Architect self-certified applications with incorrect zoning. Architect David Nagan was hired in 2004 to prepare a zoning analysis for two adjacent lots in Queens. Nagan determined the lots were in an R3 district, which allowed for the construction of two, two-family semidetached homes with a common wall along the lot line. In April of 2005, the City Council rezoned the lots to R3X, a zoning district that prohibited semi-detached homes. About six months after the … <Read More>
Open process for public review of plans announced
Developers required to submit online diagrams for new building and alteration enlargement applications; public has 30 days to challenge Buildings’ zoning decisions. On February 2, 2009, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor for Operations Edward Skyler, and Buildings’ Commissioner Robert D. LiMandri announced changes to the City’s real estate development process. The changes, which will go into effect starting March 9, 2009, mandate that online diagrams for new building and alteration enlargement applications be submitted … <Read More>
19th century Bed-Stuy development designated
- Alice and Agate Courts Historic District, Brooklyn. Courtesy of New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Designation endorsed by local Council Member, residents. On February 10, 2009, Landmarks voted to designate Alice and Agate Courts in Bedford- Stuyvesant, Brooklyn as a historic district. Alice and Agate Courts, two cul-de-sacs off Atlantic Avenue between Kingston and Albany Avenues, contain 36 Queen Annestyle rowhouses that were developed by Florian Grosjean in 1888 – 1889.
Designed by local architect … <Read More>
Chase Tower and Plaza landmarked
- Chase Tower and Plaza. Photo: LPC.
Mid-century International Style tower designated. On February 10, 2009, Landmarks voted unanimously to designate One Chase Manhattan Plaza as an individual City landmark. Designed by Gordon Bunschaft and Jacques E. Guiton of Skidmore Owings & Merrill, the site consists of a 60-story tower, a six-story base, and a 2.5 acre plaza that incorporates an Isamu Noguchi-designed sunken garden.
The tower was planned after the merger between Chase National Bank … <Read More>
Variance granted in SoHo
Applicant claimed that a conforming commercial office building would not yield a reasonable return. DJL Family Limited Partnership applied to BSA for a variance to construct a new seven-story building with 12 apartments and ground floor retail on Spring Street between Crosby Street and Lafayette Street in SoHo, Manhattan. DJL sought a variance because the proposed residential and retail uses were not permitted within the M1-5B district. If granted the variance, DJL planned to demolish … <Read More>
Park W. Village permit upheld
Local residents claimed that all open space on a multiple building zoning lot must be accessible to all occupants of the zoning lot. 808 Columbus Avenue LLC obtained a permit from Buildings to construct a 29-story, mixed-use building within Park West Village on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The new building would share a zoning lot with three 16-story residential buildings located on a superblock bounded by West 100th Street on the north, Columbus Avenue on … <Read More>