Private company to convert City building to 296-person senior continuum care center. Health & Hospitals Corporation, Citywide Administrative Services and the Margaret Tietz Nursing and Rehabilitation Center sought the disposition of City-owned land, a special permit to exceed a nursing home bed limit, and an exception to height and setback to permit the Skyline Commons project, a 296- person senior continuum care facility within the existing Queens Hospital Center in Jamaica Queens.

Queens Hospital Center, owned by the City and operated by HHC, has ten buildings totaling 848,934 sq. ft. on a campus bounded by Grand Central Parkway, Parsons, Goethals, 82nd Drive and 161st and 164th Streets. All ten buildings are used for hospital and administrative services, with no dedicated senior facilities. (more…)

New 12-million gallon sewage storage facility to be built. The Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services sought approval of a 3.6-acre site selection for a combined sewage overflow storage facility to reduce stormwater sewage discharge emitted into Westchester Creek. The development required Commission approval for the site selection, acquisition of 155,900 sq.ft. of land and a special permit allowing the sewage facility in a residentially-zoned area of the Bronx.

The site is located along an unmapped street in the southwestern portion of the Bronx Psychiatric Center, roughly bounded on the north by Waters Place, east by Eastchester Road and west by Industrial Place. The sewage facility would include a two-story operation building, with air treatment and mechanical facilities, and a 25- foot deep underground storage tank, 348 ft. by 170 ft. in dimension. (more…)

Height of Harlem hotel reduced to 478 feet. On October 27, 2004, the City Council approved, subject to a 40 ft. height reduction, the development of an iconic Harlem building for hotel, residential and commercial office space at 125th Street and Park Avenue in East Harlem. The Council modification, which was approved by a vote of 47 to 2, reduced the building’s height by 40 ft. from 518 ft. to 478 ft. Council’s modification is the second reduction that the developers, 1800 Park Avenue LLC, have agreed to in order to gain City approval. The proposed new building, designed by Mexican architect Enrique Norten of MDA Design group International, would have a base building covering the full lot area, which at 1 50 ft. in height, would dramatically taper to a slim 453 ft. tower with a 25 ft. decorative extension.

Council Members Bill Perkins and Albert Vann voted against the project even with the height modification. Council Member Perkins indicated that the building is distinctively out of character with the other buildings in the area; and Council Member Vann argued that economic development was not always beneficial to the community. Council Member Koppell disputed both views, claiming that the building of a first-class hotel in Harlem symbolizes its renaissance. (more…)

After significant redesign, Commission approves building close to Brooklyn Bridge. Two Trees Management Company, the developer often credited with the dramatic conversion and rebirth of DUMBO, sought approval of a large project involving new construction, a building conversion, and demolition of a historic building close to the suspended side span of the Brooklyn Bridge. The City Planning Commission approved after the building’s western portion was reduced to match the height of the bridge’s roadway.

Two Trees sought approval of a 200-unit residential, mixed-use development with a 327-space parking garage. The original design had a 178-foot residential tower fronting on Water Street and a 23-foot height at the Dock/Front corner, which is directly beneath the Brooklyn Bridge. Three buildings would be demolished. One of these – 54 Water Street – is within a landmark district on state and national registers. The project also involved the rehabilitation of a vacant 4-story brick building in the state and national historic district. (more…)

Water park concession awarded to Aquatic Development Group. The City’s Department of Parks & Recreation and the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation obtained approval for a 26-acre, indoor-outdoor water park on Randall’s Island. The water park will include 18.7 acres of outdoor wave pools, slides, and a circular waterway, along with a 7.25-acre glass-roofed, indoor facility that will provide the same attractions during cold weather. It will be the first urban water park in the United States. Approval of the water park required a major concession approval from the Commission pursuant to the City’s Charter §197(c) and a determination of consistency under the City and state waterfront revitalization plan.

Following Parks’ 1998 Randall’s Island master plan, which included the water park, the Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals for the water park’s construction and operation, ultimately selecting Aquatic Development Group, Inc. The project site currently contains open space, 10 baseball diamonds and a 123-space surface parking lot. The 10 diamonds will be relocated, expanded, and improved as part of the master plan. Parking for the water park and other new attractions will be accommodated by construction of a 2,800-space parking facility beneath the spans of the Triborough Bridge. Free shuttles will taxi people from the parking location to the water park and the park’s other new facilities. (more…)