Block-Sized City-Beautiful Powerhouse Landmarked after 38 Years

Massive West Side powerhouse, designed by Stanford White, continue to operate as steam-generating plant. On December 5, 2017, Landmarks voted to designate the former Interborough Rapid Transit Powerhouse, at 850 Twelfth Avenue, an individual City landmark.  The structure, which occupies an entire block along the West Side Highway, dates to 1905 and was designed by McKim, Mead and White’s Stanford White. The monumental generating station was built to power the Interborough Rapid Transit subway system, … <Read More>


City Planning Approves Eight-Story Building in Bedford-Stuyvesant

The City Planning Commission approved a new eight-story mixed-use building with 75 units in Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. On October 4, 2017, the New York City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on an application for a zoning map and zoning text amendment to facilitate the development of an eight-story mixed-use building consisting of 81,951 square feet of residential space for 75 residential units. The applicant, JMS Realty Corp., proposed that the site be up-zoned and designated … <Read More>


Comprehensive Plan for Waldorf-Astoria Renovation Approved

Plan would see some small additions, cleaning and restoration of facades, a new residential entrance, re-opening of historic interiors, and replacement of unsympathetic later elements. On April 25, 2017, Landmarks considered and approved applications to renovate the exterior and interior of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel at 301 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The 1931 Art Deco hotel’s exterior was landmarked in 1993, and continuous interiors on the first three levels were designated earlier in 2017. … <Read More>


True Holy Church to Build New Facilities with 67 Affordable Units Atop

The City Planning Commission approved a new ten-story building to contain 67 affordable units and a new house of worship for the True Holy Church. On April 5, 2017, the City Planning Commission voted to approve an application from the developer Atlantic East Affiliates LLC, an affiliate of the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, to rezone 1860 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn’s Ocean Hill neighborhood. The developer sought to rezone portions of two blocks on the … <Read More>


City’s Failure to Preserve Deed Restrictions on the Rivington House Explored [City Council Passes Tougher Oversight]

UPDATE: On December 6, 2016, the New York City Council voted 42-0 to approve Introduction 1182-2016 which requires the Department for Citywide Administrative Services to conduct an extensive review of a request to remove a deed restriction on a property managed by DCAS, including a public hearing, to determine whether the request removal furthers the best interests of the City.

The legislation is a response the controversial sale of the Rivington House to a luxury … <Read More>


Say Hello to Mandatory Inclusionary Housing!

Almost 55 percent of all renter households in New York City now pay more than 30 percent of their income towards housing costs, an increase of 11 percent since 2000. As a consequence, the City Planning Commission found that “many of the city’s neighborhoods are becoming less economically diverse, which poses a threat to the city’s economic competitiveness as well as to the opportunities available to lower-income New Yorkers.”

Mandatory Inclusionary Housing is one of … <Read More>