Long View Rendering of 126th Street and Citi Field. Image Credit: NYC EDC.

Council Members voiced concern over the City’s applications to facilitate Phase 1 of the Willets’ Point Development Project. The City Council’s Land Use Zoning and Franchises subcommittee held a public hearing on September 3, 2013 on Phase 1A of the $3 billion Willets Point Development Project. The applicants, New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and Queens Development Group, a joint venture of Related Companies and Sterling Equities, testified. The application is a modification of the original 2008 proposal, and seeks a zoning resolution amendment and special permits to allow the City Planning Commission (CPC) to permit the development of up to 2,833 parking spaces and recreational area in a temporary lot within the Willets Point District. (more…)

320 Court Street in Carroll Gardens

City Council reacted to application’s inaccurate architectural renderings and restaurant’s history of noise complaints. On August 22, 2012, the City Council denied Buschenschank restaurant’s application for an unenclosed sidewalk cafe at 320 Court Street between Degraw and Sackett Streets in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. The application called for 24 tables and 48 chairs fronting Court Street.

At the Council’s Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee hearing, a representative of local Council Member Brad Lander and a representative of Brooklyn Community Board 6 testified in opposition. In a statement read by his policy director, Michael Freedman-Schnapp, Council Member Lander urged his colleagues to deny the application. Lander noted that Buschenschank’s application to the City’s Department of Consumer Affairs had inaccurately measured the sidewalk width and had not provided enough pedestrian space between a bike rack and the proposed outdoor cafe. In addition, Lander stated that more than two dozen noise complaints about the restaurant had been registered with 311, and that the NYPD had issued the restaurant a noise violation. (more…)

Developer did not fully complete foundations of twelve-building development before the City Council approved the Carroll Gardens/ Columbia Street Rezoning. Between May 2008 and October 2009, the Clarett Group obtained permits to build a 119,271 sq.ft. development consisting of eleven four-story townhouses and a seven-story mixed-use building at 340 Court Street in Brooklyn. The 43,753 sq.ft. site is located on a lot with frontages on Union, Court, and Sackett Streets. On October 28, 2009, the City Council approved the Carroll Gardens/ Columbia Street Rezoning, which rezoned the site from R6 to R6A and R6B, rendering the proposed buildings out-of-compliance with the maximum permitted floor area and height restrictions. Because the building’s foundations had not been fully completed by the enactment date, the permits lapsed. The developer filed an appeal with BSA to complete construction.

At a hearing, the developer submitted photographs and affidavits demonstrating that it had completed 73 percent of the foundation work for the entire development prior to the rezoning, including 100 percent of the seven-story building’s foundation. The developer argued that it had already expended eighteen percent of the project’s approximately $61.5 million budget. In order to build a complying development, the developer said it would need to reduce the number of townhouses from eleven to ten and decrease the project’s floor area by 14,677 sq.ft., which would result in approximately $15 million of lost revenue and a redesign of the buildings.

BSA granted the appeal, finding that the developer had performed substantial construction on the project, made substantial expenditures, and would suffer serious economic loss if required to proceed under the current zoning.

BSA: 340 Court Street, Brooklyn (312- 09-A – 323-09-A) (Feb. 23, 2010) (James Power, for the Clarett Group) (Architect: Rogers Marvel). CITYADMIN

Owners of stalled sites participating in new DOB safety monitoring program can renew permits for up to four years. On October 14, 2009, the City Council passed legislation creating a construction site maintenance program, to be administered by the Department of Buildings, for sites where permitted work has been suspended or has not commenced.

Currently, construction permits issued by Buildings will expire if the owner does not commence work within twelve months or suspends work for a period of twelve months. Owners must then request that Buildings reinstate the permits before restarting work. An owner suspending work for more than two years risks losing the ability to reinstate the permits. Under the new program, permits held by participating owners of stalled sites would remain valid for the full two-year term, and Buildings could renew the permits for up to four years, as long as the owner remained in good standing. (more…)

Council Members Tony Avella and Melinda Katz secure exemption for certain one- and two-family homes from new street tree requirements. On April 30, 2008, the City Council modified the Department of City Planning’s proposals to amend the zoning requirements for street trees and yards. The proposals are designed to create green streetscapes, increase open space, and ameliorate storm water runoff problems.

Under the old zoning, property owners were required to plant street trees in a limited number of special districts and only under certain conditions, such as when there is new construction in an area. The old zoning also required only one rear yard per zoning lot, to be extended along the rear lot line. (more…)