
Third Avenue Residential Apartments at 160 East 84th Street. Image credit: CityLaw.
State used sampling method to set new base rent for studio improperly deregulated under luxury decontrol. The owner of a rental building at 160 East 84th Street, Manhattan, took advantage of the luxury decontrol provisions of the Rent Stabilization Law to deregulate a studio apartment. Subsequently, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that buildings like 160 East 84th Street were ineligible to take advantage of luxury decontrol because the building was also receiving tax incentive benefits under New York City’s j-51 program. (more…)

Manhattan Borough President Brewer, Public Advocate James, and Council Members Chin and Kallos speaking on the initiative outside of City Hall. Image credit: Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer
Initiatives proposed in the wake of the Rivington House sale would prompt public review process and transparency. On July 19, 2016, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Council Member Margaret Chin wrote a letter to the City Planning Commission in favor of subjecting any changes made to deed restrictions throughout New York City to the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. The letter is the latest development in a series of events sparked by the sale of the Rivington House, a nonprofit nursing home on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, to luxury condominium developers. For CityLand’s previous coverage on the City’s involvement in the Rivington House’s sale, click here.
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St. Joseph of the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan. Image Credit: LPC
Two Catholic churches designated over archdiocese opposition. On June 28, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate four Manhattan properties as individual City landmarks. Three of the items had been added to Landmarks calendar before 2010 and were addressed as part of the Commission’s backlog initiative. (more…)

Department of City Planning. Image credit: DCP
All land use applications and general inquires will be handled at new address; the City Planning Commission, however, will continue holding public meetings at 22 Reade Street. As of November 23, 2015, the Department of City Planning is no longer conducting its operations at 22 Reade Street in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhattan.
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One Chase Plaza. Image credit: LPC
Project would alter the solid black-granite base to create retail storefronts, and make for a more inviting and accessible plaza. On May 5, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on potential alterations to the individually landmarked One Chase Manhattan Plaza at 16 Liberty Street in Lower Manhattan. The designated site consists of a 60-story tower and associated two-and-a-half-acre plaza, designed by the firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. The project was led by partner Gordon Bunschaft, the same team behind other City landmarks, including the Lever House and the Manufacturer’s Trust Building. The project was completed in 1964 as the headquarters for Chase Manhattan Bank, recently formed by a merger of Chase Bank and the Bank of Manhattan. (more…)