The “South Village” extension would bring roughly 235 buildings under Landmarks jurisdiction. On October 27, 2009, Landmarks heard testimony on the proposed designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District Extension II. The proposal, referred to as the South Village Historic District by some, includes 235 buildings and consists of two sections contiguous to the Greenwich Village Historic District.

The extension’s larger section encompasses eleven blocks generally bounded by West 4th Street to the north, West Houston Street to the south, Sixth Avenue to the east, and Seventh Avenue South to the west. The smaller section includes the west side of Seventh Avenue South between Leroy and Clarkson Streets. The area, characterized largely by Federal style and Greek Revival rowhouses from the early 19th century, also includes the 1926 Baroque-inspired Our Lady of Pompeii Church and the 1907 flatiron-shaped Varitype Building at West 4th Street and Sixth Avenue. (more…)

Hotel developer admits its foundation work damaged adjacent building. Developer D.A.B. Group LLC received a foundation permit on September 29, 2008 for its planned 16-story Lower East Side hotel at Rivington and Orchard Streets. Excavation work began one week after the City Planning Commission voted to downzone the area. D.A.B. then obtained a full building permit at 2:21 p.m. on the day that the City Council voted to approve the East Village/Lower East Side rezoning. The new zoning restricted new building heights to 80 ft., making the proposed hotel 111 ft. over the new height limit. Without the full foundation completed, Buildings issued a stop-work order.

Applying to BSA, D.A.B. argued that, despite having only 63 percent of the foundation complete, the work represented the most difficult and time-consuming portion of the construction. This included all 28 H-beams, 100 timber legs and all of the rebar and poured concrete needed to complete the elevator pit floors and walls. (more…)

Local residents claimed that all open space on a multiple building zoning lot must be accessible to all occupants of the zoning lot. 808 Columbus Avenue LLC obtained a permit from Buildings to construct a 29-story, mixed-use building within Park West Village on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The new building would share a zoning lot with three 16-story residential buildings located on a superblock bounded by West 100th Street on the north, Columbus Avenue on the west, West 97th Street on the south, and Central Park West on the east. Local residents challenged the permit approval, but Buildings’ Manhattan Borough Commissioner upheld the permit. The residents appealed to BSA seeking to revoke the permit.

The residents claimed that open space requirements of the Zoning Resolution had been violated because some of the proposed building’s open space would not be accessible to residents living in the other three buildings within the zoning lot. The residents also claimed that the 56,000 sq. ft. Whole Foods supermarket slated for the first floor and cellar should have been classified as a variety or department store rather than a food store because of its proposed size, location, and delivery requirements. Variety stores could not exceed 10,000 sq. ft. and department stores were prohibited in the C1-5 district. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer argued that Buildings had recently classified a Costco store in Queens as a department store, and that, like Whole Foods, Costco primarily sold food and food-related items. The residents also asserted that an environmental review of the project’s potential impacts was required before Buildings could issue a permit. (more…)

Council approved plan after City agreed to work with interest groups on related zoning and development issues. On November 19, 2008, the City Council approved the City’s plan to rezone 111 blocks in the East Village and Lower East Side of Manhattan. The plan calls for seven new zoning districts, including a 59-block residential area which would be rezoned to R8B, a category that limits building heights to 75ft. The area is, in general, bounded by East 13th Street, Avenue D, Delancey Street, and Third Avenue. 5 CityLand 123 (Sept. 15, 2008).

Prior to Council review, the City Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve the rezoning after a contentious public hearing. The Commission found that the height, setback, and bulk controls of the new contextual districts would help preserve the low- to mid-rise tenement and rowhouse character of the area. The Commission, contrary to the views of many who spoke in opposition, favored higher density districts along Chrystie Street, Delancey Street, and Avenue D, noting that the districts were located along wide streets well-served by public transit. The Commission dismissed the idea of including Chinatown and the east side of the Bowery in the rezoning, stating that each area had a distinctive character and, as such, each required its own planning analysis. The Commission also rejected the community’s call for anti-harassment provisions to be included in the proposed zoning text, noting that Local Law 7 of 2008 already affords tenants the protection the community had sought. (more…)

Wheatsworth Factory and Public National Bank of NY designated for unique 1920s architecture. On September 16, 2008, Landmarks voted unanimously to designate the Wheatsworth Factory and the Public National Bank of New York Building as individual City landmarks. Built in the 1920s, both represent strains of 20th century European architecture rarely found in New York.

The Wheatsworth factory, at 444 East 10th Street, was built in 1927-28 by J. Edwin Hopkins as an industrial bakery for Wheatsworth Inc., creators of the Milk-Bone dog biscuit and Wheatsworth Cracker. The factory was modeled in a Viennese Secessionist Art Deco style, and features extensive multi-chrome terracotta ornamentation. One of the few industrial buildings remaining in the East Village, the factory is now used as storage space by Nabisco, which acquired Wheatsworth in 1931. At the hearing, Commissioner Christopher Moore stated that the Wheatsworth had an unusually elegant look for a factory,” while Commissioner Joan Gerner called it a “salute to the industrial age.” (more…)