Remnants of historic free black community heard

Rossville AME Zion Church at 584 Bloomingdale Road in Staten Island. Image : LPC.

Four 19th century buildings in Staten Island’s Sandy Ground, one of the first communities settled by freed slaves, considered. On August 10, 2010, Landmarks heard testimony on the potential designations of four buildings located in Staten Island’s Sandy Ground community, one of the country’s oldest communities settled by freed slaves. The buildings date to the 19th century and include the Rossville … <Read More>


Extension of Park Slope Historic District proposed

Extension would bring roughly 582 buildings under Landmarks’ jurisdiction. On August 10, 2010, Landmarks moved to calendar the proposed Park Slope Historic District Extension, the first step toward landmarking. The extension would include approximately 582 buildings located to the southwest of the original 1973-designated Park Slope Historic District, which encompasses 1,975 structures.

The proposed district is bounded by 7th Street to the north, 15th Street to the south, Eighth Avenue to the east, and Seventh … <Read More>


Vornado’s 1,200-foot Penn Plaza tower approved

The City Council approved Vornado Realty Trust’s proposed 15 Penn Plaza commercial tower across the street from Penn Station in Manhattan.

Opponents raised concerns about impact on Empire State Building, while the Council focused on Vornado’s participation in Minority- and Womenowned Business Enterprise program. On August 25, 2010, the City Council approved Vornado Realty Trust’s proposal to construct a commercial tower rising approximately 1,200 feet on Seventh Avenue between West 32nd and 33rd Streets in … <Read More>


After judicial remand, special permit granted for residence

Second Department ordered BSA to determine whether special permit findings were met. In 2005, Alexis Lyublinskiy obtained an alteration permit to enlarge his one-story home at 136 Norfolk Street in Manhattan Beach. Initial demolition and construction work did not match building plans, and Lyublinskiy eventually demolished all but one of the original building’s walls and built a two-story house.

Buildings issued a stop-workorder after discovering that the house did not conform to the approved plans. <Read More>


BSA’s denial of special permit upheld by Second Department

BSA found that project did not qualify as an enlargement. In 1999, BSA granted the owner of 155 Norfolk Street in Brooklyn a special permit to enlarge a one-story home. The enlargement was not built pursuant to the approved plans. More than three years later, the owner submitted a different set of plans to Buildings for an as-of-right enlargement and began construction. In 2005, after resolving a series of violations, the owner obtained an alteration … <Read More>


Bronx parking text changes approved

Text amendment closes loophole in zoning resolution that allowed developers to avoid providing off-street parking in eastern Bronx. On March 25, 2010, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s text amendment addressing parking issues in mid-density residential districts found primarily in Westchester Square and Pelham, and near Westchester Avenue in Co-Op City within Bronx Community District 10. The amendment expands the definition of CD 10’s Lower Density Growth Management Area to include R6 … <Read More>