Enlargement and Conversion of Commercial Building to Residential Approved

Board granted a use variance to expand and convert three-story building for residential use, but did not address existing cellar and ground floor uses. On September 16, 2014, the Board of Standards and Appeals partially approved a use variance for Susan Golick, the owner of a commercial building at 220 Lafayette Street in Manhattan. The variance permits Ms. Golick to convert the building’s second and third floor to residential use and to build an additional … <Read More>


Reconstruction Approved for Restaurant Damaged by Hurricane Sandy

BSA granted a use variance to demolish previous restaurant damaged by Hurricane Sandy and permit construction of a one-story restaurant and additional parking spaces. On June 24, 2014, the Board of Standards and Appeals granted a use variance to Puglia by the Sea, a restaurant, located at 750 Barclay Avenue in the Annadale section of Staten Island. BSA approved the application for Puglia to demolish the original restaurant, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy, … <Read More>


Mayor de Blasio’s Land Use Appointments Carousel Continues

Mayor de Blasio has re-structured the City’s land use administrative hierarchy to further his affordable housing agenda. On July 22, 2014, Mayor Bill de Blasio nominated Margery Perlmutter to serve as Chair of the Board of Standards and Appeals. This was the Mayor’s latest appointment  to City land-use positions, all of which will bear heavily on the Mayor’s expansive affordable housing agenda, a ten-year plan designed to preserve some 200,000 units of affordable housing.


New Preschool Planned for Vacant Fillmore Place Lot

Applicants say wood in proposed façade would mirror the tone of the historic district’s primarily masonry fabric in contemporary language. On July 8, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission, in its first meeting headed by new Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan, considered a proposal for a new building on a vacant lot at 2 Fillmore Place, at the corner of Driggs Avenue, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The site lies in the Fillmore Place Historic District, a … <Read More>


Top Ten CityLand Stories of 2013

Welcome to CityLand‘s second annual top ten stories of the year! We have selected the most popular and interesting stories, guest commentaries and profiles concerning NYC land use in 2013. In only our second year transitioning to an online publication, readership has dramatically increased. We look forward to continuing to provide in-depth coverage of the latest land use projects, cases, and legislation in 2014.  We at CityLand thank you for your support and wish … <Read More>


New Plan Proposed for Partially-Constructed Building

New design would alter massing to use property for residential use instead of a hotel. On November 19, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on a new proposal for a through-block lot at 25 Great Jones Street in the NoHo Historic District Extension, with the other façade facing Bond Street. The lot is currently occupied by a partially constructed thirteen-story structure that was permitted before the designation process for the extension began. … <Read More>