The cellar of the Bnos Menachem school to house a private onsite catering service and events. Bnos Menachem is a not-for-profit girls school with pre-school to seventh grade classes located in a residentially- zoned area of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. It sought a variance from BSA to allow a private, for-profit catering company, Ragzag, Inc., to operate from the school’s cellar. The caterer would operate after school hours and provide services to the school and the community with a total event capacity of 550 people. Outside events would be limited to forty percent of the total events each year.

The school argued that the manufacturing nature of its 33,646 sq.ft. building, originally used by a publishing company, made it unsuitable for residential uses. Noting that the catering business was permitted as-of-right on the other floors, the school argued that the cellar was unfit for the school’s classrooms. It also stressed its great financial need, explaining that families in the area could not afford high tuition costs.

8-story building to be built adjacent to existing school. Park East Day School proposed to construct an eight-story, 104 ft. tall building at 162 East 68th Street as a way to expand its existing school located immediately adjacent on East 68th Street. Park East had earlier demolished a three-story building on the site. The new building would include ten classrooms, science labs, computer and media centers, a large library and a caretaker’s apartment on the eighth floor.

Park East argued that, to achieve the most functional design, size and layout, it required eight stories and full lot coverage on the lower floors in order to mirror the configuration and line up with the floors of the existing school, which received a variance in 1973. The design exceeded limits on height, overall size and lot coverage. Park East stated that a code-compliant building would eliminate four new classrooms, the computer lab and the caretaker’s unit from the project and diminish its ability to operate effectively.

Variance required to expand restaurant. Babbo Realty, LLC, owner of the highly-rated Babbo restaurant at 110 Waverly Place in Greenwich Village’s R7-2 zone, sought to amend a 2002 variance to expand its cellar by 697 sq.ft. for wine storage. Babbo originally sought the 2002 variance because it was unclear from the certificates of occupancy whether the restaurant had operated continually at 110 Waverly. Under the site’s zoning, restaurants are prohibited unless it can be shown that a restaurant predated the zoning’s enactment and operated continually. BSA, in granting the 2002 variance, determined that the premises continually housed an eating and drinking establishment since 1933 and found a hardship created by the premises’ unique conversion from a stable and carriage house to a restaurant.

In support of the sub-level expansion, the owners argued that it would not increase floor area or impact aesthetics. A neighbor objected to the excavation, citing potential property damage to his building, which is located to the rear of 110 Waverly. BSA granted the expansion, noting that construction safety issues were not factors for its review but fell under the jurisdiction of the Department of Buildings.

Dock to be located on the East River next to the Schaefer Landing luxury building. The Planning Commission unanimously approved an application by the Department of Parks and Recreation for the construction of a water taxi dock in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The dock is to be located on the East River adjacent to the waterfront esplanade of the Schaefer Landing luxury apartment building, west of Kent Avenue between South 8th and South 11th Streets.

The floating 600 square-foot dock and 36-foot long gangway required a special permit to allow its construction in an R7-3 residential district. The dock will be moored to four steel piles anchored in the East River bed, and the operation will not require a ticket booth or other structure on the waterfront esplanade. The Economic Development Corporation will be responsible for construction and the developers of Schaefer Landing will maintain the dock under an agreement with Parks. The water taxi itself is expected to provide transportation to and from Lower Manhattan for up to 100 passengers per trip. Currently, New York Water Taxi operates 13 different routes and 13 docks throughout the New York metropolitan area, including eight docks in Manhattan at: West 44th, West 23rd and East 34th Streets; Greenwich Village, the World Financial Center, Battery Park, Wall Street and South Street Seaport. New York Water Taxi currently lists fares for a one-way trip as between $4 to $6.

John Jay faced the largest space deficit in the CUNY system. On January 5, 2005, the Planning Commission approved the 513,500 sq.ft. expansion plan for John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which, with its link to John Jay’s Haaren Hall along Tenth Avenue between West 58th and West 59th Streets, will create a unified urban campus occupying the full city block from Tenth to Eleventh Avenues between West 58th and West 59th Streets.

In addition to John Jay’s Haaren Hall along Tenth Avenue, the 160,700 sq.ft. city block contains a 320,000 sq.ft. warehouse, housing a newspaper distribution center, a general contractor’s office and two parking lots, and a below-grade rail line for Amtrak’s Empire Line. The manufacturing building would be demolished and a small 6,580 sq.ft. development platform constructed over the Amtrak rail line for the expansion.

Science Annex construction will alleviate overcrowding in Midwood High School. On December 15, 2004, the City Council approved a proposal by the New York City School Construction Authority for the construction of a three-story, 45,476 sq.ft. science annex for Midwood High School in Brooklyn. The project site is a 67,600 sq.ft. parcel of City-owned property located across from the existing school on Bedford Avenue. It is currently used as an informal parking lot and play area.

The annex will alleviate the overcrowded high school by providing 340 seats of additional classroom space, as well as updated laboratories and a new library. In 2003 the Independent Budget Office ranked Midwood, operating at 163 percent of capacity, as one of the ten most overcrowded high schools in the City. The project proposal, whose funding is available in the Department of Education’s Capital Plan for Fiscal Years 2005-2009, also includes interior modernization of the existing school, renovation of the 49,800 sq.ft. adjacent school yard and a two-story pedestrian bridge connecting the existing school to the annex.