Owner claimed that City illegally spot zoned his two lots. In 2006, the City Council voted to rezone 80 blocks of Midwood, Brooklyn, including two lots on Ocean Avenue owned by Jacob Fetman. When the City Council voted on the plan, it modified the initial district proposed by City Planning for the west side of Ocean Avenue between Avenues L and M, giving the west side of that block a different zoning district than the … <Read More>
Tenants stop eviction from M-1-zoned building
Owner tries to evict tenants based on zoning while seeking to convert building to residential use. Amy Kreiling and Roy Williams leased a studio unit from Thames Realty, owner of a loft building located within a manufacturing zoning district in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Although the lease limited their use to business purposes, the tenants used the unit as their residence. Five years into the tenancy, Thames notified them that it wished to terminate the lease. When … <Read More>
First Department orders BSA to issue variance
Court affirmed power to overturn BSA even when it failed to consider all five variance factors. In 1999, George Pantelidis, owner of a townhouse in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, obtained a permit from the Department of Buildings to construct a glass-enclosed stairwell at the rear of his building. The stairwell allowed the Pantelidis family, who occupied the second and third floors of the five-story building, to move about their residence without using the public stairs.… <Read More>
EIS scoping hearing held for new Bronx 911 center
Center would enable citywide management of emergency services. On September 6, 2007, the NYPD held a public hearing on the draft scope of an environmental impact statement for the proposed construction of a second 911 center for the City. The proposal by the NYPD, the FDNY and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, consists of a 493,500- square-foot office building, along with an accessory parking garage with capacity for 500 vehicles. Designed to house … <Read More>
Former FDNY firehouses offered for redevelopment
Proposal lists a $1 purchase price for Williamsburg firehouse. The New York City Economic Development Corporation issued requests for proposals for the two former Brooklyn FDNY firehouses that spurred controversy when DCAS proposed to sell the buildings at public auction. Opposition by local community boards and Borough President Marty Markowitz to the outright sale resulted in a compromise under which the City Council voted to limit future users to community facility providers and to prohibit … <Read More>
City issues RFEI on congestion pricing
Information will assist State evaluation of proposal. The New York City Economic Development Corporation, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications issued a request for expressions of interest to solicit innovative ideas to design, implement, operate and maintain the City’s congestion pricing plan.
Under the proposed congestion pricing plan, the City will charge vehicles entering or leaving Manhattan below 86th Street during the business day, as a way to alleviate … <Read More>