In the first months of 2006, Council Member Tony Avella, Chair of the Subcommittee on Zoning & Franchises, introduced proposed legislation to change the make up of BSA, require NYPD arrests for any illegal demolition, and curb the illegal construction that residents say is driven by a rush to beat a down-zoning. CityLand asked Avella about his proposed land use initiatives and his career.
Public Service. When asked about land use issues within his 20-year … <Read More>
BSA legalized existing Queens homeless housing facility, but denied request to expand facility. In the 1980s, Homes for the Homeless, Inc. converted an abandoned hotel on Rockaway Boulevard near Kennedy Airport into a 259-bed homeless housing facility; a use which conflicted with the lot’s manufacturing zoning. Over 15 years later, Homes applied to BSA for variances to expand the facility for 91 additional homeless families and legalize the use. The expansion faced significant opposition.
BSA … <Read More>
Court finds record insufficient to allow commercial use on a Staten Island residential street. After purchasing a single-family house at the intersection of Otis Avenue and Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island, GAC Catering Inc. demolished the house and applied to BSA for a variance to construct a two-story photography and video studio to serve couples having weddings at its nearby catering hall. Despite the lot’s residential zoning, GAC claimed that commercial uses predominated the area … <Read More>
Whitney Museum’s programmatic needs warrant variances for height, floor area, and retail space. On July 25, 2006, BSA granted variances to the Whitney Museum of American Art in the Upper East Side Historic District, Manhattan. The additions, including a nine-story, 178-foot Renzo Piano-designed tower required variances for height, setback, floor area, and frontage.
On May 24, 2005, Landmarks approved the museum enlargement and issued a permit on January 5, 2006. 2 CityLand 73 (June 15, … <Read More>
Church sought approval for 35 market- rate residential units in East Harlem. BSA granted a variance to the Church of the Resurrection, permitting an eight-story residential building at 325 East 101st Street, in East Harlem, Manhattan. The new 47,984-square-foot building will be located on an 8,629-square-foot lot that currently contains a two-story church, which will be demolished. The new building will contain a church and elementary school on the first and second floors, and 35,552 … <Read More>
Synagogue had sought approval of eight market-rate residential units as part of new synagogue and yeshiva. BSA granted a variance to Congregation Somlou, permitting a four-story synagogue with a yeshiva and a single accessory apartment for use by a rabbi at 245 Hooper Street, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Somlou initially proposed to construct a five-story building with eight market-rate residential units, requiring variances for floor area, height, setback, lot coverage, and rear yard size. Community Board … <Read More>