Durst Development at West 57th Street Gets One Step Closer to Full Approval

New development plan promises period of residential affordability, lively streetscape, and small public space in Manhattan. On December 19, 2012, the City Planning Commission approved Durst Development LLC’s mixed-use development project at 625 West 57th Street. A unique, pyramid-shaped, 35-story building between West 57th and 58th Streets will be the centerpiece of the project. The building will contain 753 rental units including 151 affordable units, ground floor retail space, and a 285-space accessory … <Read More>


City Council Rejects Sale of City Property in Hopes for an African Burial Ground Museum [Update: Council Overrides Mayor’s Disapproval of Rejection of Sale]

Council Member Charles Barron lead the City Council’s rejection of 22 Reade Street sale in support of the site being used for a pending federally-funded African Burial Ground Museum. On November 13, 2012, the City Council unanimously rejected the disposition of city-owned property at 22 Reade Street and approved of the disposition of City-owned property at 49-51 Chambers Street. The City’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) proposed the sale of the properties in … <Read More>



Bedford-Stuyvesant North Rezoning Approved By Council’s Land Use Committee

140-block rezoning proposal included new commercial zoning district tailored for blocks with elevated rail lines. On October 4, 2012, the City Council’s Land Use Committee approved the Department of City Planning’s Bedford-Stuyvesant North Rezoning Plan. The contextual rezoning plan would impact a 140-block area generally bounded by Flushing Avenue to the north, Quincy Street to the south, Broadway to the east, and Classon Avenue to the west. The proposal also includes new regulations regarding … <Read More>


City Council Approves Rezoning for Mixed-Use Project on Wallabout Street in Brooklyn

Developer asked the City to rezone manufacturing-zoned block in order to develop a seven-story building and a five-story extension for an adjacent religious school. On September 12, 2012 the City Council approved 74 Wallabout LLC’s proposal to demolish a low-rise warehouse building and build a seven-story mixed-use building at 74 Wallabout Street in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The warehouse sits on the western half of a block bounded by Wallabout Street, and Flushing, Franklin, and … <Read More>


City Planning’s Carol Samol on Redevelopment in the Bronx and Reforming the City’s Land Use Review Process

As director of the Department of City Planning’s Bronx Office, Carol Samol uses zoning tools to promote sustainable economic development in the Bronx. She has also participated as a leader in a broader City effort to reform the City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure’s pre-certification process.

Journey to the Bronx. Samol grew up in the upper Ohio Valley near Wheeling, West Virginia and studied English at Berea College, a small liberal arts college in Kentucky. … <Read More>