Under threat of funding loss, Landmarks gives approval for elevator in Grant’s Tomb Pavilion. The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the design for an elevator installation at Grant’s Tomb Pavilion, a City individual landmark. The National Park Service sought a certificate of appropriateness for the addition of a glass-walled elevator on the pavilion’s north side. The tomb, including the pavilion, is currently one of the few federal landmarks without restrooms or a visitor center. The elevator, part of an extensive renovation to the deteriorating landmark, was the only work that required a Landmarks hearing. The remainder of the improvements, including stone replacement and structural repair, would be approved at staff level and would not require a full hearing by Landmarks.

At Landmarks’ first hearing on the application on September 14, 2004, the Park Service told the Commissioners that their approval was required by September 26, 2004, or the federal government would redirect the federal funds for all of the pavilion’s renovation work. Members of the Historic Districts Council, Community Board 9 and other preservationists objected to the design and proposed a plan for ramp-access. All of the speakers voiced objection to the acutely tight time frame given by the Park Service for Landmarks’ consideration and stressed that the Park Service had already undergone a related one-year long ULURP process for the pavilion work. That process began in February 2003, ending with the City Council’s August 12, 2004 approval. The speakers argued that the Landmarks application could have been filed in concert with the ULURP action to allow a time frame of up to one year for Landmarks’ review. (more…)

Commission approves iconic design for 518-foot mixed-use development in Harlem. On September 8, 2004, the City Planning Commission approved a 493,646-square-foot mixed-use development containing 230 hotel rooms, 100 residential units, office space, retail space, and a 369-space public parking garage. To achieve the size and design, the developer, 1800 Park Avenue LLC, sought a rezoning of the project site to allow the hotel and an increased floor area as well as two special permits to allow the parking garage and modify height and setback. Marriott International would lease the hotel component.

The project site, on the west side of Park Avenue at East 125th Street, is at a vital axis point of the Central and East Harlem neighborhoods and is immediately adjacent to the MTA MetroNorth 125th Street station. The area is primarily residential with mostly four to six-story residential buildings. The tallest building is 33-stories, located at 3rd Avenue and 123rd Street. (more…)

After significant redesign, Commission approves building close to Brooklyn Bridge. Two Trees Management Company, the developer often credited with the dramatic conversion and rebirth of DUMBO, sought approval of a large project involving new construction, a building conversion, and demolition of a historic building close to the suspended side span of the Brooklyn Bridge. The City Planning Commission approved after the building’s western portion was reduced to match the height of the bridge’s roadway.

Two Trees sought approval of a 200-unit residential, mixed-use development with a 327-space parking garage. The original design had a 178-foot residential tower fronting on Water Street and a 23-foot height at the Dock/Front corner, which is directly beneath the Brooklyn Bridge. Three buildings would be demolished. One of these – 54 Water Street – is within a landmark district on state and national registers. The project also involved the rehabilitation of a vacant 4-story brick building in the state and national historic district. (more…)

Ikea to build a 346,000-square-foot waterfront store in Red Hook. The City Planning Commission approved an application by Ikea Property, Inc., for the development of a 346,000-square-foot furniture store and three ancillary buildings on a 22-acre site along the Red Hook, Brooklyn waterfront. The store, Ikea’s first in New York City, will be its largest store in the United States. The Commission also approved 70,000 sq.ft. of retail and restaurant space and a 6.3-acre public esplanade/bikeway.

Red Hook is primarily zoned M3-1 for heavy manufacturing. Recently, the neighborhood has begun a slow revitalization with the opening of the Community Justice Center in 2000 and with increasing private renovations to its residential and neighborhood retail buildings. (more…)

Universities, medical centers, museums, and religious buildings face tighter restrictions. The City Council approved amendments to 64 sections of the zoning text that control placement, size, and parking for community facilities. The Planning Department and the Council’s Land Use Committee conducted a joint study of existing zoning controls of community facilities. This is the first amendment to the relevant text since 1961.

The revision impacts community facilities such as universities, houses of worship, medical facilities, dormitories, libraries, museums, schools, and day-care centers. The amendment is intended to restrict the permitted floor area and potential sites for community facilities in single-family or small multi-family areas, as well as increase the ability of community facilities to locate in more suitable, higher density areas. (more…)