Citizens Win Protection of Historic Tobacco Warehouse

Court ruled that the National Park Service unlawfully removed warehouse and adjacent building from park boundaries. In 2001, the National Park Service awarded to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation a federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grant to help fund a cove restoration project in Empire Fulton Ferry Park in DUMBO, Brooklyn. The Park Service’s grant was contingent on the State Office of Parks agreeing that the restoration project … <Read More>


Council modifies 130-block rezoning in western Queens

Proposed rezoning of Sunnyside-Woodside. Image: Courtesy of NYC City Planning Commission.

Modification established 80-foot building height limit along portion of Queens Boulevard. On June 23, 2011, the City Council’s Land Use Committee modified the Department of City Planning’s rezoning proposal for the Sunnyside and Woodside sections of Queens. The plan would impact 130 blocks in western Queens south of the Sunnyside Rail Yard and east of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

Sunnyside, bisected by Queens Boulevard in … <Read More>


Rezoning in western Queens considered

Proposed zoning of Sunnyside/Woodside, Queens. Image: Courtesy of NYC Department of City Planning.

Contextual rezoning would impact 130 blocks in Sunnyside and Woodside neighborhoods. On May 25, 2011, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone 130 blocks in the Sunnyside and Woodside sections of Queens. The proposal would impact approximately 2,800 tax lots generally bounded by the Sunnyside Rail Yard and 37th Avenue to the north, Roosevelt … <Read More>


Hearing held on vacant Remsen Street building

Image: Courtesy LPC

Fear of demolition triggered hearing on six-story building within proposed Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District. On January 4, 2011, Landmarks heard testimony on the potential designation of the Franklin Building at 186 Remsen Street as an individual City landmark. The vacant building is within the proposed boundaries of the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District, but was calendared separately on December 7, 2010 due to “threat of demolition” after the building owner … <Read More>


New residence OK’d on carriage house block

414 Wavery Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

Carriage-house style building approved after reducing size and visibility of fourth floor. On December 7, 2010, Landmarks approved a modified proposal to develop a new building on a vacant parking lot at 414 Waverly Avenue in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill Historic District. The owner proposed building a four-story two-family residence inspired by the 19th century carriage houses that bookend the lot. The building would be clad in brick and … <Read More>


Court criticizes ESDC over Atlantic Yards

Court orders ESDC to consider whether extended timetable for project’s completion requires supplemental environmental review. In 2006, the Empire State Development Corporation approved the general project plan for Forest City Ratner Companies’ Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn. The $4 billion project includes a sports arena and sixteen high-rise buildings. Ratner agreed to purchase air rights from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority at the beginning of the project in order to facilitate the development of six … <Read More>