Owner’s opposition and valid permit to strip exterior fails to stop designation. On June 20, 2006, Landmarks voted unanimously to designate former Public School 64 at 605 East 9th Street in the Lower East Side, despite the fact that its current owner, Gregg Singer, remained opposed to the designation and holds a valid Buildings permit to remove exterior details. 2 CityLand 152 (Nov. 15, 2005); 3 CityLand 80 (June 15, 2006).
Reading a lengthy, emotionally- … <Read More>
Landmarks takes first step towards designation of new, 470-building historic district. On June 20, 2006, Landmarks voted to hold a public hearing on the proposed Crown Heights North Historic District, which will encompass 470 buildings, primarily along Dean and Pacific Streets; St. Mark’s, New York, Nostrand and Bedford Avenues; and Grand Square in Brooklyn.
At the June 20th vote, Landmarks staff provided a synopsis on the area’s transformation from farmland to the rapid row house … <Read More>
BSA rejects owner’s argument that case can be based on erroneously certified permit. Trevor Fray applied to BSA to continue construction of a three-family, four-story building at 84-24 168th Place in Briarwood, Queens after the City Council down-zoned Fray’s lot to a zoning that restricted development to oneand two-family detached housing. Fray argued that he had a common law right to continue development of the entire building based on foundation and demolition permits issued before … <Read More>
BSA extends time to complete construction based on common law, not the zoning code. Brooklyn’s South Park Slope neighborhood was rezoned in November 2005 to prevent out-of-scale development, forcing some developers to stop work on projects that no longer conformed to the new zoning. 2 CityLand 161 (Dec. 2005). Two developers in South Park Slope, with projects at 639 Sixth Avenue and 400 15th Street, requested permission to extend their construction time, filing two applications … <Read More>
Commission approves 75-block rezoning despite some opposition. On June 21, 2006, the Planning Commission approved City Planning’s rezoning proposal for portions of 75 blocks of Pelham Parkway and Indian Village, two northeastern Bronx communities characterized by low density residential development. The proposal would reduce the permitted density of development on 67 blocks and increase the permitted density of residential construction on 8 blocks along Williamsbridge Road and Pelham Parkway South. On the six lots along … <Read More>
BID expansion will double number of properties receiving sanitation and security assistance. The Planning Commission unanimously approved an application by the Village Alliance Business Improvement District Management Association and the Department of Small Business Services for expansion of the Village Alliance BID, originally established in 1993.
The existing BID, which comprises 129 predominantly mixed-use properties, is currently bounded by Sixth and Second Avenues to the west and east, West 4th Street to the south, and … <Read More>