Joshua Benson, the 33-year-old Acting Director of Bicycle & Pedestrian Programs for the New York City Department of Transportation, admits to being particularly fond of the basket sitting at the front of his simple single-speed bike, noting how it allows him to carry anything from groceries to his laptop and projector on the bike. Benson started riding a bike as a student at NYU and now commutes to Downtown Manhattan every weekday from his home … <Read More>
Search Results for: Elevators
Variance granted in SoHo
Applicant claimed that a conforming commercial office building would not yield a reasonable return. DJL Family Limited Partnership applied to BSA for a variance to construct a new seven-story building with 12 apartments and ground floor retail on Spring Street between Crosby Street and Lafayette Street in SoHo, Manhattan. DJL sought a variance because the proposed residential and retail uses were not permitted within the M1-5B district. If granted the variance, DJL planned to demolish … <Read More>
Council OKs air rights transfer from Seagram Building
Lord Norman Foster design approved. On August 14, 2008, the City Council approved the special permit and zoning text amendment proposed by Aby Rosen, developer of a 63-story hotel and residential building at 610 Lexington Avenue, adjacent to the Seagram Building. The special permit grants a transfer of development rights from the landmarked Seagram Building, and the text amendment allows, in part, height and setback modifications by way of special permit and an accessory … <Read More>
St.Vincent’s presents revised proposal
Hospital claims hardship if prohibited from demolishing Seventh Avenue building. On June 3, 2008, Saint Vincent’s Hospital and Rudin Development returned to Landmarks with a revised plan for its controversial hospital expansion and residential development proposed for the Greenwich Village Historic District. Landmarks denied the initial plan, which included the demolition of nine buildings within the historic district and construction of two large towers – a 265-foot residential tower and a 329-foot hospital tower – … <Read More>
Developer wins right to convert floors to residential units
Twelve-story mixed-use building to be partially converted. The owner of a building on West 30th Street in the Garment District received a variance from BSA to convert three-and- a-half floors from commercial/ manufacturing use to residential use. The proposed conversion would add three new residential units and enlarge an existing unit, giving the 26,900-square-foot mixed-use building a total residential floor area of 17,504 sq. ft.
The owner argued that the present commercial/manufacturing zoning was not … <Read More>
Local Law to preserve housing preempted
Affordable housing programs controlled by federal and state law. After multiple hearings on the declining number of affordable housing units, the City Council passed Local Law 79 of 2005 over a mayoral veto. The law gave tenants the right of first refusal to purchase their buildings when the owners sought to remove the properties from certain assisted rental housing programs. The law also allowed tenants who did not purchase their building to stay in their … <Read More>