220-Property Extension to West End-Collegiate Historic District Approved [Update: Council Landmarks Committee Approves with Minor Changes]

Commissioners voted unanimously to approve district two years after initial hearing, though split on the inclusion of modern apartment complex. On June 25, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve an extension to the West End-Collegiate Historic District, encompassing 200 buildings. The extension more than doubles the size of the previously designated district, and lies to the north and to the south of the original district, between 70th and 79th Streets, and … <Read More>


111th Center for New York City Law Breakfast: Judge Judith S. Kaye

On Friday, October 18, 2013 the Center for New York City Law and the Dianne Abbey Law Center for Children and Families at New York Law School hosted the 111th City Law Breakfast.  New York Law School and the Centers were honored to have Honorable Judith S. Kaye, former Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, as the guest speaker.


Plan to Site Restored Modernist House on Vacant Lot Stirs Controversy

Owners said construction of a new residential development would help fund the maintenance of the 1931 prototype for mass-produced housing. On October 15, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on a proposed new development from Norcor Management Group for a vacant lot at the corner of 39th Avenue and 50th Street in Queens’ Sunnyside Gardens Historic District. (See CityLand’s past coverage here.) The application would include the installation of the Aluminaire … <Read More>


Proposed Residential Tower Would Encroach on Site of Steinway Hall [Update: Revised Plan Praised and Approved by Landmarks]

Applicants stated that a tower could be built as of right without the need to seek Landmarks’ approval, but the proposed plan would be more respectful toward the individual landmark. On October 1, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the proposal for the new development of a through-block site at 109 West 57th Street. The proposed residential tower, with commercial use on the lower stories, would occupy a vacant lot, as … <Read More>


New Adjmi-Designed Through-Block Building Proposed for Vacant Site [UPDATE: Project Certified Following Revisions]

Commissioners generally praised the concept and design, but asked for further refinements to be presented at a future meeting. On September 24, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the proposed project for a vacant lot at 7 West 21st Street in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District. The through-block site was cleared in the 1920s, and the applicants intend to build a 185-foot tall development with ground-floor retail and residential use of … <Read More>


East Midtown Rezoning: Looking For Extra Zoning Rights? They’re For Sale

A disarmingly simple plan for rezoning Manhattan’s office district running from Grand Central Terminal north to about 58th Street has been approved by the Planning Commission and will come to a Council vote around the time of the November election.

It has three key components:  1) The City almost doubles the allowable floor area for new buildings on large sites along the major thoroughfares; 2) it sells to the landowner the right to build the … <Read More>