Laurie Silberfeld

As Vice President and General Counsel at Hudson River Park Trust (the Trust), Laurie Silberfeld has played an important role in shaping Hudson River Park. Silberfeld talked with CityLand about her career and the progress of Manhattan’s waterfront park. role in shaping Hudson River Park. Silberfeld talked with CityLand about her career and the progress of Manhattan’s waterfront park.

Silberfeld, a former Regional Attorney with the State’s Department of Environmental Conservation, joined the Trust in 2000. She became familiar with the Trust while working on the park project’s permit approvals at DEC. When the Trust’s General Counsel position opened, Silberfeld viewed it as a unique opportunity to be part of building something with tangible results. (more…)

Court compelled an EIS and other public participation measures related to Brooklyn House of Detention. In 2003, the City closed the Brooklyn House of Detention, located at 275 Atlantic Avenue across from the Criminal Court. At the time, Correction reasoned that the costs of caring for each inmate at the Brooklyn facility were too high because of the facility’s small capacity. Since then, the City kept no inmates there overnight, but the facility was still used to process inmates and transfer them to the nearby court for appearances.

Correction later determined that the costs and security risks for transferring inmates to their respective court appearances could be reduced if Correction reoccupied and expanded the Brooklyn facility. In 2008, Correction solicited bids for the renovation and expansion of the facility. It also applied for, and was granted, State permission to reopen the facility to its maximum capacity of 759 inmates. In November 2008, Correction transferred 31 inmates to the Brooklyn facility on an overnight basis to have them maintain the facility and prepare it to accommodate pre-arraignment detainees. Correction also submitted a contract for architectural design to the Comptroller for registration. (more…)

Council Member Gentile sent letter in support of developer’s appeal. On July 12, 2007, the Department of Buildings issued the owner of 1270 Bay Ridge Parkway, located between 12th and 13th Avenues, a permit to construct a three-story building that would include space for residential, commercial and community facility use. Less than two weeks later, on July 25, 2007, the City Council voted to rezone the Dyker Heights neighborhood, putting the proposed development out of compliance with the new zoning’s restrictions on residential density, permitted uses, and front and side yards. 4 City- Land 104 (Aug. 15, 2007). The owner then filed an appeal with BSA, arguing that it had obtained a vested right to complete the proposed development.

The owner argued that before the rezoning went into effect, it had completed the site preparation for the development and nearly all of the excavation work and shoring of adjacent properties. The owner’s contractor and architect agreed, both stating that 90 percent of the excavation work and all site clearance and shoring activities were completed before the rezoning. The owner also argued that it already had contracts for work and materials with its construction manager and outstanding fees related to the project. Lastly, the owner argued that a re-design of the site to comply with the new zoning would result in a significant economic loss. (more…)

Proposed law would prevent owners from undermining designation process. On October 23, 2007, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses heard testimony regarding a law that would protect buildings throughout the landmark designation process.

The proposed law, introduced by Council Member Rosie Mendez, would prevent owners from altering or demolishing a potential landmark before it can be officially designated as such by Landmarks. Under the proposed law, Landmarks would inform the Department of Buildings of any property that it intends to schedule for designation. Buildings would then notify Landmarks whenever it receives permit applications for work involving the potential landmark. (more…)

Residents of Manhattan’s Upper East Side and Bensonhurst vigorously opposed Sanitation’s proposed sites. Sanitation sought site selection approval to construct four 90,000- square-foot, three-story marine transfer stations on sites formerly used as waste transfer stations or garbage incinerators. In Manhattan, Sanitation sought to reuse the site at East 91st Street and the East River, which had contained a waste transfer station until 1999. In Brooklyn, sites at Shore Parkway in Bensonhurst and at Hamilton Avenue in Sunset Park were proposed; both had incinerators or transfer stations that closed in the past five years. The fourth site in College Point Queens, at the foot of 31st Avenue, has a vacant marine transfer station.

At the March 2, 2005 Commission hearing, Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty testified that since the Fresh Kills Landfill closed in 2001 Sanitation has been operating on interim contracts for the export of residential solid waste by truck. He stated that the four transfer stations would allow Sanitation to comply with state environmental laws, decrease reliance on truck transport and make each borough self-sufficient in the transfer of its waste. Each new structure would incorporate state-of-the-art ventilation and odor control systems that would remove 90 to 99 percent of the odorous compounds. (more…)