Developer wins Eastern Rail Yard text amendment

Modification allows residential building to be sited at the corner of West 30th Street and Eleventh Avenue. On March 4, 2009, the City Planning Commission approved RG ERY LLC’s proposal to amend the site planning and parking regulations within Hudson Yards’ Eastern Rail Yard, also known as Subarea A1. The affected area, located within the Special Hudson Yards District, is bounded by West 33rd Street to the north, West 30th Street to the south, Tenth … <Read More>


EDC Purchases a One-Acre Site in Coney Island

Announcement comes about three months after Thor Equities failed to close on the same parcel. On October 15, 2008, the NYC Economic Development Corporation announced that it entered into a property acquisition agreement with Ward Realty Corp. for the purchase of a one-acre site in the amusement core of Coney Island, Brooklyn. The site, located within the nine-acre area that the City has designated to be parkland, is the current home of the Wonder Wheel … <Read More>


DOS garage and salt shed plan opposed by community

Controversial proposal would consolidate three Community District sanitation garages and add salt shed tower. On August 27, 2008, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on the Department of Sanitation’s plan to build a 118-ft. tall service and maintenance garage and 30- 75-ft. tall salt shed in SoHo, Manhattan, just east of the Holland Tunnel. Sanitation’s proposal is a response to the Hudson River Park Act of 1998, which requires Sanitation to vacate Gansevoort peninsula, the … <Read More>


Courthouse, 660-space garage approved

New courthouse and parking garage proposed for Staten Island. Image: Polshek Partnership Architects LLP.

Existing surface parking lot makes way for consolidation of civil and criminal courts. On August 11, 2008, the City Planning Commission approved three applications needed to facilitate construction of the new Staten Island Supreme Courthouse and parking garage. The site, owned by the Department of Transportation, occupies most of the St. George Municipal Parking Field, roughly bounded by Central Avenue, Hyatt … <Read More>


Additional space for the Whitney Museum approved

Downtown satellite would anchor southern end of High Line. On August 11, 2008, the City Planning Commission approved the Whitney Museum’s plan to build a six-story, 175,000-sq.ft. building at 555 West Street in the West Village of Manhattan. The proposal includes 50,000 sq.ft. for new indoor exhibits, 97,400 sq.ft. for museum support facilities, and 27,600 sq.ft. for a maintenance and operational facility at the southern terminus of the High Line elevated park. The site is … <Read More>


Christopher Albanese on Building Green in the Big Apple

Christopher V. Albanese is Executive Vice President of the Albanese Organization, a nearly 60-year-old real estate development and management firm founded by his father and uncle, now known for its innovative environment-friendly developments.

Albanese grew up in Queens and attended Cornell University where he majored in Economics. Following a stint at Coldwell Banker after college, he joined the family business in 1987. After three years, he left to pursue his law degree at St. John’s … <Read More>