Bike Safety: Still an illusive City goal

Has bicycle riding become safer in New York City? On July 28, 2011 the New York City Department of Transportation answered “Yes” by presenting statistics that showed that bike riding was 72 percent safer in 2010 than it was 2001. How good are DOT’s statistics?

Despite significant efforts, the absolute number of bicyclist fatalities and severe injuries has hardly moved. In 2000 there were 18 fatalities and 351 severe injuries. In 2010 there was no … <Read More>


Andrew H. Kimball Discusses the Continued Revitalization of the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Andrew H. Kimball, CEO and president of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, is responsible for overseeing the redevelopment of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a 300-acre industrial park on the Brooklyn waterfront. The not for-profit corporation manages the Navy Yard on behalf of its owner, the City.

Kimball, a New York City native, earned a bachelor’s degree in History and Government from Hamilton College in 1987. After graduation he was accepted to the Coro Fellows … <Read More>


Central Park West synagogue variance upheld

Court rejected neighbors’ article 78 challenge to nine-story mixed-use building adjacent to landmarked synagogue. Congregation Shearith Israel applied to BSA for a variance to build a nine-story mixed-used building adjacent to its landmarked synagogue at the corner of West 70th Street and Central Park West in the Upper West Side-Central Park West Historic District. In addition to the synagogue, Shearith Israel owns a four-story parsonage house to the south of the synagogue along Central Park … <Read More>


Citizens Win Protection of Historic Tobacco Warehouse

Court ruled that the National Park Service unlawfully removed warehouse and adjacent building from park boundaries. In 2001, the National Park Service awarded to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation a federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grant to help fund a cove restoration project in Empire Fulton Ferry Park in DUMBO, Brooklyn. The Park Service’s grant was contingent on the State Office of Parks agreeing that the restoration project … <Read More>


Apartment building owner defeats facade report NOV

Distinction between basement and cellar explained. The Department of Buildings issued Supreme Company LLC a notice of violation for failing to file a required report concerning the periodic inspection of the exterior walls of its building at 1659 York Avenue in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Supreme contested the NOV at a hearing before an ALJ, claiming that it was exempt from the filing requirement since its building did not exceed six stories. Supreme’s architect stated … <Read More>


Martha Washington and Barbizon hotels considered

The Martha Washington Hotel and Barbizon Hotel for Women provided housing for single women pursuing careers. In July 2011, Landmarks held public hearings for the potential designation of two residential hotels in Manhattan that served an emerging class of professional women in the early 20th Century. The Martha Washington Hotel is located at 30 East 30th Street, and the Barbizon Hotel for Women is located at 140 East 63rd Street.

Architect Robert W. … <Read More>