BSA- requested alternate design approved. Siba Re LP, the owner of 350 West Broadway, a 8,264-squarefoot lot in SoHo between Grand and Broome Streets, proposed to expand a vacant two-story building into a ISS-foot tall, 13-story, 4 1 ,320- square-foot mixed-use building with retail and residential uses.
In support of a variance, Siba argued that the shallowness of the lot resulted in inefficient and impractical floor plates for any permitted commercial use. Showing that the … <Read More>
Council angered by allegation that rezoning will impede affordable housing construction. The full Council approved three linked proposals to eliminate commercial zoning overlays in 21 areas of Staten Island after a public hearing where a Staten Island architect alleged that the actions would impede affordable housing development.
The October 6, 2005 hearing before the Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises became heated when a Staten Island architect, who first testified that a block on Wyman … <Read More>
Queens developer claimed out-of- date layout made apartments unfit. A Queens developer proposed to demolish two adjacent two-family buildings in Long Island City, replacing them with a five-story, 20- unit building that required waivers from BSA for floor area, yard, height, setback and open space.
The proposal was strongly opposed by the community, Borough President Helen Marshall, Community Board 1 and Council Members Peter F. Vallone, Jr. and Tony Avella. Faced with community opposition, the … <Read More>
Fire-damaged building in historic SoHo to be restored and increased in height. Morty Lipkis, owner of 44 Mercer Street, a 2,480-square-foot lot in SoHo, proposed to replace a vacant fire-damaged building zoned for manufacturing with a 102-foot tall, seven-story mixed-use building. The proposed building would serve residential and retail uses with 12,549- square-feet of floor space, requiring variances for use and rear yard size. The site’s current two-story structure abuts a rear building and offers … <Read More>
Twenty-one areas to lose commercial zoning overlay. In 2003, Mayor Michael Bloomberg formed the Staten Island Growth Management Task Force to examine over-development in the borough. The Task Force’s recommendations resulted in new zoning controls adopted in 2004 restricting the size and density of Staten Island residential development. A loophole remained for lots within residential zones that were also subject to commercial district overlays. Along with allowing commercial uses on these lots, the commercial overlays … <Read More>
First unsubsidized project built in Coney Island in past 50 years gets Commission approval. Coney Island developer, David Weisz & Sons, sought to rezone five lots along Surf Avenue and Coney Island Beach to allow the construction of two seven-story residential condominium towers with 313 market-rate units to be called Ocean Dreams. When compiled, the five lots would comprise a 133,843-square-foot development site stretching from West 35th to West 37th Streets along the Riegelmann Boardwalk.… <Read More>