Mayor and non-profit community development financial institution announce new program to help religious non-profits build affordable housing. On August 23, 2017, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation NYC, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Mayor’s Office announced the launch of a new initiative to aid non-profits in the construction of new affordable housing. The initiative, called the New York Land Opportunity Program, is a joint venture with the goal of helping faith-based institutions with limited real estate experience based in Manhattan, Bronx and Queens. (more…)

Daniel R. Garodnick

Council Member Daniel R. Garodnick, the recently re-elected representative for Manhattan’s 4th District and chair of the subcommittee on Planning, Dispositions & Concessions, takes pride in being born and raised in the district he represents. Garodnick grew up in a rent-stabilized apartment in the Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village community and still lives in that neighborhood with his wife. His district also includes parts of the Upper East Side, Midtown, and Murray Hill.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Garodnick worked as a litigator at Paul,Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. He also served as a public member of Manhattan Community Board 6, where he gained a deeper understanding of local issues and their effect on residents. When a City Council vacancy arose in 2005, Garodnick ran as the Democratic Party’s candidate and won 63 percent of the vote in the general election. (more…)

DEC acted outside its authority by creating “but-for” test to deny eligibility. East River Realty Company LLC owned several contaminated properties in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan and in 2001 entered them into the NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation’s Voluntary Cleanup Program. The sites are former Con Edison sites, and are among the largest and most valuable development sites in the City.

Following the enactment of the State’s Brownfield Cleanup Program in 2003, East River applied to DEC for a transfer of the sites from the Voluntary Cleanup Program to the Brownfield Cleanup Program. After DEC advised East River that its application was complete, the agency delivered a final Cleanup Agreement to East River, which executed the agreement and sent it back to DEC. DEC, in an apparent change of position, refused to execute the agreement, and six months later, issued a determination denying the sites’ inclusion in the program. (more…)

Council Member Daniel Garodnick concerned over Solow project’s height and density. On February 25, 2008, two City Council subcommittees held a joint public hearing regarding Solow Properties’ plan to construct a mixed-use development at the former Con Edison site, located along First Avenue between East 38th and 41st Streets. The subcommittees also heard testimony regarding Manhattan Community Board 6’s 197-a plan, which covers the same area.

The Planning Commission significantly modified both plans on January 28, 2008. Solow’s modified plan called for seven towers—six residential towers and one commercial office tower—for a total of 3,760,000 sq.ft. of residential floor area and 1,374,000 sq.ft. of commercial floor area. The residential towers would have heights between 600 and 700 feet and feature ground-floor retail as well as a publicly accessible viewing platform overlooking the waterfront. A public school was also part of the Commission-approved plan. (more…)

Marilyn J. Taylor is from a small town in Iowa “with a population of 1,432.” Perhaps it is her Midwestern roots that allow her to remain upbeat and positive as two of her current planning projects—Columbia University’s campus expansion in West Harlem and Solow’s redevelopment of the Con Edison site in Murray Hill—plod their way through the City’s land use review process amidst political controversy.

Taylor is partner to Skidmore Owings & Merrill’s Urban Design & Planning and Airports & Transportation practice groups. She has represented SOM on such local projects as the Pennsylvania/ Moynihan Station expansion and redevelopment, John F. Kennedy and Newark International Airport terminal expansion, and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center redevelopment. Her practice is not limited to New York, however, and often includes projects in Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East. (more…)