Image Credit: LPC.

Changes made to controversial Jane Street development included the replacement of glass and cast stone with red brick and concrete panels. On January 17, 2017, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered a revised proposal to replace a 1921 garage building at 11 Jane Street in the Greenwich Village Historic District with a new residential structure. The applicants proposed to replace the two-story garage with a building rising to five stories at the streetwall, with a setback penthouse floor. Two multi-story single-family “maisonettes” with their own entrances would be incorporated into the revised plan, as well as apartments and a garage. (more…)

Council Member Brad Lander. Image Credit: William Alatriste for the City Council.

The proposal would allow for the construction of a new ten-unit, four-story residential development on a vacant Brooklyn lot. On December 12, 2016, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises heard testimony on an application for the rezoning of three lots at 14–18 Carroll Street, in the Columbia Street Waterfront District neighborhood in Brooklyn Community District 6. The developer proposed the construction a ten-unit residential building on three vacant lots, totaling 6,229 square feet and currently zoned for light manufacturing. The application included a zoning text amendment to apply Inclusionary Housing regulations to the area prior to the December 12th hearing. The developer would have had to make a required payment into the City’s affordable housing fund required by the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing law. (more…)

Lexington Gardens II. Image Credit: Manhattan Community Board 11

UPDATE: On November 29, 2016, the City Council voted 49-0 to approve the Lexington Gardens II project. The approval will allow Tahl Propp Equities and L+M Development Partners to proceed with the proposed development which will provide 400 new affordable units. One quarter of the affordable units will be permanently affordable under the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing law, and the remainder will be affordable for 40 years under a regulatory agreement with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. “The Lexington Gardens development will advance the goals of the East Harlem Neighborhood Plan by making sure that hundreds of existing local community members can benefit from affordable units,” said City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito in a statement. (more…)

Proposed Development for 141 Willoughby. Image Credit: Savanna

Subcommittee raised concerns about the aggregate effect the mass development of Downtown Brooklyn will have on school resources. On October 5, 2016, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises heard testimony on an application to construct a new 49-story mixed-use building at 141 Willoughby Street in Downtown Brooklyn. The site is a triangular-shaped zoning lot bounded by Flatbush Avenue Extension, Willoughby Street and Gold Street. Currently the space is occupied by a three-story private school, the Institute of Design and Construction, an accessory surface parking lot for 16 vehicles, and a public open space with planting and seating areas. (more…)

An example of a residence enlarged pursuant to a BSA-approved application in Brooklyn Community District 10 (original residence shown on the left). Image credit: Brooklyn Community Board 10

The approved proposal would remove Brooklyn Community District 10 from applicability under Section 73-622, while allowing three applications to go forward. On October 5, 2016, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises heard testimony on an application from Brooklyn Community Board 10 to amend the New York City zoning text relating to special permits issued by the Board of Standards and Appeals. These special permits allow property owners in R2 zoning districts to enlarge family residences beyond what is otherwise prohibited by the Zoning Resolution. Currently, Section 73-622 only applies to four of the fifty-nine Community Districts in New York City. For CityLand’s past coverage on the application, click here and here. (more…)