Brooklyn apartment building will comply with “Passive House” standards designed to dramatically reduce energy costs. On April 29, 2010, the City Council approved the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s proposal to allow the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council to build an energy-efficient, affordable apartment building at 803 Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The six-story building, known as Knickerbocker Commons, will provide 24 dwelling units, affordable to households earning between 30 and 60 percent of … <Read More>
Curb cut and parking regulations approved
Planning proposed amendment to address community concerns about inappropriate curb cuts and front yard parking spaces in residential areas. On April 14, 2010, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s Residential Streetscape Preservation text amendment. The amendment contains a host of changes, including applying stricter parking regulations in low-density residential districts, and establishing curb cut regulations in medium- and high-density districts that previously had none. It strengthens front yard planting requirements in low-density … <Read More>
Brooklyn’s Rose Plaza waterfront project modified
- Image Courtesy of ny.curbed.com
Developer agreed to increase affordable housing and provide additional three- and four-bedroom affordable units. On April 14, 2010, the City Council modified Isack Rosenberg’s proposal to build a multi-tower mixed-use development along the Brooklyn waterfront at 470 Kent Avenue. Known as Rose Plaza on the River, the project’s 3.7-acre site is bordered by the Schaefer Landing housing development to the north and Division Avenue to the south. The project will feature … <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>
BSA’s denial of special permit upheld by Second Department
BSA found that project did not qualify as an enlargement. In 1999, BSA granted the owner of 155 Norfolk Street in Brooklyn a special permit to enlarge a one-story home. The enlargement was not built pursuant to the approved plans. More than three years later, the owner submitted a different set of plans to Buildings for an as-of-right enlargement and began construction. In 2005, after resolving a series of violations, the owner obtained an alteration … <Read More>
City’s adult establishment laws upheld
Zoning restrictions against adult businesses survive trial on adequacy of prior study. The Department of City Planning conducted a study on the negative secondary effects of adult businesses in the City, and concluded in 1993 that such businesses increased crime and lowered property values. Based on this study, the City in 1995 amended the zoning resolution to restrict the location of adult businesses in certain areas, banned the enlargement of existing adult uses, and prohibited … <Read More>