Water filtration plant survives two lawsuits. In a 1997 settlement agreement with the federal government, the Department of Environmental Protection agreed to build a filtration plant for the Croton Reservoir. DEP selected 23 acres in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx to build the plant. In 200 1 , the Court of Appeals ruled that extended construction on park land required State approval. 7 CityLaw 41 (200 1 ). I n 2003, the state legislature gave the required authorization to construct the plant in the park. In July 2004, DEP completed a supplemental environmental impact statement, and on September 28, 2004, the City Council approved the plant location and construction.

The Friends of Van Cortlandt Park claimed that the approval violated a zoning resolution requirement that no building permit be issued on former public park land without the Planning Commission’s creation of a new zoning district. The City argued that it had made a determination to override the zoning resolution requirements because the benefits of siting the plant at that location were important, the project was approved for water filtration use only and, designating a zoning district would serve no purpose. (more…)

Landmarks designates a Queens single-family cobblestone building. Supported by the owner and at the urging of Council Member Tony Avella, Landmarks designated the single-family home at 35-34 Bell Boulevard in Bayside, Queens, noting its construction entirely of rugged, uncut cobblestones as its most distinguishing feature. Built in 1905- 1906, 35-34 Bell Boulevard is a Colonial Revival-Style home influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement. It was part of a subdivision of the last 1 00 acres of the Abraham Bell farm, in Bayside, where cobblestone walls had been used to mark the farms’ boundaries. (more…)

Residential building to be built at Wooster and Wes t Broadway. Arun Bhatia sought a third amendment to the design approved by a 1 990 Landmarks permit, which allowed the new construction on one of the few undeveloped sites in SoHo of a six-story hotel with a two story penthouse. The site, 137- 139 Wooster Street, is a block-through lot between Prince and West Houston and is within the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. The application followed two previously approved amendments, which sought to change the approved hotel use to dwellings and also sought changes in design.

The latest application proposed changes to the Wooster and West Broadway facades, maintaining the original proposal’s overall massing and volume, The revised Wooster Street facade is comprised of a predominantly gray-green painted metal and glass facade framed by tan brick piers, with a storefront at the ground floor, and a two-story metal clad set-back penthouse. The revised West Broadway facade is faced with tan brick, and contains punched window openings, a metal and glass storefront, and a two-story metal clad set-back penthouse. As initially approved, the depth of the windows on both facades was less pronounced, and the renderings indicated a grayer color palette. (more…)

Work will restore features removed since i ts 1899-1910 construction. Landmarks issued a binding report approving an $18.9 million renovation of the Lion House at the Bronx Zoo, a designated City landmark since 2000, which was built in 1899-1910 and designed by Heins & La Farge.

The Department of Design & Construction proposed substantial repair work, including restoration of the carved terra cotta, copper roofing, limestone and brick masonry and existing parapets. To return the Lion House to its original appearance, DDC proposed new chimneys, skylights, doors and a studio cage, all to mirror historic plans. Alterations would include construction of a tall retaining wall, replacement of entry stairs with a gradual ramp, relocation of two lion sculptures, and the addition of new enlarged windows, doors and sculptures. (more…)

Four-story building will have 27 new dwellings. BSA approved a use variance, allowing the new construction of a four-story, 27-unit residential building with 14 underground parking spaces in an Ml-2 zoning district on the corner of North 7th and Berry Streets in Williamsburg. The building site, comprising two lots totaling 15,840 sq.ft., contains a former garage and a vacant one-story structure previously used as a food processing facility.

The original application, which sought a six-story 43-unit building, was reduced and redesigned to address Brooklyn Community Board 1’s concern that the proposed structure would be bulkier than neighboring buildings. Even with the reduction, the Community Board still opposed the development. (more…)