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 the house bright orange and green. See 2 CityLand 44 (April 15, 2005).

At the April 12, 2005 public hearing, Tottenville residents, including the director of the Tottenville’s Historical Society, testified in favor of designation and requested that Landmarks act to protect Tottenville’s legacy. Representatives from Congressman Vito Fosella’s and Council Member Anthony Lanza’s offices also supported designation. Grossi, the only speaker who opposed, admitted that it had been a mistake to spray paint the house. He testified that he never intended to live there, claiming the house was uninhabitable, and he purchased it only for investment purposes. Grossi planned to demolish the house and develop garden apartments and law offices. He added that he would not have purchased the house if he had prior notice that Landmarks was considering it for designation. (more…)

Owner argued that Buildings ordered a halt to excavation to prevent the 14-unit building from being grandfathered. On August 6, 2004, Peter Rendel of DNR Construction applied for a building permit to construct a 14-unit residential condominium building at 1150 Arden Avenue on Staten Island. Three days later, Buildings cited Rendel for removing trees without a permit and issued a stop-work order. Despite the stop-work order, Buildings issued the permit to construct the building on August 10th. One day later, Buildings issued a second stop-work order, alerting Rendel that a permit for tree removal and a City Transit Authority approval letter were required.

On August 12th, the City Council enacted the Lower Density Growth Management controls covering the entire borough of Staten Island to prohibit new out-of-character development in the borough. The new controls rendered the proposed 14- unit building non-compliant and extinguished Rendel’s right to continue with the construction. (more…)

Developer failed to issue Staten Island homeowners final C of O three years after construction was completed. In March 2001, Jamie Minchew and Rocco Rinella hired ATP Development Corp. to build a house at 44 Cottontail Court in Staten Island. Eight months later they closed on the house without a final certificate of occupancy, but ATP agreed it would furnish a final certificate of occupancy within one year. Several temporary certificates were issued up until January 2004, after which no more certificates were issued.

In November 2004, Buildings notified Minchew and Rinella that they were occupying the house without a valid certificate in violation of the law. In response, Minchew and Rinella sued Buildings and ATP, seeking to stop Buildings from issuing any violations related to their failure to have a valid certificate, and to compel ATP to obtain a final certificate. Buildings sought to dismiss the petition, claiming that the civil court lacked the authority to forbid the Department from issuing violations or permits. (more…)

Opposing owner spray painted home on eve of Landmarks’ vote. On March 29, 2005, Landmarks voted to hold a public hearing on April 12, 2005 on the possible designation of the James L. Bedell House in Staten Island, an 1874 single-family home and carriage house located on Amboy Road in Tottenville. A Landmarks survey of the architectural resources on Staten Island’s South Shore identified the Bedell House as one of the best preserved Second Empire-style homes, which are typified by mansard roofs, decorative dormers and prominent entryway porches. Once prevalent in New York’s rural areas, a small number of these homes remain.

Just before the March 29, 2005 vote, the Bedell House’s owner of seven weeks spray painted bright orange and neon green patches on the home. Landmarks staff displayed a photo of the spray painted house at the presentation, noting that the owner had since re-painted the home white. (more…)

Tenant will supply U.S. Navy with docking services and emergency provisions. On March 9, 2005, the City Council approved a draft lease submitted by the City’s Economic Development Corporation for a 40,000 square-foot portion of the Staten Island Homeport Pier to a tenant to be chosen by the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command. The chosen contractor will provide layberthing services to U.S. Navy vessels, allowing the ships to dock, be maintained in a state of readiness, and be rapidly supplied when called to send emergency provisions to troops. The lease area includes five buildings within the southern portion of the Homeport Pier.

Under the lease, rent to the City for docking one ship is set at $450,000 per year payable at $37,500 per month, increasing to $675,000 per year, $56,250 per month, for a second U.S. Navy vessel. The lease establishes an initial seven-month term, expected to commence in January 2006, with five options that could extend the lease term to December 2010. The approved lease does not set the proposed rent increase for the option periods. Under the lease, the contractor will be responsible for all needed improvements, dredging and utilities. (more…)