Four-foot tall iron fence blocked access to public plaza. After the Dept. of City Planning received complaints about an obstruction to a public plaza, a Buildings inspector was sent to the site at 733 Park Avenue in Manhattan. The inspector observed a four-foot tall iron fence surrounding the entire plaza and separating the public sidewalk from the garden area and the plaza’s walkways. The inspector issued a violation to the owner, charging it with failing … <Read More>
NYU towers landmarked
- University Village. Image: LPC.
NYU’s development plans for remaining portion of the site unaddressed. On November 18, 2008, Landmarks voted to collectively designate University Village, also known as the Silver Towers, as an individual City landmark. Designed by James Freed and I.M. Pei, of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects LLP, the landmark consists of a central plaza and three 30-story towers with concrete facades and recessed windows in a “brutalist” style influenced by le … <Read More>
Mixed response to Seaport development proposal
Height and massing foremost among Commission’s concerns. On November 18, 2008, Landmarks held a hearing on the redevelopment of Pier 17 to provide developer General Growth Properties (GGP) an opportunity to respond to public testimony recorded during Landmarks’ October 21st meeting. At the previous meeting, GGP proposed to demolish the existing mall on the pier, relocate the Tin Building, former home of the Fulton Fish Market, and construct several retail buildings and a hotel. GGP … <Read More>
Designation of Prospect Hts. district widely supported
Community believes that unprotected rowhouse neighborhood faces development pressure. On October 28, 2008, Landmarks heard testimony on a proposed historic district encompassing about 870 buildings in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. The area is generally bounded by Grand Army Plaza, Flatbush Avenue, Pacific Street, and Washington Avenue. If designated, the historic district would be Brooklyn’s largest. The neighborhood includes significant structures, such as the 1887 Duryea Presbyterian Church, but its historic character lies in its residential rowhouses, … <Read More>
Mount Sinai wins variance for research building
Hospital’s programmatic needs supported granting of variance. Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York University, a non-profit organization, applied to BSA for a variance to construct an 11-story research facility in Manhattan. The development site included three tax lots comprising a single zoning lot. Mt. Sinai’s Nurses’ Residence occupied one tax lot while the other two tax lots housed three hospital buildings that Mt. Sinai intended to demolish in order … <Read More>
EDC plan for 30-acre waterfront development approved
Council approved plan after EDC made further concessions on affordable housing. On November 13, 2008, the City Council voted to approve the NYC Economic Development Corporation’s Hunter’s Point South plan, a mixed-income 30-acre waterfront development in Long Island City, Queens. The project met with controversy at Council’s October 24th Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee public hearing and at the City Planning Commission’s August 13th public hearing. Opponents testified that the project lacked a sufficient amount of … <Read More>