Since taking office in January 2006, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has set land use policy and community board reform as priorities.

Stringer hired Anthony Borelli as his Director of Land Use, Planning and Development. Before joining the Borough President’s office, Borelli studied urban planning at Columbia University and worked with the university’s Urban Technical Assistance Project, which provides urban planning consultation to distressed communities. Borelli then served as District Manager of Community Board 4 for five years, where he dealt with the highly complex Hudson Yards and High Line/West Chelsea rezonings and large developments like the John Jay College expansion.

CityLand interviewed Borelli to discuss Borough President Stringer’s land use agenda. (more…)

Rezoning will allow Chelsea’s International Toy Center to be converted for residential use. 200 Fifth, LLC applied to rezone 200 Fifth Avenue and 1107 Broadway in Chelsea, Manhattan, to allow conversion of manufacturing/commercial buildings to residences with an expected 500 units. The buildings, located between Sixth Avenue and Broadway, along West 23rd and 25th Streets, are home to The International Toy Center and nearly 300 toy companies, many of which have been tenants since 1938. The map amendment would replace M1-6 with C5-2 on two blocks, permitting residential and commercial use without altering the FAR or height limits. 200 Fifth also applied for a special permit to construct a 54-space attended garage on the site to service the new residences.

At the February 8, 2006 Commission hearing, there were no speakers in opposition. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s representative, Anthony Borelli, advocated approval on condition that current tenants have access to the building for the February 2006 toy fair. The Toy Industry Association also spoke in favor and noted 200 Fifth’s agreement to allow tenants to remain for the toy fair and provide relocation assistance. A representative from the Economic Development Corporation spoke about its efforts to keep the toy industry in New York City by helping relocate the tenants. (more…)

Rendering of High Line Elevated Structure, affected in a follow-up zoning action in West Chelsea. All images created by Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Permission to reproduce images: courtesy The City of New York, (c) 2004.

Boundaries, frontage, easement access and lot coverage modified for High Line and Special West Chelsea district. In June 2005, the City Council approved several applications related to West Chelsea including the establishment of a Special West Chelsea District to support development of the High Line elevated public space, art galleries, marketrate housing, and affordable housing. 2 CityLand 83 (July 15, 2005). Public review of the proposed text amendments identified the need for additional modifications.

On October 27, 2005, the Planning Department filed an application for a Follow-Up Corrective Action, or FUCA, proposing modifications to the text amendments. The proposal clarified the boundaries, lot coverage calculations, and access requirements for the High Line Improvement Area; reduced minimum allowable frontage for development along the High Line; and identified Parks as the agency responsible for High Line maintenance and inspection. The proposal also added anti-harassment provisions similar to those created for the neighboring Special Hudson Yards District. 3 CityLand 5 (Feb. 15, 2006).

The Commission unanimously approved, finding that the application addressed needs identified during the approval process of the prior text amendments. (more…)

Community Board 4 recommended disapproval unless parking was reduced by approximately 20 spaces. On September 24, 2008, the City Planning Commission approved AG West 22nd Street Realty LLC’s special permit application to build an attended public parking garage at 133-145 West 22nd Street in Chelsea, Manhattan. The special permit, if approved by Council, would allow a maximum of 137 spaces, with 47 parking spaces and 45 two-tier stackers on portions of the first floor, cellar, and sub-cellar of AG’s proposed mixed-use development. The new 99-unit residential building, with 2,211sq.ft. of ground floor retail space, would be an as-of-right development, but a special permit would be required for the parking garage. The proposed development is roughly bounded by 22nd and 23rd Streets between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.

Community Board 4 opposed AG’s plan, in part, because it claimed that the surrounding streets would be ill-equipped to handle an increase in traffic. CB4’s letter to the Planning Commission noted that the proposed parking facility would be located on the northern midblock of West 22nd Street, a narrow street that is becoming primarily residential in character with ground floor commercial and retail uses. Also, CB4 found the facility to be at odds with the “City’s broad policy of reducing vehicle traffic in Manhattan below 110th Street,” and asked the Commission to deny AG’s application unless the number of parking spaces was reduced to 20 percent of the number of dwelling units, and a majority of those spaces were reserved for monthly parkers who live in the community. CB4 also requested that the 45 two-tier stackers be eliminated from the proposal.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer disagreed with CB4’s traffic analysis, and supported AG’s plan on the condition that the garage would be operated as it was studied in AG’s environmental assessment statement. The EAS assumed that 83 vehicles would park in the garage overnight, 17 from accessory use and 66 from the public. Stringer noted that since the EAS was completed before AG increased the proposed number of residential units from 89 to 99, AG should increase accessory use parking to 19 spaces if 99 units were constructed.

The Commission approved AG’s application 11-1, with only Commissioner Karen A. Phillips voting no. The Commission found that the garage would not create a significant adverse traffic impact since it would generate less than 50 additional vehicles per hour. The Commission also noted that a traffic study, submitted with AG’s EAS, stated that there would be “no difference in the level of service at the surrounding intersections.” Based on this finding, the Commission determined that the surrounding streets would be able to handle the increased traffic.

ULURP Process
Lead Agency: CPC,Neg.Dec.
Comm.Bd.: MN 4,Den’d, 35-5-0
Boro.Pres.: App’d
CPC: App’d, 11-1-0
Council: App’d, 51-0-1

CPC: West 22nd Street Garage (C 070261 ZSM – special permit) (September 24, 2008). CITYADMIN

CITYLAND Comment: The City Council approved the application without modification on October 23, 2008.

The exterior of Calle Dao Chelsea in 2017, approximately a year prior to the application for a sidewalk cafe permit. Image Credit: Google Maps.

Owner of West 23rd Street restaurant sought to extend seating outside. In May 2018, Maxver LLC applied to the City Department of Consumer Affairs for consent to open an unenclosed sidewalk café outside of Calle Dao Chelsea, the Cuban-Chinese fusion restaurant that Maxver operates on Manhattan’s West 23rd Street. The application called for four tables, each seating two people. Consumer Affairs forwarded the application to Community Board No. 4, which, after a public hearing, unanimously voted against the application. Residents of the building that housed the restaurant opposed the sidewalk café based upon their negative experience with a previous sidewalk café at the same location. Maxver had also breached past agreements with the residents and the Community Board, including serving bottomless brunch (i.e., unlimited quantities of alcohol for a set price), despite promising not to, and by violating the condition of its liquor license that it would not apply for a sidewalk café. (more…)