Manhattan Borough President Stringer Looks to Initiate Land Use Policy and Community Board Reform

Since taking office in January 2006, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has set land use policy and community board reform as priorities.

Stringer hired Anthony Borelli as his Director of Land Use, Planning and Development. Before joining the Borough President’s office, Borelli studied urban planning at Columbia University and worked with the university’s Urban Technical Assistance Project, which provides urban planning consultation to distressed communities. Borelli then served as District Manager of Community Board 4 … <Read More>


Manhattan’s Toy Center to become apartments

Rezoning will allow Chelsea’s International Toy Center to be converted for residential use. 200 Fifth, LLC applied to rezone 200 Fifth Avenue and 1107 Broadway in Chelsea, Manhattan, to allow conversion of manufacturing/commercial buildings to residences with an expected 500 units. The buildings, located between Sixth Avenue and Broadway, along West 23rd and 25th Streets, are home to The International Toy Center and nearly 300 toy companies, many of which have been tenants since 1938. … <Read More>


Manhattanville’s 197-a plan goes forward

Community Board 9 and Columbia University presented different rezoning plans for Manhattanville. At the Planning Commission’s review session on October 1 7, 2005, the Commission determined that Manhattan Community Board 9’s independent 1 97-a plan for the future rezoning and development of Manhattanville met threshold standards. The plan culminated over 12 years of work by the Board. Under the City Charter and Rules, before environmental review of the 1 97-a plan can commence, the Commission … <Read More>


NY Elections, Census and Redistricting Update 6/10/24

EVENTS

June 18 Conference- N.Y. Redistricting: What Happened and What’s Next?

New York Law School will host a conference on redistricting from 9:30 to Noon at the school (located at 185 W. Broadway in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood). Panels will focus on the 2014 constitutional amendment, the post-2020 process and what happened, and next steps for a new constitutional amendment before the post-2030 process gets underway. 2022 Court Special Master Jonathan Cervas will keynote the event. … <Read More>


Landmarks Designates the Temple Court Building (Beekman Hotel) Atrium as an Interior Landmark

On June 4, 2024, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the Temple Court Building (now the Beekman Hotel) Atrium as an interior landmark. The Temple Court Building and Annex, located at 12213 Nassau Street in lower Manhattan, was designated as a New York City individual landmark in 1998. The building and its ornate atrium are rare examples of a full-height interior skylighted atrium inside a late-19th century office building. 


Council Passes Bills to Address Parking Garage Safety

On May 23, 2024, the New York City Council passed a package of bills to improve parking garage safety by identifying and addressing parking garage structural deficiencies. These bills, Int. 135-A, 170-A, and 231-A, were created in response to a parking garage that collapsed at 57 Ann Street in Lower Manhattan on April 18, 2023, which killed garage manager Willis Moore and injured five others.