Willets Point Special Permits Come Under Attack at City Council Hearing

Council Members voiced concern over the City’s applications to facilitate Phase 1 of the Willets’ Point Development Project. The City Council’s Land Use Zoning and Franchises subcommittee held a public hearing on September 3, 2013 on Phase 1A of the $3 billion Willets Point Development Project. The applicants, New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and Queens Development Group, a joint venture of Related Companies and Sterling Equities, testified. The application is a … <Read More>


Proposal for New Seven-Story Building Stirs Controversy

Application seeks to replace one-story structure with new residential, ground-floor retail building. On July 9, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on a proposal to demolish a building at 130 Seventh Avenue South in the Greenwich Village Historic District, and build a new seven-story building at the site. According to Landmarks’ district designation report, the existing building was constructed in 1937 after the southern extension of Seventh Avenue, to the … <Read More>


Signs and Billboards: What’s Legal and What’s Not?

Sign installation in New York City triggers regulations governing location, size, illumination, and construction. The New York City Building Code and the New York City Zoning Resolution are the two main bodies of law governing signs in New York City. The Building Code regulates the construction and maintenance of signs, such as permissible construction materials, and is primarily concerned with public health and safety. The Zoning Resolution, while implicating issues of public health and safety, … <Read More>


ECB Upholds $40,000 in Fines for Illegal Signs on Bodega

Company argued that two promotional contest signs installed at bodega were accessory signs. On September 9, 2010, the City’s Department of Buildings issued four notices of violation to Contest Promotions NY LLC for two signs installed at the New Grocery and Deli located at 175 Grand Street in Brooklyn. Contest Promotions is a promotional company that works with businesses to promote contests and sweepstakes. The sign featured advertisements for the Nikita television program and … <Read More>


Proposal to Limit Size of Banks and Other Storefronts in the Upper West Side Awaits Vote from Full Council [UPDATE: City Council Approves Proposal]

Banking group claimed proposed limitations on widths of new ground floor storefronts along Broadway, Amsterdam Avenue, and Columbus Avenue unfairly discriminate against banks. On June 21, 2012, the City Council’s Land Use Committee approved the Department of City Planning’s Upper West Side Neighborhood Retail Streets proposal. The proposal would establish two Special Enhanced Commercial Districts in Manhattan’s Upper West Side and establish limits on the widths of new and expanding ground floor retail stores, … <Read More>


Brooklyn waterfront shopping center approved

Proposed shopping center on Gravesend Bay. Image: Courtesy of GreenbergFarrow.

Two-story retail complex on Gravesend Bay peninsula will feature BJ’s Wholesale Club. On September 21, 2011, the City Council approved Thor Equities LLC’s proposal to build a two-story retail development at 1752 Shore Parkway in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn. The 1,200-foot long project will be located on a peninsula in Gravesend Bay adjacent to the Belt Parkway. The 214,000 sq.ft. complex will include … <Read More>