BSA denied variance to Sheepshead Bay residence

Owner sought to enlarge one-family home. The owner of 2026 Avenue T, a 2,640-square-foot corner lot in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, sought a variance to enlarge a 3,001-square-foot residence. The existing structure, already noncomplying, is 1,020 sq.ft. larger than allowed in an R4 district.

Initially, the owner sought a special permit to enlarge the residence into the south side yard with an additional 470 sq.ft. BSA, however, ruled that the proposal was ineligible because the zoning … <Read More>


After ten years, Third Avenue Equinox gym legalized

Equinox Fitness approved after six failed cases in which BSA found it lied to the Board. In its seventh case before BSA, Equinox Fitness Club obtained approval to legalize its 26,600-square-foot gym at 1511 Third Avenue at East 85th Street. Equinox has operated its Third Avenue gym for over ten years without a permit. The zoning restricts gyms to the first and second stories, but Equinox’s Third Avenue gym occupies space on four stories.

In … <Read More>


Manhattan’s Toy Center to become apartments

Rezoning will allow Chelsea’s International Toy Center to be converted for residential use. 200 Fifth, LLC applied to rezone 200 Fifth Avenue and 1107 Broadway in Chelsea, Manhattan, to allow conversion of manufacturing/commercial buildings to residences with an expected 500 units. The buildings, located between Sixth Avenue and Broadway, along West 23rd and 25th Streets, are home to The International Toy Center and nearly 300 toy companies, many of which have been tenants since 1938. … <Read More>


Parking garage approved; Stringer raises issues

Special permit for 174-space garage approved over new Borough President’s objections. Continental Residential Holdings, LLC applied to the Planning Department for a special permit to allow for a 174- space attended public parking garage within its new, as-of-right 41-story residential building at 325 Fifth Avenue between 32nd and 33rd Streets in Manhattan. Although the building is located in a predominantly commercial area one block south of the Empire State Building, in recent years the area … <Read More>


Church wins right to review use in industrial zone

Church converted warehouse within industrial area and held services. In 2002, Abundant Life Alliance Church of New York bought a condo warehouse unit located within the College Point II Urban Renewal Area in Queens to operate a church. At the time of purchase Abundant knew there were restrictions on the warehouse’s use: the urban renewal plan did not list churches as a permitted use, the deed contained a restrictive covenant that required Abundant to comply … <Read More>


Bronx retail center approved

Rendering of the Bronx Terminal Market Gateway Center. Used with permission of The Marino Organization.

Mall-type retail center to be developed on site of Bronx Terminal Market. The NYC Economic Development Corporation and BTM Development Partners obtained Council’s approval for six actions related to development of a one-million square-foot, multi-level retail center at the site of the Bronx Terminal Market in West Concourse, Bronx. Two approved map amendments eliminated streets between River and Cromwell Avenues … <Read More>