CPC Hears Request to Convert Artists’ Building to Residential Use

Proposed renovation would restore two floors lost to fire and open loft building to non-artist tenants. On December 3, 2014 the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application for a special permit for 102 Greene Street in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District, Manhattan. The building is three stories, with the Galeria Melissa gallery on the ground floor and two apartments above. The apartments are designated as Joint Live-Work Quarters for Artists … <Read More>


Designation Supported by Community, Preservationists, and REBNY [UPDATED]

Faux-Tudor 1915 development consisting of 18 buildings takes step toward designation. On November 25, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on potential designation of Chester Court as a historic district. The proposed district comprises of 18 two-and-a-half story faux-Tudor dwellings built in 1914 and 1915 in two facing rows near Prospect Park’s eastern edge by developer Brighton Building Company. The buildings were designed by former Brooklyn Commissioner of Buildings Peter J. Collins, who … <Read More>


Commission Approves District Encompassing almost 1,000 Buildings

District was modified from its initially conceived boundaries to exclude buildings uncharacteristic of district that lay on its edge. On December 9, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve the designation of 990 buildings in the Ridgewood section of Queens as the Central Ridgewood Historic District. Pending Council approval, the district will be among the City’s largest. The district adjoins the previously designated Ridgewood South Historic District, and lies close to the Ridgewood <Read More>


Zoning Subcommittee Approves Sollazzo Plaza

Approval permits demolition of old farmhouse to make way for a shopping center.  On December 15, 2014 the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises voted unanimously to approve rezoning for portions of a block to permit the construction of a retail shopping center. The rezoned portion is bounded by Forest Avenue to the north, Monsey Place to the south, Richmond Avenue to the east, and P.S. 22 to the west.


Tortoise-shaped roof addition to former Tammany Hall proves controversial

Applicants argued that addition would echo the domes of classical architecture, pay homage to the Lenape who once occupied Manhattan. On November 25, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered an application to construct an addition to a building that housed the Tammany political machine at 44 Union Square East, an individual City landmark. The building was the third Tammany Hall constructed, and the only one extant. Designated in 2013, the neo-Georgian 1929 … <Read More>


Waiver Granted To Convert Residential Building to Hotel Use

BSA exercised its authority under the Multiple Dwellings Law to permit the conversion.  On October 28, 2014, the Board of Standards and Appeals voted to grant the applicant, 84 William Street Property Owner LLC, a waiver of court dimension requirements to allow conversion of a mixed residential and commercial building into a transient hotel.  The building is located at 84 William Street in Manhattan’s Financial District, between Maiden Lane to the south and Platt Street … <Read More>