Preservationists fear City Council will overturn Landmarks’ designation. Landmarks voted unanimously on September 20, 2005 to designate the Austin, Nichols & Co. Warehouse despite extensive opposition from its current owner, Council Member David Yassky and former City Council Member Kenneth Fisher, who appeared on the owner’s behalf. Constructed in 1913 along the East River in Brooklyn, the six-story reinforced concrete Austin Nichols building is attributed to Cass Gilbert, the architect of the Woolworth Building and U.S. Customs House, and considered his first warehouse design using concrete construction.

Experts for the current owner, appearing at Landmarks July 2005 hearing, argued that the original owner’s desire to build the warehouse “on the cheap” greatly diminished Gilbert’s impact on the final building design and Yassky added that a vote to designate would conflict with Council’s approved plans for the re-use of Brooklyn’s abandoned industrial waterfront. 2 City- Land 107 (Aug. 15, 2005). The owner, Lewis Kestenbaum, asked Landmarks to consider that he had received BSA approval to increase the building’s size, costing him over $1 million for project plans.

Mid-town hotel,marketing itself as a spa/fitness-getaway, had no permit for its spa. The Affinia Dumont Hotel, advertising itself as “New York City’s only Executive Fitness Suite Hotel,” had illegally operated a spa and gym without a permit since May 2004. Located at 150 East 34th Street, the 37-story hotel concentrates its marketing and hotel services around its spa and gym, offering spa packages, in-room massages and a “fitness concierge” to arrange gym and spa services for guests.

Applying to BSA to legalize its 3,564-square-foot spa and gym, Affinia argued that its continued use would not impact adjacent uses and would not be detrimental to the public welfare. Affinia stated that it employed only licensed masseurs.

BSA granted the permit, limiting it to ten years and requiring an additional application with any future change in ownership.

BSA: 150 East 34th Street (389-04-BZ) (September 23, 2005) (Francis Angelino, for Affinia Dumont). CITYADMIN

Queens developer claimed out-of- date layout made apartments unfit. A Queens developer proposed to demolish two adjacent two-family buildings in Long Island City, replacing them with a five-story, 20- unit building that required waivers from BSA for floor area, yard, height, setback and open space.

The proposal was strongly opposed by the community, Borough President Helen Marshall, Community Board 1 and Council Members Peter F. Vallone, Jr. and Tony Avella. Faced with community opposition, the developer slightly decreased the proposal to a 15,005- square-foot 16-unit building that remained 6,140 sq.ft. larger than an as-of-right development.

Fire-damaged building in historic SoHo to be restored and increased in height. Morty Lipkis, owner of 44 Mercer Street, a 2,480-square-foot lot in SoHo, proposed to replace a vacant fire-damaged building zoned for manufacturing with a 102-foot tall, seven-story mixed-use building. The proposed building would serve residential and retail uses with 12,549- square-feet of floor space, requiring variances for use and rear yard size. The site’s current two-story structure abuts a rear building and offers no rear yard space.

Lipkis argued that the site’s narrow 27-foot width and the abutting rear building made it impossible to realize a reasonable rate of return while conforming to the district’s manufacturing and 40-foot rear yard requirements. Lipkis further stated that the proposed 24-foot rear yard would improve existing conditions. Lipkis submitted alternate designs for office use and residential use with a 30-foot rear yard, but argued that he could not realize a reasonable return under either scenario.

Twenty-one areas to lose commercial zoning overlay. In 2003, Mayor Michael Bloomberg formed the Staten Island Growth Management Task Force to examine over-development in the borough. The Task Force’s recommendations resulted in new zoning controls adopted in 2004 restricting the size and density of Staten Island residential development. A loophole remained for lots within residential zones that were also subject to commercial district overlays. Along with allowing commercial uses on these lots, the commercial overlays permitted large as-of- right residential developments.

The Task Force had recommended the elimination of portions of 21 commercial overlays along streets in Staten Island that remained primarily residential in character, and the Planning Department, in May 2005, initiated three separate rezoning applications to remove lots that retained their residential character from all 21 commercial overlays.

First unsubsidized project built in Coney Island in past 50 years gets Commission approval. Coney Island developer, David Weisz & Sons, sought to rezone five lots along Surf Avenue and Coney Island Beach to allow the construction of two seven-story residential condominium towers with 313 market-rate units to be called Ocean Dreams. When compiled, the five lots would comprise a 133,843-square-foot development site stretching from West 35th to West 37th Streets along the Riegelmann Boardwalk.

Weisz currently owns four of the five lots, all of which are vacant. The fifth lot contains a three-story community center that would be demolished to make way for the housing project. With the rezoning (from R5 to R6A), Weisz could increase the project’s height from 40 feet to 70 feet and its permitted floor area limit from 167,303 sq.ft. to 401,529 sq.ft.