Architect will be supervised

Architect self-certified applications with incorrect zoning. Architect David Nagan was hired in 2004 to prepare a zoning analysis for two adjacent lots in Queens. Nagan determined the lots were in an R3 district, which allowed for the construction of two, two-family semidetached homes with a common wall along the lot line. In April of 2005, the City Council rezoned the lots to R3X, a zoning district that prohibited semi-detached homes. About six months after the … <Read More>


BSA hears appeal on Trump SoHo project

Community group’s appeal seeks to halt construction of the 42story condo-hotel. On February 27, 2008, BSA heard testimony regarding the Department of Buildings’ approval for the Trump SoHo condominium hotel under construction at 246 Spring Street. The SoHo Alliance Community Group appealed, arguing that the condominium hotel contravenes the manufacturing zoning district’s prohibition against residential development.

Buildings approved the plans for the Trump Soho on September 28, 2007 with the condition that the developers file … <Read More>


Group appeals Trump SoHo’s approval

SoHo Alliance seeks BSA intervention to halt construction. On October 26, 2007, the SoHo Alliance Community Group filed an appeal with BSA in an attempt to thwart construction of the Trump SoHo, a 42-story condominium hotel that would be located at 246 Spring Street, between Varick Street and Sixth Avenue. The appeal comes after the Department of Buildings denied the Alliance’s request to revoke approval for the condominium hotel.

Buildings approved the plans for … <Read More>


HDC’s Simeon Bankoff Talks About Life on the Preservation Front Lines

The temperature was in the 90s the day Simeon Bankoff met with City- Land. Mr. Bankoff, Executive Director of the Historic Districts Council, a prominent city preservationist organization founded in 1971 as part of the Municipal Art Society, and operating independently since 1986, had just returned from a demonstration on the steps of City Hall. While most would have wilted, the charming and voluble Mr. Bankoff animatedly discoursed for over an hour on the Historic … <Read More>


City Comptroller audit faults HPD program

Problems found in HPD’s administration, inspections, audits and cost calculation for tax abatement program. On March 22, 2007, City Comptroller William C. Thompson issued an audit report on the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s implementation of a tax abatement program, the J-51 Tax Incentive Program. The audit found problems with HPD’s handling of the program, specifically concluding that errors in cost calculations led to improper awards of tax benefits and incorrect fee assessments.

The … <Read More>