Domino Sugar designation receives great support

Developer testified to the great cost of converting buildings to housing. On June 26, 2007, Landmarks held its first hearing on the potential designation of three 1884 buildings within the former Domino Sugar Processing Plant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The plan received overwhelming support.

Among those in support included representatives from the development team that plans to convert the plant to a mixed-use complex containing 2,200 units of housing, 660 of which would be reserved for … <Read More>

Gansevoort Market building to be demolished

Five-story through-block building goes up in Gansevoort Market Historic District. Landmarks issued a permit to 410-413 West, LLC to demolish an existing building at 13- 15 Little West 12th Street, and construct a new five-story building on the site. The building to be demolished was built in 1933 and altered in the 1960s. Landmarks found that the existing building did not contribute to the historic district’s character, a finding contested by the Historic Districts Council, … <Read More>

Sunnyside Gardens designated a historic district

Landmarks unanimously designated despite community controversy. On June 26, 2007, Landmarks voted to designate Sunnyside Gardens, Sunnyside, Queens, as a historic district. A planned community designed by Clarence Stein and Henry Wright in the 1920s to house working class families, Sunnyside Gardens’ distinctive characteristics include its large landscaped courtyards and its mixture of single- and multi-family buildings. It was one of the first planned communities built by a private limited-dividend corporation, and, as a non-car … <Read More>

BSA denies challenge to NYU East Village dorm

City’s zoning laws do not restrict transfers of air rights from federally-owned sites. On June 12, 2007, BSA denied a challenge by several East Village residents to the 26-story New York University dormitory currently under construction on East 12th Street in Manhattan. The residents, who objected to the 26-story height as out-of-character with surrounding walk-ups, first sought an injunction to halt construction while they filed an appeal with BSA, which a court denied in 2006. … <Read More>

DOB’s denial of Staten Island permit overturned

Developer proposed unique design to exploit loophole in zoning text. Fred Corono applied for a building permit to add a second building in the rear of his oversized 6,938- square-foot lot in Staten Island. The Department of Buildings denied the application, believing that Corono specifically designed the new building to evade the requirements of the City’s Lower Density Growth Management zoning restrictions. The controls, enacted in 2004, set strict size and yard limits on proposals … <Read More>

City Comptroller faults BSA’s fee procedures

Problems found with the safeguarding, accounting and transfer of fees to the City. On June 12, 2007, City Comptroller William C. Thompson issued an audit report on BSA’s collection and reporting of revenues, concluding that BSA correctly determined and accounted for fees, but problems existed with the safeguarding of fees, the integrity of receipt systems, and the forwarding of funds to DCAS.

Application fees are the primary source for BSA revenues. In 2006, BSA … <Read More>