City Planning Approves Application for Open Space and Resilient Housing on Sandy Affected Properties

The City uses ingenuity to make use of City owned spaces in flood plain. On September 25, 2019 City Planning unanimously approved an application to facilitate the construction of resilient housing and create open spaces on 141 city-owned properties, purchased in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The properties involved sustained a level of storm and flood damage equal to at least half their respective value.


Crane License Rejection Upheld

Buildings refused to grant class A crane license after applicant failed to demonstrate that he possessed three years of experience under the direct supervision of a licensed machine operator. Leo Boccia applied to the Department of Buildings for a class A license to operate a hoisting machine. Boccia’s application included affidavits that showed he had been supervised from January 2011 to December 2014 by a class A license holder while completing class C2 set-ups. The … <Read More>


De Blasio Administration Expands Benefits of Rent Freeze Programs

The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act makes it possible to freeze rents at preferential rates for qualifying New Yorkers. On September 18, 2019, the de Blasio administration released guidance regarding renter rights under the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act. This guidance will allow New Yorkers who pay preferential rents in rent-stabilized apartments to benefit from the City’s Rent Freeze Programs.


City Planning Approves Modified Plans for Redevelopment of Harlem Church

The proposed building would house the redeveloped La Hermosa Church, community facilities, and residential units. On October 15, 2019, the City Planning Commission voted to approve an application to develop a new 29-story tower-on-a-base mixed-use building at 5 West 110th Street in Harlem, Manhattan. The site is currently occupied by La Hermosa Church, a three-story brick throughway building, and the church’s parking lot. To facilitate the new 226,000 square feet development, the applicants would propose … <Read More>


City Planning Approves Application for Development on Former Peninsula Hospital Site

Edgemere Commons receives mixed reaction from the Rockaway community. On September 25, 2019, City Planning unanimously approved the Rockaway Limited Partnership’s application to redevelop an existing superblock in the Edgemere neighborhood of Far Rockaway, Queens.  The site, which formerly housed Peninsula Hospital, is a paved over, impermeable surface lot located north of Rockaway Beach Boulevard, south of Beach Channel Drive east of Beach 53rd Street and west of Beach 50th Street. The development … <Read More>


Contractor’s Licenses Revoked

During the demolition of a Staten Island building an employee was killed when the floor collapsed. Dana Ford, a car dealership in Staten Island, New York, contracted with Formica Construction, Inc. to build a new facility at 266 West Service Road, Staten Island, and demolish Dana Ford’s old facility. Buildings approved the construction plan, but Formica never obtained the necessary permit to commence the demolition. On the morning of November 28, 2014, four Formica … <Read More>