83-block Queens rezoning approved

Developers built over-sized homes using floor area exemptions. On April 5, 2006, the City Council approved the 83-block rezoning designed by City Planning for Utopia Estates, Fresh Meadows and West Cunningham Park in Queens. As older homes were replaced by newly constructed mini-mansions, residents of the three Queens neighborhoods, Borough President Helen Marshall and Council Member James F. Gennaro raised concerns to the City that the zoning was not sufficiently restrictive.

The entire 83-block area … <Read More>

Court allows late submittal of appraisal

Court considered local practice. To develop a 75-unit, low-income rental project, the City took title through eminent domain of property located at 1823 Madison Avenue, within the Milbank Frawley Circle East Urban Renewal Area. IM Gas Inc., the property owner, timely filed its notice of claim and an appraisal report, seeking compensation for the taking. When the City did not file its appraisal report within nine months after IM’s claim, IM moved for an order … <Read More>

Court reverses order compelling Commission vote

Staten Island landowners claimed delay prejudiced their development application. The three Putter brothers owned a six-acre tract of land in the West Brighton/New Brighton section of Staten Island. Their property was located within the Special Hillsides Preservation District, which requires landowners to obtain Planning Department permission to develop their property. In 1999, the brothers submitted an application to the Planning Department to develop their site with 60 affordable townhouses.

Over the next several years the … <Read More>

One Pendleton Place designated

High Victorian villa with English Rustic and Swiss styles. On March 14, 2006, Landmarks designated 1 Pendleton Place, located at 166 Franklin Avenue in the New Brighton section of Staten Island. Constructed in 1860, the house is a rare surviving example of a High Victorian picturesque villa incorporating elements of the English Rustic and Swiss styles. 2 CityLand 11 (Dec. 15, 2005). In approving, Landmarks Commissioner Robert B. Tierney remarked that the house was “an … <Read More>

Kiosks and trailblazing signs approved for downtown

Signs requested by MetroTech BID and local businesses. Landmarks issued a binding report approving MetroTech BID’s proposal to install “way finding signage” throughout downtown Brooklyn. The proposal developed more than three years ago from a general consensus among MetroTech and downtown Brooklyn business groups that there was a lack of signage in downtown Brooklyn to assist pedestrians in finding key destinations. Initially using its own funds, and later obtaining capital funding from Brooklyn Borough President … <Read More>

Backyard addition to 1841 Village townhouse approved

Landmarks approved controversial three-story addition. At a March 7, 2006 meeting, Landmarks unanimously approved a three-story rear addition to an 1841 Greek Revival building at 159 West 12th Street in the Greenwich Village Historic District. The initial plan, presented by Hottenroth & Joseph Architects, called for demolition of an existing two-story addition and construction of a new four-story addition approximately 1,300 sq.ft. larger.

At the hearing, the owners, Donna and Paul Ullman, testified that they … <Read More>