BSA, which had granted variance to developer in 2003, grants time extension due to five-year court battle. In 2003, the Board of Standards & Appeals granted a use variance to 160 Imlay Street Real Estate LLC to allow for the residential conversion of a six-story warehouse at 160 Imlay Street in Red Hook, Brooklyn. 160 Imlay Street LLC had claimed that it could not earn a reasonable rate of return with a complying use … <Read More>
Search Results for: City of New York
Sign Company and SoHo Building Owner Agree to Pay Record Fine for Illegal Signs
Owner of 598 Broadway and Colossal Media Group repeatedly installed advertising signs without Landmarks’ approval. On May 4, 2012, the New York City Law Department and the Landmarks Preservation Commission announced that 598 Broadway Realty Associates and Colossal had reached a settlement agreement with the City to remove the existing illegal signs on the building facade facing Houston Street and to pay $225,000 in civil fines. According to the Law Department, this was the … <Read More>
Completed senior housing facility in Queens exceeded FAR; owner retroactively sought special permit
Buildings only caught architect’s FAR miscalculation after six-story facility was completed. On May 9, 2012, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on the Silvercrest Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation’s special permit request to legalize a six-story, 66,000 sq.ft. senior housing facility built next door to its existing five-story, 130,000 sq.ft. nursing home in Briarwood, Queens. In an effort to expand its campus, Silvercrest built a new six-story, 81-bed senior housing facility at 86-19 … <Read More>
Mundane Items Make Zone Green Text Amendment Important
The City Council has approved Zone Green. This comprehensive zoning text amendment will enable energy efficient cutting-edge design and construction of both new and existing buildings.
During public debate of the proposal, wind turbines, green houses, and solar panels received much attention. These elements are emblematic of the green building movement; however, it is the more mundane aspects that will have the most far reaching impact on reducing our carbon footprint.
New York City’s … <Read More>
Three-year conflict over illegal addition resolved
Owners will demolish illegal addition, restore original conditions, and build a smaller addition. On March 20, 2012 after several years of back and forth with the building owners, Landmarks approved a proposal to build a new addition on a secondary structure at 12-14 West 68th Street in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District. The proposal includes the demolition of an illegal, fifth-floor addition built by the former owner of the building … <Read More>
Landmarks’ John Weiss on Combating Demolition-by-Neglect
John Weiss has served as deputy counsel for the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission since 2001. Weiss leads Landmarks’ efforts to protect landmarked structures from demolition-by-neglect, and each of his cases reveals a fascinating tale of New York City real estate.
After earning his undergraduate degree in political science and public policy from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, Weiss was torn between studying law or architecture. He took time off while at Hampshire to … <Read More>