St. Joseph of the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan. Image Credit: LPC
Two Catholic churches designated over archdiocese opposition. On June 28, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate four Manhattan properties as individual City landmarks. Three of the items had been added to Landmarks calendar before 2010 and were addressed as part of the Commission’s backlog initiative. (more…)
Landmarks Preservation Commission. Credit: LPC.
The proposed designation of the former Yuengling Brewery Site in East Harlem proved contentious, dividing preservationists and those who wished to see site developed. On November 12, 2015 the Landmarks Preservation Commission held the final of four special hearings organized to address the backlog of items added to the Commission’s calendar before 2001, but never brought to a vote on designation. The final hearing consisted of items in Manhattan, occupying Community Boards six through twelve. Landmarks is expected to make determinations on the items in early 2016.
Map of Approved Central Harlem Rezoning. Image Credit: CPC.
Rezoning approved for project that will restore historic church building and provide thirty percent affordable housing to Harlem residents. On June 17, 2014, the City Council Land Use Subcommittee for Zoning and Franchises heard an application submitted by 117th Street Equities, LLC (Artimus) for a zoning map amendment to facilitate a mixed-use development in Central Harlem, Manhattan. The map amendment would rezone an existing R7A to an R8A zoning district on a block bounded by West 117th and West 118th streets, St. Nicholas Avenue and Fredrick Douglass Boulevard. The development is comprised of four buildings that consist of approximately 151 dwelling units and 12,201 square feet of community facility use. (more…)
Julie Menin, former Chairperson of Manhattan Community Board 1
For Manhattan to remain the vibrant center it is today we need a smart plan for long-term growth. The current land use process leaves communities fearful of being overrun by development that is poorly planned, harmful to communities, and undermines the character of our borough. This is why I have proposed a “Master Plan” for Manhattan to ensure that we grow our borough sensibly.
Cities across the United States are implementing Masters Plans, from booming west coast cities like San Francisco and Seattle to neighboring Newark. A Master Plan is a comprehensive document that outlines long-term neighborhood needs. Downtown Manhattan, for example, is short nearly 1,000 classroom seats, while East Harlem has only 0.3 acres of active open space per 1,000 residents and many of Manhattan’s neighborhoods are almost completely bereft of affordable housing.
Under a Master Plan, developers looking to build in these neighborhoods would be apprised of the community’s needs, bringing more certainty to a convoluted system and ensuring a community’s concerns are accounted for. (more…)
View of the former gas station lot at St. Nicholas Avenue and 122nd Street. Credit: Google.
BSA granted use, area, and parking variances to permit construction of 13-story residential, commercial, and community facility building. Nicholas Parking Corporation and Ladera, LLC, owners of adjacent properties at 223-237 St. Nicholas Avenue, applied for building permits to develop a 169,192-square-foot, mixed-use building on St. Nicholas Avenue between West 121st and West 122nd Streets in Harlem. The project would include a FRESH program food store on the first floor and cellar, a preschool facility on the second floor, and 164 residential units on the remaining floors. Manhattan Community Board 10 disapproved of the project based upon the proposal’s lack of affordable housing.
On February 23, 2012, the Department of Buildings (DOB) denied the permit to build the project because the site sits partially within an R7A and an R8A/C2-4 zoning district. Part of the proposed FRESH program food store would extend 970 sq.ft. into the R7A district, which does not allow for commercial use. In addition, the proposal calls for only 30 of the 66 accessory parking spaces required by the Zoning Resolution to be off-site at a property one block away instead of on the site itself. Finally, the proposed lot coverage exceeds the maximum amount allowed by the Zoning Resolution by 689 sq.ft. on the corner lot.
