Rezoning in western Queens considered

Proposed zoning of Sunnyside/Woodside, Queens. Image: Courtesy of NYC Department of City Planning.

Contextual rezoning would impact 130 blocks in Sunnyside and Woodside neighborhoods. On May 25, 2011, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone 130 blocks in the Sunnyside and Woodside sections of Queens. The proposal would impact approximately 2,800 tax lots generally bounded by the Sunnyside Rail Yard and 37th Avenue to the north, Roosevelt … <Read More>


Midtown’s East 54th Street bathhouse designated

342 East 54th Street in Midtown, Manhattan.

East 54th Street building provided public bathing facilities to tenement residents. On May 10, 2011, Landmarks designated the East 54th Street Bath and Gymnasium at 342-348 East 54th Street in Manhattan as an individual City landmark. Werner & Windolph completed the three-story, Classical Revival building for the City in 1911. The redbrick building features a large stone cornice, tripartite arched openings, and four Doric columns featuring capitals adorned … <Read More>


RFEI issued for vacant Corn Exchange building

Image: Courtesy of Cityland.

City is in process of reclaiming landmarked building after owner failed to redevelop property. On March 22, 2011, the City’s Economic Development Corporation issued a request for expressions of interest for the purchase and redevelopment of what remains of the landmarked Corn Exchange Building at the corner of East 125th Street and Park Avenue in East Harlem. The Lamb & Rich-designed six-story building was built in 1884 and has deteriorated significantly … <Read More>


Key Terms text change OK’d

New Clarification Text Amendment changes the meaning of the term ‘building”. Image: Courtesy of NYC Department of City Planning.

Amendment redefines “development” and “building” and clarifies how the terms are used in order to reflect Planning’s intent. On February 2, 2011, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s Key Terms Text Amendment. Planning proposed the 700-page text amendment to ensure that existing regulations are interpreted and applied as originally intended under the … <Read More>


Two East Village supportive housing projects approved

HPD-funded affordable housing projects approved without opposition. On November 30, 2010, the City Council approved separate proposals by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to allow private developers to build two permanently affordable supportive housing projects on city-owned properties in the East Village.

HPD selected the Lower East Side People’s Mutual Housing Association (LESPMHA) to develop a 46-unit eight-story building on a vacant site at 535 East 11th Street, and the Phipps <Read More>


Mark Silberman Brings Legislative and Litigation Experience to Landmarks

Hobbled by a bad back and recently returned from vacation, the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s General Counsel Mark Silberman sat down with CityLand to talk about his role at the Commission and Landmarks’ role in the City. He brings a perspective on the broader role of historic preservation nationally and in our culture.

A young environmentalist. Raised in Illinois and a graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz, Silberman began his career in government … <Read More>