Solow’s 37-story East Side tower starts public review

Tower site located on York Avenue just north of Queensboro Bridge. On May 27, 2007, Solow Management’s application to construct a new 37- story mixed-use tower on York Avenue between East 60th and East 61st Streets started the City’s land use review process when the Planning Commission certified the applications as complete. As proposed, the 211-unit residential tower would sit adjacent to a 41- story as-of-right development built by Solow in 2002. The buildings would … <Read More>


Two Harlem projects approved despite opposition

Council member for the district supported projects. On May 30, 2007, the City Council approved two housing projects proposed for Harlem by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development despite residents’ criticisms over the affordable housing components.

HPD submitted a proposal by BRP Development for a 38-unit condominium project called The Savannah to be built at 2110 Frederick Douglass Boulevard. The nine-story mixed-use building would also include 5,273 sq.ft. of commercial space and 815 sq.ft. … <Read More>


To attorney Paul Selver, the Market Matters Most

When asked to recall projects throughout his 35-year career, land use attorney Paul Selver’s discussion becomes a vivid narrative of how the economy translates into New York City’s physical changes. Selver sees 1977 as the point when developers started looking ahead for the first time; the 1981 to 1988 development boom coincided with the economy’s exuberance and ended with the stock market crash. To Selver, his current projects, like a six-block rezoning in Coney Island, … <Read More>


New inclusionary zoning yields 536 units

HPD reports that an additional 1,139 affordable units are in the pipeline. At the Trends in New York City Land Use and Development forum co-hosted by the Center for New York City Law, HPD reported a total of 536 affordable units in construction and an added 1,139 units in the application phase as a result of the expanded inclusionary housing provisions.

The inclusionary housing provisions allow developers to increase the floor area of a development … <Read More>


Designation rejected for Harlem ballroom

Landmarks accepted promise that community group will restore building as part of development plan. On February 13, 2007, Landmarks removed the Harlem Renaissance Ballroom and Casino from its designation calendar to allow a redevelopment plan by its current owner, the Abyssinian Development Corporation, to go forward. Built between 1920 and 1923 as one of Harlem’s first entertainment complexes, the Renaissance now sits in extreme disrepair with trees growing out of its partially caved-in roof. Abyssinian … <Read More>


Future of historic Harlem ballroom debated

Community group claimed landmarking would hinder responsible development plans. On January 16, 2007, Landmarks held a hearing on the Renaissance Ballroom and Casino, comprised of two buildings at Adam Clayton Jr. Boulevard and West 137th Street in Harlem. “The Rennie,” as it was known, was designed by architect Harry Creighton Ingalls and built in stages between 1920 and 1923. One of the first entertainment complexes in Harlem, and one of the largest African-American owned enterprises … <Read More>