Resolution asks Albany to end Madison Square Garden’s property tax exemption. On January 30, 2008, the City Council passed a resolution calling upon the State legislature to revoke Section 429 of the State’s Real Property Law, which allows Madison Square Garden to receive a full property tax exemption.
The exemption dates back to 1982 and allows the Mayor to negotiate with the Garden to ensure the Knicks and Rangers continue to use the facility because … <Read More>
Proposal modified by Planning Commission to conform to Columbia University’s expansion. On January 30, 2008, the City Council voted to approve mini-storage company Tuck-it-Away’s proposal to rezone its property at 3300 Broadway, located between West 133rd and 134th Streets. The rezoning will facilitate the development of a mixed-use development with 64 residential units. Currently, a three-story warehouse occupies the site.
Tuck-it-Away originally submitted four proposals to rezone five of its Manhattanville properties, mostly two … <Read More>
Last minute effort to delay vote until disclosure of community benefit package was defeated. On December 19, 2007, the City Council voted to approve Columbia University’s and Manhattan Community Board 9’s development plans for West Harlem after the Planning Commission modified both plans the month before. The approval clears the way for Columbia to move forward with its campus expansion into the traditionally industrial neighborhood of Manhattanville.
Columbia’s plan called for a Special Manhattanville Mixed-Use … <Read More>
Historic district includes buildings from Brooklyn’s bygone industrial age. On January 30, 2008, the City Council voted to approve Landmarks’ designation of the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company Historic District, located in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, between West and Kent Streets along Greenpoint Avenue. The factory buildings serve as an example of the German Renaissance Revival style, with some buildings dating as far back as the 1880s. In 2005, the Department of Buildings issued permits … <Read More>
Marilyn J. Taylor is from a small town in Iowa “with a population of 1,432.” Perhaps it is her Midwestern roots that allow her to remain upbeat and positive as two of her current planning projects—Columbia University’s campus expansion in West Harlem and Solow’s redevelopment of the Con Edison site in Murray Hill—plod their way through the City’s land use review process amidst political controversy.
Taylor is partner to Skidmore Owings & Merrill’s Urban Design … <Read More>
Renovations include shifting fountain 23 feet to align with arch. On December 3, 2007, Justice Joan Madden ruled that the Parks Department could proceed with its planned renovations to Washington Square Park, finding the agency’s Environmental Assessment Statement complied with all applicable State and City environmental review statutes and adequately analyzed the renovations’ impact on natural resources, open-space, and the surrounding neighborhood’s character.
The ruling allows Parks to move forward with its plan to renovate … <Read More>