New district created to curb development of Queens “McMansions.” On March 14, 2005, the Planning Commission unanimously approved the Bloomberg administration’s largest proposed down-zoning to date and a new citywide zoning district to be applied first to Bayside, a Queens neighborhood characterized predominantly by single-family detached homes. The approved 350-block down-zoning of Bayside, commenced at the urging of Council Member Tony Avella and local residents, seeks to end the rising development in Bayside of semi-detached … <Read More>
Search Results for: Construction
Anticipated Rezoning Approved with Changes
Affordable housing incentives, as well as height, massing and manufacturing zones, revised before approval. Over the disapproval votes of Commissioners Karen Phillips and Dolly Williams, the remaining members of the Planning Commission approved the rezoning of a two-mile area along the East River waterfront in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods after modifications were crafted to address public officials and residents’ comments.
The six linked applications, including text, map and City map amendments to create park … <Read More>
City increases zoning protection for Bay Ridge
New zoning designed to protect Bay Ridge from high-density development. On March 23, 2005, the City Council approved the Planning Department’s rezoning plan for a 249-block area within Brooklyn’s Special Bay Ridge District, bounded by 65th Street to the north, Seventh Avenue to the east and Shore Road to the south and west. In 1978, after neighborhood residents protested the development of three large residential buildings, the twin 30-story Bay Ridge Towers and the 13-story … <Read More>
Honest owner returns to Commission; gets permit
One-story addition was visible from adjacent street. In 2002, the owners of 363-65 Greenwich Street, an 1866 Italianate loft in Manhattan’s Tribeca West Historic District, sought approval to add a one-story rooftop addition. Landmarks’ staff approved without a hearing after concluding that the addition would not be visible from any public street. When construction was completed, the owners realized that the addition was visible along Harrison Street and consequently the staff-level approval was flawed. The … <Read More>
Balducci’s to return to Greenwich Village
Landmarked bank to be converted to market. On February 15, 2005, Landmarks unanimously approved the adaptive reuse of the New York Savings Bank, located at West 14th Street and Eighth Avenue, by Balducci’s, a high-end food market that traces its roots to a Greenwich Village fruit and vegetable stand. Constructed in 1896, the marble-facade Classical Revival-styled bank was designated an individual and an interior landmark in 1988. In 1994, it was converted to a large … <Read More>
Good faith reliance overcomes BSA’s denial of variance
Owner built glass-enclosed stairwell after receiving approval from Buildings and Landmarks. In 1999, George Pantelidis, owner of a four-story townhouse at 116 East 73rd Street in Manhattan’s Upper East Side Historic District, obtained a Buildings permit to build a glass-enclosed stairwell in the rear yard of the townhouse. The stairwell allowed the Pantelidis family, who resided on the first two floors, to go from one floor to another without using the public stairs. Prior to … <Read More>