Building owner challenged ALJ’s recommendation to remove advertising sign. Yung Brothers Real Estate Co., the owner of 838 Sixth Avenue, installed at least one advertising sign over a “Bratman Brothers” sign that had existed on the building’s outer wall since at least 1940. In March 2007, the owner received Notices of Violations from Buildings for failing to obtain a sign permit and for violating a 1995 zoning restriction on advertising signs. Four months later, the … <Read More>
Deed restriction fuels more litigation
Developer sought to extinguish deed restriction on Upper West Side property. The City, through the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Asset Sales Program, sold 330 West 86th Street in Manhattan to the building’s tenants. Because the property had been designated as an Urban Development Action Area Project, the deed stated that the tenants could only rehabilitate or conserve the existing dwellings, or construct new dwellings permitted by existing zoning laws. The deed also required … <Read More>
Court dismisses Lower East Side lawsuit
Residents and community groups unsuccessfully challenged the City’s 111-block rezoning. In May 2008, the Department of City Planning proposed a 111-block rezoning in the East Village and Lower East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan. The rezoning sought to preserve the area’s low- and mid-rise character by applying contextual zoning districts establishing maximum building heights and channeling new construction to areas suitable for development. The proposal included applying the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program provisions to certain zoning … <Read More>
$160,000 fine for repeat billboard offenses
Property owner without a permit allowed outdoor advertising. One Maiden Lane Realty LLC leased outdoor space to a registered outdoor advertising company. Under the lease agreement, the property owner could not collect revenue from advertising signs or control advertising sign content. An officer from Buildings issued several notices of violation to the owner in June 2007 for erecting two advertising signs without a permit and for numerous zoning law violations. About a year later, Buildings … <Read More>
Partial demolition of East Side rowhouses approved
- Rowhouses at 110 – 120 East 76th Street in the Upper East Side Historic District. Photo: CityLand.
Landmarks approved plan to partially demolish deteriorating rowhouses, but expressed concerns about developer’s townhouse conversion proposal. On January 5, 2010, Landmarks approved part of the Chetrit Group’s redevelopment proposal for six 1885-era rowhouses at 110 through 120 East 76th Street in the Upper East Side Historic District. The proposal required two separate applications. Chetrit Group requested approval to … <Read More>
Westbeth complex considered
- Westbeth Artist Housing complex at 463 West Street in Manhattan. Photo: LPC.
Building complex, dating from 19th century, formerly housed AT&T’s Bell Laboratories and was the first federally-subsidized artists’ colony. On January 12, 2010, Landmarks heard testimony on the possible designation of a building complex in the Far West Village, now known as Westbeth. Located on an entire block bounded by West, Bethune, Washington, and Bank Streets, Westbeth comprises five buildings built between 1861 … <Read More>