Council Denies Sidewalk Cafe Permit for Court Street Restaurant

City Council reacted to application’s inaccurate architectural renderings and restaurant’s history of noise complaints. On August 22, 2012, the City Council denied Buschenschank restaurant’s application for an unenclosed sidewalk cafe at 320 Court Street between Degraw and Sackett Streets in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. The application called for 24 tables and 48 chairs fronting Court Street.

At the Council’s Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee hearing, a representative of local Council Member Brad Lander and a representative … <Read More>


Completed senior housing facility in Queens exceeded FAR; owner retroactively sought special permit

Buildings only caught architect’s FAR miscalculation after six-story facility was completed. On May 9, 2012, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on the Silvercrest Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation’s special permit request to legalize a six-story, 66,000 sq.ft. senior housing facility built next door to its existing five-story, 130,000 sq.ft. nursing home in Briarwood, Queens. In an effort to expand its campus, Silvercrest built a new six-story, 81-bed senior housing facility at 86-19 <Read More>


New residence permitted in manufacturing district

Owner proposed new two-family home on lot zoned for manufacturing. On February 8, 2012, the City Planning Commission approved Gou Yu Wang’s proposal to replace a one-story house with a three-story residential building at 16-11 Norman Street between Cypress and Wyckoff Avenues in Ridgewood, Queens. Wang’s property is near the corner of Norman Street and Wyckoff Avenue and is zoned M1-4D for light manufacturing uses. The rest of Norman Street to the north is zoned … <Read More>


BSA denies challenge to mosque’s building permit

Community group argued that Buildings should require mosque to provide off-street parking. In November 2010, Buildings issued a permit to Allowey Ahmed to develop a three-story mosque at 2812 Voorhies Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. The mosque would include a 138-person prayer room on the first floor and a 61-person secondary prayer room on the second floor with interior windows overlooking the main prayer room. The plans did not include off-street parking spaces because the … <Read More>


Trump SoHo defeats new permit challenge

Community group argued developer improperly deducted elevator shafts on mechanical floor from floor area calculations. In May 2007, Buildings issued a building permit to the BayRock/Sapir Organization LLC to build a 42-story condominium hotel, known as Trump SoHo, at 246 Spring Street in Manhattan. The lot’s M1-6 zoning prohibited residential development. Therefore, Buildings’ approval required that the developer file a restrictive declaration prohibiting anyone from living in any of the building’s units for more than … <Read More>


After judicial remand, special permit granted for residence

Second Department ordered BSA to determine whether special permit findings were met. In 2005, Alexis Lyublinskiy obtained an alteration permit to enlarge his one-story home at 136 Norfolk Street in Manhattan Beach. Initial demolition and construction work did not match building plans, and Lyublinskiy eventually demolished all but one of the original building’s walls and built a two-story house.

Buildings issued a stop-workorder after discovering that the house did not conform to the approved plans. <Read More>