to submit another design. Following a lengthy presentation by real estate developer Aby Rosen’s team, Landmarks indicated its clear unwillingness to approve the 26-story tower addition proposed to top the Parke-Bernet building at 980 Madison Avenue within the Upper East Side Historic District.

The project architect Lord Norman Foster started the January 16th presentation with a photograph of the original 1949 Parke-Bernet building and its appearance now, after a 1950s alteration added another … <Read More>


Plan for Brooklyn Bridge Park Withstands Challenge

Citizens group challenged inclusion of private residential development. In 2002, Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki created the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation as a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation and charged it with the responsibility to design and build a proposed park on Port Authority land along Brooklyn’s East River waterfront. The 2002 agreement required that no less than 80 percent of the acreage be park space, all revenue generated from commercial uses … <Read More>


City’s condemnation of SI park to proceed

Three brothers owning land in Staten Island challenged use of ULURP to exempt City from condemnation procedures. In 2002, the Planning Commission approved an application by the Department of Parks and Recreation to add 14.5 acres to the Skyline Playground, a neighborhood park in Staten Island. Six of the 14.5 acres belonged to the Putter brothers, who planned to develop the site and had a pending application with City Planning for 50 affordable townhouses.… <Read More>


EDC lease of Hunts Point Space to Baldor approved

Competitor challenged procedures in EDC’s selection of Baldor for South Bronx lease. The New York City Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals for a long-term lease of two parcels across the street from the City Terminal Market at Hunts Point in the Bronx. Baldor Specialty Foods and the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative Association, among others, submitted proposals. EDC chose Baldor after deciding that it had submitted the most competitive lease package. Baldor, … <Read More>


DeNiro hotel fails to qualify for brownfield tax credits

Construction of DeNiro’s luxury hotel at 377 Greenwich Street nears completion. Photo:Morgan Kunz.

Developers sought brownfield credits, but had excavated and remediated site before DEC denied claim. 377 Greenwich LLC, developers of a seven-story luxury hotel and restaurant at Greenwich and North Moore Streets, conducted soil tests on the site and discovered two 550-gallon unregistered underground storage tanks. The developers applied in 2004 to the state Department of Environmental Conservation to have the site recognized … <Read More>