Central Park building to be refurbished

Work will give Rumsey Summer Stage Support Building a new roof, windows and interior. Landmarks issued a binding report approving the design for roof and window replacements to improve the Rumsey Summer Stage Support Building in Central Park, a scenic landmark. The work will improve the building’s appearance and help protect it from further disrepair.

The one-story building was constructed in 1936-1937 in the Rumsey Playfield, located near the East Drive and 72nd Street. Originally … <Read More>


New building approved on Water Street

Landmarks issues permit for new six-story building in South Street Seaport. 276 Water Street Development, LLC sought Landmarks’ approval to construct a new residential building at 276 Water Street, one of the only remaining vacant lots in the South Street Seaport Historic District. The 5,019- square-foot lot is located on the corner of Frankfort Street at the Historic District’s edge, directly across from the base of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Landmarks expressed concern over the original … <Read More>


Demolition of Brooklyn warehouse authorized

Purchase Building in Fulton Ferry Historic District, Brooklyn, to be demolished to make way for new Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Commission decides that Brooklyn Bridge sightline merits destruction of a building within a historic district. Landmarks held a hearing on February 21, 2006 on an application to demolish the Purchase Building, located at 11-85 Water Street in Brooklyn’s Fulton Ferry Historic District. The applicant, Brooklyn Bridge Development Corporation, was created to manage the development of Brooklyn … <Read More>


Lapsed building permit reinstated

Building permit extended after Greenpoint-Williamsburg Rezoning. Belvedere III LLC, the owner of 135 North 9th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, applied to reinstate its building permit and extend the time for completion of a new four-story, six-unit mixed-use residential/community facility building with a medical office on the first floor. The development became noncompliant after the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Rezoning in May 2005. 2 CityLand 36 (Apr. 15, 2005), 2 CityLand 51 (May 15, 2005), 2 CityLand 67 (June … <Read More>


Variance for midtown building amended

342 Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. Photo: Kevin E. Schultz

BSA grants office, retail, and church building variances from Grand Central Subdistrict requirements. 340 Madison Owner LLC, the owner of 342 Madison Avenue, a 48,265-squre-foot lot between East 43rd and 44th Streets in Manhattan, proposed to enlarge an existing 21- story, 503,487-square-foot office, retail and church building. 340 Madison, which received variances on March 23, 2004 to transfer floor area across a zoning district and … <Read More>


BSA denied variance to allow 20-unit residential building

Owner failed to meet burden of proving actual hardship. The owner of a vacant 16,512-square-foot lot, located at 75-48 Parsons Boulevard in Queens, sought a variance to construct a 20-unit, three-story residential building in an R4 district.

In support of the application, the owner argued that a hardship existed due to the irregular shape of the lot, its adjacency to a school and over-bulky buildings, and its proximity to a busy intersection. It also argued … <Read More>