City seeks to promote use of car-share vehicles by increasing availability of off-street parking spaces. On July 14, 2010, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on the Department of City Planning’s zoning text amendment proposal intended to promote the use of car-share vehicles in the City. Companies like Zipcar, Connect by Hertz, and Mint provide car-share vehicles to registered members on an as-needed basis, 24 hours a day. Drivers reserve the vehicles by phone or … <Read More>
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Landmarks’ designation process upheld
First Department ruled that preservation group failed to show its members were affected differently than general public. The City’s Landmarks law provides the public with the ability to nominate properties for landmark designation by submitting a Request for Evaluation form. After receiving a request, the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s Request for Evaluation Committee, which includes the Landmarks Chair, screens the nomination in order to determine whether additional consideration is appropriate.
A nomination requiring further consideration is … <Read More>
Michael B. Gerrard Discusses His Career and the Future of Climate Change Regulation
Michael B. Gerrard, director of Columbia Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law, traces his passion for environmental protection back to growing up in Charleston, West Virginia, a city dominated by major chemical manufacturing companies like Union Carbide and DuPont. As a child, he lived on the banks of the Kanawha River, where large amounts of toxic chemicals had polluted the water and air.
After graduating from Columbia University, Gerrard worked for a local environmental … <Read More>
High Court voids variance
Court of Appeals ruled BSA abused discretion in granting variance. GAC Catering Inc. purchased a single-family home at the intersection of Otis Avenue and Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island across the street from its catering business. GAC demolished the house and applied to the BSA for a use variance to build a two-story commercial photography studio to be used in conjunction with GAC’s catering hall. GAC claimed that commercial uses predominated the area, and that … <Read More>
Hoist contractor fined $1,000
Hoist at former Deutsche Bank building had broken door and brake. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation hired Regional Scaffolding and Hoisting Co. and Safeway Environmental Corp. to assemble exterior scaffolding on the former Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty Street in Manhattan. Aside from the scaffolding, the joint venture was also hired to install a hoist for personnel and material. Lower Manhattan Development hired Bovis to deconstruct the building after the joint venture completed its … <Read More>
Council reversed Commission on curb cut denial
The City Planning Commission denied developer’s special permit request to expand an existing parking facility into a 195-space public garage. The City Council’s Land Use Committee modified and approved SDS 15 William Street LLC’s proposal to amend the Special Lower Manhattan District’s curb cut prohibitions and widen two curb cuts on the north side of Beaver Street between Broad and William Streets in Manhattan’s Financial District. Both curb cuts are south of SDS’s recently completed … <Read More>