Four-story addition near High Line approved

Project approved after height was further reduced by eight feet. On July 19, 2011, Landmarks approved Taconic Investment Partners’ revised proposal to build a four-story addition above a low-rise Moderne-style building across the street from the High Line at 837 Washington Street in the Gansevoort Market Historic District. Taconic first proposed a seven-story addition in November 2010, which it then reduced and resubmitted to Landmarks in April of 2011. The Commissioners generally praised the Morris … <Read More>


Private rezoning withdrawn prior to Council review

Cambria Heights community expressed concern about impact of proposed one-story commercial building on adjacent community garden. Prior to a public hearing before the City Council’s Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee, Ryan Pedram withdrew his rezoning proposal to extend a C1-3 commercial overlay to an existing R3-2 district at the northeast corner of Linden Boulevard between 226th and 227th Streets in Cambria Heights, Queens. Pedram had requested the rezoning in order to develop a one-story, 8,100 sq.ft. … <Read More>


Council Member Brad Lander on Current Initiatives Affecting Land Use in the City

Council Member Brad Lander, chair of the City Council’s Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses Subcommittee, draws from his experience as a public policy advocate when executing his duties.

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Lander in 1991 earned a liberal arts degree from the University of Chicago. He then earned a master’s degree in Social Anthropology at the University College London in the United Kingdom, where he worked with community groups to research how a … <Read More>


Public Cafes OK’d in Water Street Corridor Arcades

Planning seeks to enliven privately owned public spaces along the Water Street by allowing tables and seating.

On May 4, 2011, the City Council’s Land Use Committee approved the Department of City Planning’s proposal to permit public and cafe seating within arcades along the Water Street corridor in Lower Manhattan. Arcades are privately owned, publicly accessible covered areas along the perimeter of commercial buildings that were developed in exchange for a floor area bonus. The

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New Chambers Street residential building approved

Owner altered window and facade details to gain Landmarks approval . On April 12, 2011, Landmarks approved Fishman Holdings’ revised proposal to construct an eight-story building on a vacant lot at 87 Chambers Street in the Tribeca South Historic District. The through-block building will front Reade  Street to the north. The lot had been occupied by a store-and-loft building that  Fishman originally planned to convert … <Read More>


Douglas Durst Discusses Current Projects and Sustainable Development in the City

Douglas Durst, Chairman of The Durst Organization, originally planned to join the U.S. Foreign Service as a career path. Today, Durst is charged with leading one of New York City’s most respected real estate development companies. He represents the third generation of the Durst family to chair the company that was founded by his grandfather in 1915.

Born in New York City, Durst graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1966 with a degree … <Read More>