Rendering of proposed development Image Credit: City Planning

City Council Subcommittee announces modification to Mega LLC’s proposed development. On January 30, 2020 the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises approved Mega LLC’s ULURP application to rezone Block 769 in Astoria, Queens with a modification to the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing component. The rezoning would help facilitate the construction of an 8-story, mixed-use development. Block 769 in Queens is bounded by Ditmars Avenue to the north, 23rd Avenue to the south, 46th street to the east and 45th street to the west.  The subcommittee held a public hearing on the application on January 14, 2020 and City Planning approved this application on January 8, 2020. To read Cityland’s prior coverage of this application click here.

The Demarest Building, at 339 Fifth Avenue. Image Credit: Google Maps

Landmarks decisions should not be made behind closed doors. Yet they are when the Landmarks Preservation Commission refuses to hold a hearing as it recently did with the Demarest Building.

Proposed design of new building on Middagh Street with 56 Middagh Street on the left./Image Credit: Pratt + Black Architects

The proposed building features a ground floor garage that is modeled off of storefronts in the historic district. On January 14, 2020, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing for a Certificate of Appropriateness to construct a new four-story residential building on a partially vacant L-shaped lot on Middagh Street, located within the Brooklyn Heights Historic District. The short part of the lot fronts Middagh Street to north and the long part of the lot extends into the rear yard. Currently, there is a three-story residential building, 56 Middagh Street, on the east end of the short part of the lot. There is a 25’ by 25’ foot vacant space currently used as parking located between 56 Middagh Street and a one-story garage that belongs to 45 Hicks Street. The proposed building will be built on this space. Both the existing adjacent building and the proposed building will have the same owner.

Cover of the Where We Live Draft Plan. Image Credit: NYC Mayor’s Office

New Fair Housing Litigation Unit will use “secret shoppers” to test the housing market for discrimination and hold bad actors accountable. On January 7, 2020, the Office of the Mayor released the Where We Live NYC Draft Plan for public review. Where We Live NYC is a comprehensive plan to advance opportunity for New Yorkers by promoting fair housing and undo intentional policies and practices of segregation and inequity. The Draft Plan analyzes the state of the City’s fair housing and lays out a five-year action plan. New Yorkers can visit the Where We Live NYC website to read the plan and offer feedback to shape the final report here.

Rendering of Proposed Lenox Terrace Development Image Credit: City Planning

Public appears at public hearing in strong opposition of the proposed redevelopment of Lenox Terrace. On December 18, 2019, the City Planning Commission heard an application by the Olnick Organization to re-zone and re-develop Lenox Terrace. Lenox Terrace is an existing residential development on a twelve acre superblock in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. The block is situated between 135^th Street to the north, 132^nd Street to the south, 5^th Avenue to the east and Malcom X Boulevard to the west. Presenting for the applicants were Ethan Goodman and Elizabeth Bennet of Fox Rothschild LLP and Christopher K. Grabé from Davis Brody Bond.

The Rooftops Conference NYC 2020, to be held on Friday, April 24th, will be our tenth annual New York City symposium for the not-for-profit sector focused on the role of real estate — owned, leased, or hosted physical space — in the operations, financial performance, and achievement of mission by not-for-profit organizations of all sizes and mission types.