City Planning Approves City-Initiated Special Garment Center District Rezoning

Zoning changes will bring many buildings into compliance and will lift manufacturing space preservation requirements. City officials step in to ensure garment manufacturing has a continuing place in the district. On September 26, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on a proposed rezoning of the Special Garment Center District by the Department of City Planning, in conjunction with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC). The Special Garment Center District encompasses … <Read More>


Rezoning Application Will Bring Office Space to DUMBO

Borough President is critical of the proposed residential upzoning as part of zoning changes to build an office building. On October 17, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application for 29-37 Jay Street in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn. The applicant is the Foreman family, who have had a multi-generational history in DUMBO as manufacturers of decorative pressed metal products. The applicant was represented by Melanie Meyers of Fried Frank … <Read More>


Proposed Office Building Too Ambitious for DUMBO

Landmarks Preservation Commission sends applicants back to the drawing board. On September 25, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on an application for a certificate of appropriateness to demolish an existing 2-story brick warehouse building located at 29-37 Jay Street, at the northeast corner of Jay and Plymouth Streets in Brooklyn, within the DUMBO Historic District. The application calls for a proposed new 11-story office building at the location made almost entirely … <Read More>


Landmarks Proposed Park Terrace West-West 217th Street Historic District

The proposed historic district highlights homes with suburban characteristics rarely found in Manhattan. On September 25, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously voted to calendar the proposed Park Terrace West-West 217th Street Historic District in the Inwood section of Manhattan. The proposed historic district consists of fifteen houses along West 217th Street between Park Terrace West and Park Terrace East and along Park Terrace West between West 215th Street and West 218… <Read More>


Seven Buildings South of Union Square Enter Designation Process

The buildings feature various architectural styles and were home to garment manufacturers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. On September 25, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously voted to add seven buildings to its calendar for consideration as individual landmarks. The buildings are located at 817 Broadway, 826 Broadway, 830 Broadway, 832 Broadway, 836 Broadway, 840 Broadway, and 841 Broadway. All of the buildings are south of Union Square in Manhattan. 


City Council Denies Proposed Development Next to Merchant House Museum

Supporters of preserving the Merchant House Museum rejoice in victory, but the battle may not be over as future demolition and construction is possible. On September 26, 2018, the City Council voted to disapprove the application for a rezoning at 27 East 4th Street in Manhattan. The Application would have allowed for an 8-story, 28-room hotel or office building with a restaurant and lobby below the second floor, with approximately 17,141 square feet of … <Read More>