Search Results for: City Council

New Hunts Point BID approved

Plan encompasses 134 businesses. On August 8, 2007, the Planning Commission approved an application by the Department of Small Business Services to create the Southern Boulevard Business Improvement District for 134 businesses and 59 property owners, encompassing 792 residential units, in the Hunts Point area of the Bronx.

The proposed BID will allow an annual assessment on businesses and residents to enhance sanitation, security and marketing. The $200,000 first-year budget will come from small assessments … <Read More>

McCarren Pool and Play Center landmarked

WPA-funded pool currently used for concerts and other performances. On July 24, 2007, Landmarks designated the McCarren Play Center in northern Brooklyn as an individual City landmark. The play center includes one of the largest swimming pools in the city, as well as a bath house and viewing terraces.

Named after state assemblyman Patrick Henry McCarren, the pool and play center was built with Works Progress Administration funds under the aegis of Parks Commissioner Robert … <Read More>

Commission approves 529-space parking facility

Garage to be part of as-of-right development two blocks from Penn Station. J.D. Carlisle Development Corporation sought Planning Commission approval for a 529-space attended public parking garage to be built as part of a 46-story as-of-right development at 839 Sixth Avenue between West 29th and West 30th Streets. The garage, to be located in the cellar and portions of the ground floor, would be accessible from curb cuts on West 30th and West 29th Streets. … <Read More>

Ronay Menschel and Adam Weinstein Talk About Affordable Housing

For the past two decades, Ronay Menschel and Adam Weinstein have led the Phipps Houses Group, New York City’s oldest and largest affordable housing provider. Founded in 1905 by Carnegie Steel’s Henry Phipps, the organization has built over 6,000 units, and currently manages 12,500 apartments, as well as community service centers, Head Start locations, vocational centers, and afterschool programs.

In the mid-1970s Ronay Menschel worked in Edward I. Koch’s Washington Congressional office and moved to … <Read More>

Landmarks approves 20-story condo for Midtown district

LPC approves this glass facade condo for a historic district along Fifth Avenue. Image courtesy of Beyer Binder Belle.

Construction will require the demolition of a non-contributing townhouse. On May 15, 2007, Landmarks approved an application by developer Brandolini Companies to demolish an existing building and construct a new residential condominium at 224 Fifth Avenue in the Madison Square North Historic District. The approved 20-story building, designed by architectural firm Beyer Blinder Belle, features a … <Read More>

Potential Sunnyside Gardens district proves divisive

Opposing sides report neighborhood friction, allegations of spying and harassment. On April 17, 2007, in front of an audience exceeding the hearing room’s capacity, Landmarks heard testimony on the potential designation of a Sunnyside Gardens Historic District. Sunnyside Gardens, a planned community built between 1924 and 1928, features a mixture of single-, double-, and multi-family dwellings arranged around large, landscaped open courtyards. Funded by a limited dividend company, the development provided high-quality housing for the … <Read More>