Housing for formerly incarcerated women approved

Not-for-profit requested rezoning in order to develop affordable housing for formerly incarcerated women and their children. On September 16, 2010, the City Council approved Hour Children Inc.’s proposal to rezone a one-and-a-half block portion of Ravenswood, Queens to permit residential uses. The rezoning area is bounded by 36th Avenue to the north, 37th Avenue to the south, 11th Street to the east, and a line midway between 12th and 13th streets to the west. The … <Read More>


City moves closer to controlling all of the High Line

City can now negotiate to acquire northern section of High Line in order to complete 1.45-mile elevated park. On July 29, 2010, the City Council approved a proposal by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services and the Department of Parks and Recreation to acquire the remaining portion of the High Line elevated rail line and associated easements. This section, currently owned by CSX Corporation, begins at West 30th Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues and … <Read More>


Attorney Michael T. Sillerman Discusses Current Issues in Land Use

Land use attorney Michael T. Sillerman is often teased by his co-workers that he won’t work on a project unless there is a Pritzker Architecture Prize winner onboard. Although Sillerman doesn’t think that’s entirely true, he admits that his favorite part of being a land use attorney is how it overlaps with his love of architecture. As co-chair of Kramer Levin’s land use department, Sillerman typically spends as much time talking to architects and city … <Read More>


Thirteen-story building near Fordham approved

Developer obtained rezoning in order to build a ten-story tower on top of a three-story medical facility currently under construction. On June 29, 2010, the City Council approved Sean Daneshvar’s rezoning proposal to facilitate the development of a thirteen-story building at 621 East Fordham Road in the Belmont section of the Bronx. The site is occupied by a one-story medical facility that Daneshvar is currently enlarging to three stories pursuant to a BSA variance. The … <Read More>


Affordable rental housing OK’d for South Bronx

Developer obtained rezoning in order to build 175-unit, mixed-income, affordable housing project. On June 9, 2010, the City Council approved CBC Associates and the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation’s proposal to rezone an entire block in the Crotona Park East section of the Bronx from C8-3 to R7- 1/C2-4 to facilitate the development of an eight-story, affordable housing project. The developers will construct the building on a 48,992 sq.ft. lot at 1825 Boston Road … <Read More>


Bank building plan rejected

Residents argued that proposed bank would be out of character with residential block. On May 25, 2010, the City Council denied Jom Tob Gluck’s proposal to rezone a portion of 18th Avenue between 48th and 49th Streets in Brooklyn’s Borough Park. Gluck proposed applying a C1-3 commercial overlay to a 20,000 sq.ft area currently zoned R5. The rezoning would have facilitated the development of a one-story bank building on a 3,615 sq.ft. lot currently occupied … <Read More>