Renovation of Fifth Avenue bank interior considered

Vornado proposed dividing building’s recently landmarked interior into two retail spaces. On March 15, 2011, Landmarks considered Vornado Realty Trust’s proposal to renovate the interior of the Manufacturers Trust Company Building at 510 Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street. The 1954 modernist, glass-walled building designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill is an individual City landmark. Landmarks recently designated the first two floors of the building as an interior landmark in February 2011. At Landmarks’ … <Read More>


Massive Riverside Center mixed-use project modified

Developer agreed to fund larger on-site school and provide on-site affordable housing. On December 8, 2010, the City Council’s Land Use Committee modified Extell Development Company’s proposal to develop a three million sq.ft. mixed-use project on a site bounded by West 59th and West 61st Streets and West End Avenue and Riverside Boulevard in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The project, known as Riverside Center, will include five buildings, ranging in height from 31 to … <Read More>


Large rezoning in northeast Queens modified

Contextual rezoning of 418 blocks in Auburndale, Oakland Gardens, and Hollis Hills modified to address concerns of private co-op. On October 27, 2010, the City Council modified the Department of City Planning’s 418-block rezoning of three communities in northeast Queens. The contextual rezoning impacted the Auburndale subarea, which is generally bounded by Station Road to the north, the Long Island Expressway to the south, Francis Lewis Boulevard to the east, and Kissena Park to … <Read More>


Leslie Koch Discusses the Future of Governors Island

Leslie Koch, president of The Trust for Governors Island, is responsible for the planning, redevelopment, and operation of 150 acres of Governors Island. Located 800 yards off the southern tip of Manhattan, the island is the newest addition to New York City’s real estate portfolio.

Koch, a native New Yorker, draws from her experience in both the private and public sectors in managing the island. After receiving a master’s degree in Public and Private Management … <Read More>


Culver El rezoning/housing project approved

Southern Brooklyn Community Organization’s proposed housing complex in Borough Park, Brooklyn. Image: Courtesy Bricolage Designs

Proposal would rezone manufacturing district and facilitate affordable housing on Culver El site. On August 25, the City Planning Commission approved the Department of City Planning and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Culver El Proposal. The proposal would rezone a seven-block portion of Borough Park, Brooklyn, generally bounded by 36th Street to the north, 39th Street to the … <Read More>


Conversion of Flushing’s municipal parking lot OK’d

After the City agreed to set aside $6 million for a small business assistance program, the Council approved the redevelopment of a 5.5- acre municipal parking lot. On July 29, 2010, the City Council approved two proposals related to the development of a large mixed-use project on a 5.5-acre municipal parking lot in downtown Flushing, Queens. The 1,101-space lot is bounded by 37th and 39th Avenues and Union and 138th Streets, and is also occupied … <Read More>