Bronx historic district approved

Council finds no support for discrimination allegation. The full Council approved Landmark’s designation of the Fieldston Historic District in the Bronx on April 26, 2006 after members of the Land Use Committee rejected allegations of discrimination surrounding the designation. 3 CityLand 12 (Feb. 15, 2006).

At the April 11th vote of the Land Use Committee, Council Member Simcha Felder stated that during the designation process some opponents claimed that the designation was “being used to … <Read More>


Court allows late submittal of appraisal

Court considered local practice. To develop a 75-unit, low-income rental project, the City took title through eminent domain of property located at 1823 Madison Avenue, within the Milbank Frawley Circle East Urban Renewal Area. IM Gas Inc., the property owner, timely filed its notice of claim and an appraisal report, seeking compensation for the taking. When the City did not file its appraisal report within nine months after IM’s claim, IM moved for an order … <Read More>


Queens neighborhoods down-zoned

Whitestone Rezoning and Whitestone Locator Map. Used with permission of the New York City Department of City Planning. All rights reserved

Council approves new lower density and contextual zoning to preserve the existing neighborhood scale. On December 21, 2005, the City Council approved the Planning Department’s rezoning plan for 311 blocks located in the Whitestone, Beechhurst and Robinwood neighborhoods of Queens. The rezoned area is bounded by the Whitestone Expressway to the west, the Clearview … <Read More>


718-space garage approved adjacent to High Line

Garage will be part of large mixed-use project. HLP Properties LLC sought a special permit for a 718- space public parking garage on a Chelsea site spanning an entire city block between West 17th and West 18th Streets and Tenth and Eleventh Avenues. Access to the garage would be located on West 17th Street, a one-way westbound street. The 76,400- square-foot site currently contains a surface parking lot used primarily by the United States Drug … <Read More>


Bedell House designated over owner’s objection

Landmarks designated nineteenth century home to prevent further destruction. On April 12, 2005, Landmarks held a public hearing and acted immediately to designate the James L. Bedell House, an 1874 single- family home located at 7484 Amboy Road in Tottenville and considered one of the best preserved Second Empire style houses on Staten Island’s South Shore. Landmarks scheduled a public hearing to consider the house for designation after the owner, John Grossi, Jr., spray painted … <Read More>


Hudson Yards Applications Approved; Sent to Council

New development potential of 26 million sq.ft. of office space and 13.6 million sq.ft. of residential; 24 acres of parks, a subway extension, and a new boulevard approved. On November 22, 2004, the Commission approved the Bloomberg Administration’s major urban planning initiative for Manhattan’s Hudson Yards, the area bounded by West 30th and West 43rd Streets, running from Seventh and Eighth Avenues to Twelfth Avenue.

The ten applications before the Commission would achieve a comprehensive … <Read More>