Appellate Division Upholds Sloan-Kettering, Hunter College Expansion

Court held City did not act arbitrarily; parkland-for-floor area was not illegal quid pro quo.  On October 9, 2013, the City Council approved an application by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and The City University of New York/Hunter College for development of a former New York City Department of Sanitation garage.  (See CityLand’s past coverage here.)  Residents for Reasonable Development petitioned for injunctive and declarative relief, arguing the environmental impact statement failed to consider Hunter’s … <Read More>


Variances Granted For Church-Owned Mixed-Use Facility

Board granted the variances despite divided community support. On September 23, 2014, the Board of Standards and Appeals voted to grant five variances to St. Albans Presbyterian Church for the construction of a five-story mixed-use facility at 118-27 Farmers Boulevard. The development site is located in St. Albans, Queens, and bounded by Farmers Boulevard to the west, 119th Avenue to the south, 189th Street to the east, and 118th Avenue to the north. The facility … <Read More>


Court Dismisses Suit in Opposition to Hospital Development

Upper East Side community group did not meet burden of proof that City acted arbitrarily.  On July 28, 2014, the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan denied petitions for declarative and injunctive relief against the proposed expansion of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital.  The petitions were brought by the Residents for Reasonable Development and several Upper East Side residents acting individually.  The petitioners argued that the institutional uses of the project were incompatible with the largely … <Read More>


City Residents Fail in Last-Ditch Attempt to Block Construction of Solid Waste Facility

A federal judge has dismissed an action brought by New York City residents challenging the re-development of a marine waste transfer station. On July 10, 2014, U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Crotty (S.D.N.Y.) dismissed claims against the City and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, clearing the way for development of a marine waste transfer station at 91st Street and the FDR Drive.


Appellate Court Affirms Special Permit for Hospital for Special Surgery

Resident opponents failed to block City Planning’s approval of Hospital for Special Surgery expansion. The Hospital for Special Surgery (HHS), located at 535 East 70th Street, proposed a major renovation and expansion of its existing facility located between East 70th  Street and East 72nd Street, and between York Avenue and  the FDR Drive in Manhattan.

On December 26, 2006, the City Planning Commission (CPC) issued a positive declaration and Lead Agency Determination along with an … <Read More>


In Conversation with NRDC’s Kate Sinding: Fracking, Land Use, and NYC’s Drinking Water

Kate Sinding is a Senior Attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council for the New York Urban Program. She has lived all over the world, spending her childhood years in Pakistan, the Philippines, and Kenya, as well as various locations in the United States. She studied women’s rights and international development at Barnard College. Sinding went to law school at New York University, where she earned a joint degree in law and public policy … <Read More>