Extension granted to construct 3-family home

Permit grandfathered due to completed excavation and substantial progress made on foundation. On May 10, 2005, BSA granted a permit extension, which allowed work to continue on the development of a 3,037-square-foot, three-story, three-family dwelling located at 1420 Balcom Avenue in Schuylerville, Bronx that exceeded the zoning requirements set by a 2004 rezoning of the area.

On September 28, 2004, the City Council approved a 295-block rezoning in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx … <Read More>


Vacant Harlem commercial complex to be revitalized

Uptown retail center will have national retail chain, local vendors and restaurant. The Department of Citywide Administrative Services sought approval for the disposition of Mart 125, the one-and-a-half story, 12,210-square-foot building, located at 260 West 125th Street across from the Apollo Theater. Mart 125 was originally built in the early 1980’s as a market for local Harlem vendors and businesses. Occupancy declined over the years and the building began to deteriorate. It is currently vacant.… <Read More>


HPD pushes through 668 affordable housing units

Manhattan, Bronx and Brooklyn housing projects approved; sent to Council. On April 27 and May 11, 2005, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development obtained the Planning Commission’s approval of seven affordable housing projects, totaling 668 units, to be developed in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Three of the Bronx projects, including the 194-unit Prospect Avenue Tower in Melrose, the 102-unit East Clarke Place project in High Bridge, and the 63-unit Jacob’s Place project in … <Read More>


Plaza at Millennium Hilton gets overhaul

Plaza near WTC site to be modified for open air café and extra seating. The Millennium Hilton Hotel, located at 55 Church Street between Dey and Fulton Streets in the Special Lower Manhattan District, sought a special permit to modify a previously approved 3,647-squarefoot urban plaza. The original 1980’s approval of the building granted the developers a 51,826-square-foot floor area bonus in exchange for creating the plaza. The modifications, which include new landscaped planters, an … <Read More>


Queens neighborhood down-zoned

Approval marks the fourth Queens down-zoning in 2005. The City Council voted unanimously to down-zone 40 blocks of Kissena Park, making it the fourth neighborhood in Queens to be rezoned by the Council in 2005.

The Kissena Park down-zoning responded to residents’ concerns over the demolition of structurally sound single-family homes and the construction of out-of-character developments in their neighborhood. As-of-right development within the 40 blocks will now be restricted to one or two-family homes.


BSA refuses to extend time to construct building

Owner argued that Buildings ordered a halt to excavation to prevent the 14-unit building from being grandfathered. On August 6, 2004, Peter Rendel of DNR Construction applied for a building permit to construct a 14-unit residential condominium building at 1150 Arden Avenue on Staten Island. Three days later, Buildings cited Rendel for removing trees without a permit and issued a stop-work order. Despite the stop-work order, Buildings issued the permit to construct the building on … <Read More>