Two new members appointed to commission

Michael Goldblum and Michael Devonshire replaced Stephen Byrns and Roberta Brandes Gratz. Architect Michael Goldblum and architectural conservator Michael Devonshire have replaced Commissioners Stephen Byrns and Roberta Brandes Gratz on the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Byrns joined Landmarks in 2004 and is a founding partner of BKSK Architects LLP. Gratz joined Landmarks in 2003 and will continue to serve the City as a member of the Sustainable Advisory Board for PlaNYC.

The City Council … <Read More>


Variances granted for three-building HPD project

Proposed ten-story building at 1176 East Tremont Avenue in the Bronx will be part of the Phipps Houses Group’s three-building project. Image: Courtesy Curtis + Ginsberg Architects LLP.

HPD claimed that abandoned railway complicated the development of two lots. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development applied for use variances in order to construct a three-building affordable housing development on two vacant through-block lots zoned for manufacturing in the East Tremont section of the … <Read More>


Kingsbridge Armory rezoning defeated

The Kingsbridge Armory at 29 West Kingsbridge Road in the Bronx. Photo: CityLand.

Members of the City Council’s Bronx delegation, at a public hearing, said they opposed the project because the developer would not agree to a living wage provision for armory workers. On December 14, 2009, the City Council denied Related Companies’ redevelopment plan for the long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory in the northwest Bronx. Under the proposal, Related would have built a four-story structure within … <Read More>


Community Benefit Agreements report released

Task force proposed a framework for negotiating future Community Benefit Agreements related to publicly assisted development projects. A Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) is a private agreement negotiated between developers and community groups in order to garner support for real estate development projects. In exchange for community support, a developer may agree to provide amenities, such as infrastructure improvements or wage guarantees which are not required by the City’s land use review process. Since 2005, … <Read More>


Eight-story affordable housing project OK’d

Developer requested rezoning in order to build 68 units of affordable rental units in south central Bronx. On September 13, 2010, the City Planning Commission approved High Hawk LLC’s rezoning proposal to facilitate the development of an affordable housing project in the Crotona Park East section of the Bronx. The proposal would rezone a triangular block, bounded by East 174th Street, Hoe Avenue, and Boston Road, from C8-3 to R7-1 with a C2-4 commercial overlay. … <Read More>


Thirteen-story building near Fordham approved

Developer obtained rezoning in order to build a ten-story tower on top of a three-story medical facility currently under construction. On June 29, 2010, the City Council approved Sean Daneshvar’s rezoning proposal to facilitate the development of a thirteen-story building at 621 East Fordham Road in the Belmont section of the Bronx. The site is occupied by a one-story medical facility that Daneshvar is currently enlarging to three stories pursuant to a BSA variance. The … <Read More>