Owners claimed designation will force them to close their business or hinder needed repair. On March 15, 2005, Landmarks held public hearings on its proposed designations of two separate commercial buildings in Queens: the Sohmer & Co. Piano Factory building in Long Island City and Elmhurst’s Jamaica Savings Bank.
The six-story Sohmer & Company Piano Factory building, built in 1886 and designed by Berger & Baylies, has a unique mansardroofed clock tower, making the building one of the most prominent structures along the Queens East River waterfront. After it was calendared for designation, public hearings followed in 1983, 1984 and 1990; however, the building was never designated. (more…)
140 blocks rezoned to stop out-of-character development. The Planning Commission unanimously approved an extensive rezoning of two of Queens oldest residential neighborhoods; Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill, both of which have seen a measurable increase in out-of-character development over the past four years. A lot-by-lot analysis completed by the Planning Department found an inconsistency between the existing building types and the zoning, which was unchanged since the City’s initial adoption of zoning districts in 1961. Some districts permitted large 13 to 17-story apartment buildings in areas with single-family, detached homes.
Designed as a contextual rezoning based on the areas’ prevailing building types, the proposal sought to down-zone areas characterized by one and two-family detached homes, such as in Kew Gardens south of Maple Grove Cemetery and west of the Van Wyck Expressway, and increase the permitted size of development in areas that could support it, like the Jamaica Avenue corridor from 102nd to 130th Street in Richmond Hill. The final application covered 140 blocks. (more…)
Private company to convert City building to 296-person senior continuum care center. Health & Hospitals Corporation, Citywide Administrative Services and the Margaret Tietz Nursing and Rehabilitation Center sought the disposition of City-owned land, a special permit to exceed a nursing home bed limit, and an exception to height and setback to permit the Skyline Commons project, a 296- person senior continuum care facility within the existing Queens Hospital Center in Jamaica Queens.
Queens Hospital Center, owned by the City and operated by HHC, has ten buildings totaling 848,934 sq. ft. on a campus bounded by Grand Central Parkway, Parsons, Goethals, 82nd Drive and 161st and 164th Streets. All ten buildings are used for hospital and administrative services, with no dedicated senior facilities. (more…)
Scaccia Realty. Image Credit: Google Maps.
New York City excused for default on a lawsuit regarding water allowance arrears. A&F Scaccia operates a concrete manufacturing plant at 104-17 148th Street in Jamaica, Queens. Between 2007 and 2015, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection charged A&F Scaccia Realty Corp. for low-estimated water readings due to a broken water meter on their commercial property. On discovery of the error, the DEP reassessed the concrete company’s water usage in 2016 and charged A&F Scaccia for $88,000. The fine reflected two years of unpaid usage fees for the access to the NYC’s water supply. (more…)
Rendering of Archer Green, a new 100 percent affordable mixed-use development in Jamaica, Queens. Image Credit: NYCEDC
The addition furthers the City’s goal of financing 200,000 affordable households by the end of the de Blasio administration. On December 3, 2021, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) announced the creation of an additional 1,221 affordable homes between two completed projects in Queens and two projects that have broken ground in the Bronx and Brooklyn. (more…)
