Luxury apts. near High Line get parking approval

Related Companies obtained Council okay for 210-space garage despite Comm. Bd. opposition. On August 22, 2007, the City Council approved Related Companies’ special permit application for a 210-space accessory parking garage to be located within a mixed-use development that Related is constructing at 450 West 17th Street, adjacent to the High Line.

The project received one of the first High Line Improvement floor area bonuses, allowing Related to increase the development’s size by 160,775 sq.ft. … <Read More>


Upgrade of Hunts Point pollution plant approved

Borough President and community board had raised concerns about odor, traffic and views from nearby park. The Planning Commission on July 25, 2007 unanimously approved the Department of Environmental Protection’s plan to upgrade and expand the Hunts Point water pollution control plant by constructing two, 130-foot tall, egg-shaped digester buildings. The plan includes the transfer to Parks of 1.2 acres of land which, during construction, will be used for staging. After completion of construction, Parks … <Read More>


New Landmarks commissioner confirmed

Preservationist to replace Thomas Pike. On March 28, 2007, the City Council voted unanimously to approve the appointment of Diana Chapin to Landmarks. The Council also voted to approve the reappointments of Commissioners Pablo Vengoechea, Stephen Byrns, Joan Gerner, and Christopher Moore.

Diana Chapin, a member of the Municipal Art Society and the Landmarks Conservancy, is Executive Director of the Queens Library Foundation. She was a founding member of the Historic House Trust, a not-for-profit … <Read More>


Three Bronx neighborhood rezonings approved

Harding Park/Clason Point Rezoning. Proposed Zoning used with permission of the NYC Department of City Planning. All rights reserved.

Rezoning encompasses unique residential co-op on Bronx waterfront. Responding to concerns over increasing out-of-scale development, City Planning initiated rezoning studies of Harding Park, Clason Point and Park Stratton in the Bronx, ultimately proposing to rezone 47 blocks.

Under the proposal, 34 blocks of Harding Park and Clason Point, located along the peninsula bounded by the Bronx … <Read More>


Community Bord has advisory review only on Park plan

Parks renovation plans proceed for the fountain basin and plaza at Washington Square Park. After Community Board 2, Landmarks, and the Art Commission approved Parks’ renovation plans for Washington Square Park, neighboring residents claimed that Parks failed to adequately disclose details of the plan during the approval process. In August 2006, a lower court enjoined Parks from moving forward with the renovation, ordering Parks to resubmit plans for the fountain and fountain plaza to each … <Read More>


City Planning’s General Counsel Talks of Emerging Planning Issues by Just Explaining What’s on His Desk

When asked to discuss current trends coming out of City Planning, David Karnovsky, General Counsel since 1999, offered to start the conversation with the matters sitting on his desk. From Broadway’s first air rights sale, to a new community board planning tool, to implementation of City Planning’s complex rezoning plans, the conversation revealed developing trends. Karnovsky, a Harvard Law School graduate, joined City Planning after serving as Special Counsel to the Deputy Mayor of Operations … <Read More>