Group claimed shelter was not an as-of-right use and exceeded maximum number of beds. In 2010, the Bowery Residents’ Committee obtained a permit from Buildings to convert a twelve-story building at 127 West 25th Street into a private not-for-profit homeless shelter, drug treatment center, and offices. BRC planned to provide a 200-bed homeless shelter, a 96-bed reception center for the homeless, a 32-bed chemical dependency crisis center, and outpatient counseling services for up to 100 … <Read More>
Hudson Yards owners lose condemnation claim
Owners of M1-5 properties claimed their land should be valued as if zoned C6-4. The City acquired properties through eminent domain for the Hudson Yards Rezoning and Development Program. The project aimed to develop 38 blocks in Manhattan’s Far West Side and extend the No. 7 subway line south-westward from Times Square to Eleventh Avenue and West 34th Street. 2 CityLand 4 (Feb. 15, 2005). The affected owners’ properties were primarily located on 34th and … <Read More>
Behind New York City Development, Land Use Attorney Jesse Masyr
- Jesse Masyr
Attorney Jesse Masyr brings unique expertise from the public sector to help developers navigate the City’s public review process. CityLand spoke with Masyr at his Midtown office about his career in land use law.
Masyr, who grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, attended Tulane School of Law in New Orleans. Masyr majored in American history as an undergraduate at Harpur College (now SUNY Binghamton) and was fascinated by the antebellum period. Masyr figured that … <Read More>
David J. Burney Discusses the Department of Design and Construction
David J. Burney, Commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction, manages more than $6 billion of the City’s public works program. DDC maintains a relatively low profile, but its work on infrastructure and municipal facilities for the City’s frontline agencies currently includes roughly 170 design projects and 235 construction projects. DDC projects throughout the City range from the installation of sidewalk pedestrian ramps to the construction of new firehouses and libraries. Notable projects include … <Read More>
City may have to pay for seized land in Staten Island
City claimed that 97,000 sq.ft. property taken through eminent domain had no value. Cassino Contracting owned a 97,000 sq.ft. parcel in Staten Island, located at the southeast corner of Woodrow Road and Grantwood Avenue. The City later acquired title to the property, at which time the property was vacant and restricted by a declaration that the property would only be used as a storm water retention basin unless the City constructed a storm sewer.… <Read More>
Ten-building project approved in Central Bronx
- Crotona Park East. Image: Courtesy of Dattner Architects.
Proposed 1,300-unit project near the Bronx River led by Gifford Miller would include a mix of affordable and market-rate apartments. On October 5, 2011, the City Council approved Signature Urban Properties’ proposal to build a ten-building mixed-use project overlooking the Sheridan Expressway and the Bronx River in the Crotona Park East and West Farms sections of the Bronx. To facilitate the approximately 1,300- unit project, Signature submitted … <Read More>