Community Concerns Voiced at City Council Hearing for Special Hudson Square District

Community Board urges Trinity to build a new recreation center to accommodate projected population increase. On February 12, 2013, the City Council’s Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee held a hearing for Trinity Church’s application to rezone 18 blocks generally bounded by West Houston and Canal Streets, Avenue of the Americas, and Greenwich Street. The Special Hudson Square District will facilitate residential development, maintain commercial office space, and encourage ground-floor retail. Trinity Church owns approximately 39 … <Read More>


Special Hudson Square District Moves from CPC Approval to Council Hearing

Trinity Church committed $5.6 million contribution for Dapolito Recreation Center renovations but open space issues remain at City Council. On January 23, 2013, the City Planning Commission approved Trinity Church’s application to create the Special Hudson Square District. The purpose of the Special District is to maintain commercial office space – mainly occupied by creative industries – that has made the Hudson Square neighborhood distinct while encouraging mixed-use development and a vibrant community. … <Read More>


Seventeen-story, four-unit sliver tower approved

Buildings denied permit after deciding high-rise building would not comply with State law. In 1999, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development designated a five-story townhouse at 330 West 86th Street as an Urban Development Action Area Project (UDAAP). HPD then sold the property through its Asset Sale Program to the building’s tenants. Two years later, Robert Ricciardelli purchased the property with the intention of demolishing the townhouse and building a high-rise apartment building … <Read More>


Richard Bearak on the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office

Richard Bearak, Director of Land Use for Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, had originally intended to be an architect. But as an undergrad at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), Bearak unexpectedly developed an interest in city planning. After receiving a degree in Architectural Technology, Bearak was admitted to Hunter College’s urban planning graduate program in 1981.

Upon finishing school, Bearak worked in the private sector designing subdivisions and clustered developments in southwestern Connecticut. … <Read More>


300-Foot Tower Approved for Chambers and West Street

Developer reduced tower by 60 feet and increased community facilities. The City Council approved, without additional changes, the City Planning Commission’s resolutions adopted on July 28, 2004 to allow construction of a 29-story mixed-use building at 200 Chambers Street. The Council’s action completes the designation of the site as an Urban Development Action Area, allows the transfer of City-owned land to the City’s Economic Development Corporation, and approves a special permit to modify … <Read More>