9 DeKalb Avenue. Project Rendering. Image Credit: JDS Development and the Chetrit Group.

Designated bank lobby will be converted to retail space, while new tower will accommodate residential use. On April 19, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve work impacting the individually designated Dime Savings Bank, as well as its lobby, an interior Landmark. The site lies at 9 Dekalb Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn, on an irregularly shaped block bounded by Dekalb and Flatbush Avenues and Fulton Street. The proposed tower will displace the Williamsburgh Savings Bank as the borough’s tallest building. The work entails the demolition of a portion of the 1930s addition, the creation of a new entrance on Flatbush Avenue, and alterations to the lobby to adapt it to retail use. The new tower will be partially sited within the landmarked lot. The plan includes extensive restoration work to the bank building. (more…)

New York City: Largest Ice Sport Center Approved in the Bronx.

Rendering of approved Kingsbridge National Ice Center. Image courtesy of NYC Mayor’s Office.

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On December 10, 2013, the City Council voted 48-1 to turn the Kingsbridge Armory, currently a vacant landmark, into an ice sports center. The $275 million development project by KNIC Partners, LLC will feature nine ice rinks and approximately 64,300 sq. ft. of related program space, including a wellness and off-ice training center, curling rinks, and locker and equipment storage. The development plan also includes 58,100 sq. ft. of concession and retail space, approximately 50,000 sq. ft. of community facility space, and an accessory parking garage containing 457 spaces. The ice center is projected to attract two million visitors yearly and create nearly 180 permanent living wage jobs, and 890 construction jobs. Council Member Fernando Cabrera stated that the project approval “represents an unprecedented milestone for the entire City.” (more…)

Sam Schwartz

This week there has been a renewed interest in Sam Schwartz’s revised congestion pricing plan which is being pushed by a group called Move NY.  Read CityLaw’s great profile on Mr. Schwartz that details his plan.  This was originally published on April 18, 2013.

Sam Schwartz is the president and CEO of Sam Schwartz Engineering, a firm that specializes in transportation planning and engineering. Schwartz’s new congestion pricing proposal, “Move New York,” offers a novel approach to the controversial subject.

Sam Schwartz was born and raised in Brooklyn, attended Brooklyn Technical High School, graduated from Brooklyn College where he majored in physics, and earned a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1971, Schwartz began working with the City’s Department of Transportation, as a junior engineer. He rose to be DOT’s Chief Engineer and First Deputy Commissioner.

In 1990, Schwartz left the DOT to teach classes at Cooper Union. Schwartz also began writing columns for the Daily News under the pen-name “Gridlock Sam.” In 1995, Schwartz opened his own engineering firm called Sam Schwartz Engineering. The firm is involved in projects throughout the globe, including a revolutionary streetcar system in Aruba, powered solely by battery and hydrogen fuel cells.

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Rendering of BAM South project’s public plaza and tower. Image Credit: Two Trees Management.

Local Council Member Letitia James reaches agreements with developers and City to increase affordable housing, preserve nearby public library. 22 Lafayette LLC and the NYC Economic Development Corporation proposed to develop a cultural space and residential tower and plaza at 113 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. The site for development is a triangular lot bounded by Flatbush and Lafayette Avenues and Ashland Place. The lot was previously the subject of a 2007 request for proposals that sought a developer to create an underground parking garage as part of the BAM Cultural District; those original plans evolved into the current proposal. The current use of the site includes a surface parking lot and a vacant one-story building. The lot is owned by the EDC and the City, and the development would be built, managed and operated by Two Trees Management in partnership with the City.

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Credit: Google maps

City will convey waterfront property to Kristal Auto Mall and an existing Toys ‘R’ Us retail store on Flatbush Avenue. On May 15, 2012, the City Council approved the Department of Small Business Services’ plan to facilitate the relocation of Kristal Auto Mall to a site on Flatbush Avenue abutting Mill Basin in Brooklyn. The City-owned project site is occupied by a 45,000-square-foot Toys ‘R’ Us store and a 400-space accessory parking lot used by surrounding businesses. To the south of the site is another City-owned parcel consisting of 400,000 sq.ft. of undeveloped land abutting Four Sparrow Marsh. The proposal called for, among other things, disposing of nearly 240,000 sq.ft. of City-owned property, demapping an unimproved strip of Flatbush Avenue, and rezoning the project site from C3 to C8-1.

Under the plan, Kristal Auto Mall will purchase a 110,000-square-foot portion of the parking lot in order to move from its current location at 5200 Kings Highway. Kristal plans to redevelop the property with a 114,000-square-foot facility housing a showroom, offices, and a service facility. A second 4,000-square-foot building will be used for used-car sales.

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