City Council approves “narrow streets” characterization. On July 23, 2008, the City Council approved a text amendment designed as a stopgap to curb out-of-character development in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn. The proposal amends the zoning text to identify six blocks of Carroll Gardens as having “narrow streets,” addressing a unique situation in that Brooklyn neighborhood. The affected blocks have deep, landscaped front yards that the City Map includes within the street width. Despite actual street widths of 50 feet, developers can treat these blocks as “wide streets” or streets larger than 100 feet, allowing for an increase in permitted floor area and height.

The City Planning Commission approved the amendment without change despite developer William Stein’s request that it exempt his project at 360 Smith Street from any new restrictions on floor area and height. 5 CityLand 90 (July 15, 2008). (more…)

At least 30 speakers testified on proposal backed by residents and local elected officials. On June 4, 2008, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on the Department of City Planning’s proposal to define an area of Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens as having “narrow streets” under the zoning law. The proposal would result in a lowering of the permitted building heights and densities, making as-of-right development consistent with neighborhood character. Currently zoned R6, with portions covered by a commercial overlay, the area consists mostly of three and four-story brownstones built in the mid-19th century. Two of the affected blocks lie within the Carroll Gardens Historic District.

Carroll Gardens, according to City Planning, has seen rising property values and out-of-context development due to permissive zoning. In response to community concerns, the proposal would apply to First through Fourth Places, between Henry and Smith Streets, as well as Second, Carroll, and President Streets between Smith and Hoyt Streets. (more…)

Time Equities will build a 725-foot-tall mixed-use tower above the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel approach. Image:Murphy/Jahn Architects.

Helmut Jahn-designed tower will include four-star hotel, condos, spa and fitness center. On November 15, 2007, the City Council voted to approve Time Equities Inc.’s five linked applications to construct a 725-foot-tall mixed-use tower at 50 West Street, directly north of the Battery Parking Garage and adjacent to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. The tower will contain ground-floor retail, 155 hotel rooms, and 290 condominiums. The project site will also contain a 6,821-square-foot urban plaza, which will be open to the public 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The project site, located within the Special Lower Manhattan District, occupies the southern portion of the block bounded by Rector, West, Washington and Joseph P. Ward Streets. Time Equities will demolish the three buildings currently at the site, the tallest of which stands 13 stories tall.

Time Equities sought to demap and acquire portions of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel approach and James P. Ward Street, as well as an 8-inch wide, 121-square-foot strip of land that is part of the tunnel approach and runs along the southern boundary of the site. Time Equities also sought to purchase from the City between 179,998 to 189,525 sq.ft. of development rights from the demapped areas above the tunnel. (more…)

Kent Barwick has a stickball bat hiding in the corner of his office. He swears he does not use it, and who can argue with him? His office is in the Villard Houses in Midtown, and its courtyard is too small for a game. But physical boundaries aside, he would never have the time to show off his skills. Mr. Barwick, a graduate of Syracuse University and a Harvard University Loeb Fellow, is the current president of the Municipal Art Society, a group for which he has served since 1968 as executive director and president; an unlikely stop after being an ad agency creative director. He recently announced that he will step down in 2008. Having also served as Chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission from 1978 to 1983, he sat down with CityLand to reflect on a long career of tending to the city.

A Golden Age. With more than 3,000 designations during Mr. Barwick’s six-year term as Landmarks Chair, many describe the period as its golden age. Mr. Barwick offers two explanations: Ed Koch and the Supreme Court. Mr. Barwick describes Koch as a mayor who treated the job of Landmarks Chair with respect, and viewed it as a quasi-judicial role, one that the office of the mayor should not interfere with. Koch “was wonderful to work for,” and “accepted that landmarks preservation was like housing, or education, or rights for seniors: a significant subject.” (more…)