BSA and DOB overturned on East Village dorm

Local school affiliation not a requisite for building permit. In 1998, Gregg Singer purchased the lot at 609 East 9th Street from the City subject to a deed restriction that the site could only be used for a community facility. Singer then applied to the Department of Buildings to construct a new 19-story dormitory and demolish the P.S. 64 building that occupied the site. Since Singer’s plan showed full kitchens in each unit, Buildings asked … <Read More>


Challenge to Javits Center expansion rebuffed

Court finds environmental review for the Hudson Yards sufficient to cover changes to Javits plan. The plan to expand the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center underwent changes since the approval of the final environmental impact statement for the Hudson Yards rezoning plan in 2004. When in July 2006 the Empire State Development Corporation approved the changes without a supplemental EIS, four Hell’s Kitchen residents, the Municipal Art Society and the Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association challenged … <Read More>


Two Brooklyn developments grandfathered

BSA extends time to complete construction based on common law, not the zoning code. Brooklyn’s South Park Slope neighborhood was rezoned in November 2005 to prevent out-of-scale development, forcing some developers to stop work on projects that no longer conformed to the new zoning. 2 CityLand 161 (Dec. 2005). Two developers in South Park Slope, with projects at 639 Sixth Avenue and 400 15th Street, requested permission to extend their construction time, filing two applications … <Read More>


Bronx historic district approved

Council finds no support for discrimination allegation. The full Council approved Landmark’s designation of the Fieldston Historic District in the Bronx on April 26, 2006 after members of the Land Use Committee rejected allegations of discrimination surrounding the designation. 3 CityLand 12 (Feb. 15, 2006).

At the April 11th vote of the Land Use Committee, Council Member Simcha Felder stated that during the designation process some opponents claimed that the designation was “being used to … <Read More>


Court allows late submittal of appraisal

Court considered local practice. To develop a 75-unit, low-income rental project, the City took title through eminent domain of property located at 1823 Madison Avenue, within the Milbank Frawley Circle East Urban Renewal Area. IM Gas Inc., the property owner, timely filed its notice of claim and an appraisal report, seeking compensation for the taking. When the City did not file its appraisal report within nine months after IM’s claim, IM moved for an order … <Read More>


Queens neighborhoods down-zoned

Whitestone Rezoning and Whitestone Locator Map. Used with permission of the New York City Department of City Planning. All rights reserved

Council approves new lower density and contextual zoning to preserve the existing neighborhood scale. On December 21, 2005, the City Council approved the Planning Department’s rezoning plan for 311 blocks located in the Whitestone, Beechhurst and Robinwood neighborhoods of Queens. The rezoned area is bounded by the Whitestone Expressway to the west, the Clearview … <Read More>