Central Bronx affordable housing project approved

Three-building project on former railway site will include 141 affordable rental apartments. On April 6, 2011, the City Council approved a proposal by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to allow Phipps Houses to develop a three-building affordable housing project on two vacant through-block lots in the East Tremont section of the Bronx. Phipps will construct an eight-story residential building and a ten-story mixed-use building at 1155 East Tremont Avenue, and a … <Read More>


Meenakshi Srinivasan Discusses Her Role as Chair of the Board of Standards and Appeals

Meenakshi Srinivasan’s background in architecture and urban planning serve her well as chair of the Board of Standards and Appeals. With a staff of 20, including five commissioners, BSA reviews 400 to 500 applications per year, including appeals of final decisions made by the Department of Buildings, applications for variances from the zoning resolution, applications for certain special permits, and vested rights claims.

A native of India, Srinivasan’s early interest in art, science, and mathematics … <Read More>


Bayside health club rezoning approved

Image: Courtesy of NYC Department of City Planning.

Queens health club requested rezoning in order to apply for BSA special permit after operating without a valid certificate of occupancy for seventeen years. On January 18, 2011, the City Council approved Lucille Roberts Health Club’s rezoning proposal for five lots along Bell Boulevard between 42nd Avenue and the Long Island Railroad right-of-way in Bayside, Queens. The approval changed the area’s commercial overlay from C1-2 to C2-2, … <Read More>


Zoning text altered for Staten Island and the Bronx

Special rules seek to protect residential neighborhoods and encourage development of day care and medical facilities in commercial districts. On January 18, 2011, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s amendment to the Lower Density Growth Management Area (LDGMA) regulations that apply to Staten Island and Bronx Community District 10. The amendment limits the development of out-of-context medical facilities and day care centers in low-density residential areas and encourages their construction in commercial … <Read More>


Conversion of illegal Midtown apartments approved

1182 Broadway. Image: CityLand.

Sixteen-story building was illegally converted to residential use in 1997. On January 26, 2011, the City Planning Commission approved Mocal Enterprises Inc.’s proposal to convert its sixteen-story commercial building at 1182 Broadway in Manhattan to partial residential use. The building, zoned for manufacturing and commercial uses, is located within the Madison Square North Historic District.

In 1997, Mocal illegally converted the portion of the building above the fifth floor into … <Read More>


Attorney Carol E. Rosenthal Discusses Development in the City

Land use attorney Carol E. Rosenthal is able to combine her appreciation of architecture, government, and law all in a day’s work as a partner at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP. After contemplating a major in art, Rosenthal graduated from Brandeis University with a degree in political science. She then earned her law degree from New York University School of Law and began her legal career as a clerk for the United States … <Read More>