Robin Stout on the Future of the Moynihan Station Project

I n 2005, Robin Stout was appointed President of the Moynihan Station Development Corporation, the Empire State Development Corporation’s subsidiary charged with transforming the James A. Farley Post Office Building into a new train hall named for the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Stout, a Columbia Law School graduate, spent nine years at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP before joining the ESDC as Senior Counsel to the 42nd Street Development Project in 1990. Transforming … <Read More>


Proposed Pier 17 development arouses controversy

Developer intends to relocate the Tin Building, site of the former Fulton Fish Market. On October 21, 2008, Landmarks considered a presentation on the redevelopment of Pier 17 in the South Street Seaport Historic District. Developer General Growth Properties, which leases much of the South Street Seaport from the City, intends to demolish the Pier 17 Mall, relocate the 1907 Tin Building to the east end of Pier 17, and construct a new seven-building mixed-use … <Read More>


Council Member Melinda Katz Shares Her Insights on Land Use Issues

Council Member Melinda Katz is Chair of the Land Use Committee, a position she has held since 2002, when she was first elected to the City Council. The City’s land use review process requires that almost all major land use initiatives, with few exceptions, pass her desk for review. During her tenure as Chair, Katz “worked as a team” with the Bloomberg administration on the City-initiated rezonings, the largest rezoning initiative since 1961, covering roughly … <Read More>


Planning Commissioner fined for Atlantic Yards vote

Dolly Williams’ vote to approve Brooklyn rezoning conflicted with her investment in the Nets. On November 27, 2007, the Conflicts of Interest Board fined City Planning Commissioner Dolly Williams $4,000 for failing to recuse herself from a May 2004 vote on a rezoning plan that benefited her investment in the Atlantic Yards Project in Downtown Brooklyn.

The Downtown Brooklyn Plan sought to encourage commercial and residential development in Downtown Brooklyn, including areas within the footprint … <Read More>


Council modifies proposal for 130 Court St.

Council Member de Blasio argued for modifications. On October 25, 2007, the City Council modified Two Trees Management Co.’s special permit application to construct a 6-story, 37-unit residential building adjacent to the South Brooklyn Savings Bank in Downtown Brooklyn. The proposal must now go back to the Planning Commission for approval.

Two Trees proposed to construct the building on the bank’s vacant parking lot and an adjacent lot. Located at Atlantic Avenue and Court Street, … <Read More>


City down-zones most of Fort Greene/Clinton Hill

Inclusionary Housing program extended to Atlantic Ave. and Fulton Street. On July 25, 2007, the City Council approved the 99-block rezoning plan for the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill neighborhoods in Brooklyn, including a proposal to apply the City’s inclusionary housing provisions to blocks along Atlantic Avenue and Fulton Street.

Located adjacent to downtown Brooklyn, the residential neighborhoods of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill have faced increasing development pressure during the past five years as … <Read More>