Large Williamsburg project approved by split vote

Opponents of proposed Williamsburg waterfront development wanted more affordable housing. On March 8, 2010, the City Planning Commission approved Rose Plaza on the River LLC’s proposed mixed-use development along Williamsburg’s East River waterfront at 470 through 490 Kent Avenue in Brooklyn. The project, known as Rose Plaza on the River, would provide approximately 800 residential units in three towers on a site currently occupied by storage and wholesale distribution businesses, and a lumber yard.

A … <Read More>


Council reversed Commission on curb cut denial

The City Planning Commission denied developer’s special permit request to expand an existing parking facility into a 195-space public garage. The City Council’s Land Use Committee modified and approved SDS 15 William Street LLC’s proposal to amend the Special Lower Manhattan District’s curb cut prohibitions and widen two curb cuts on the north side of Beaver Street between Broad and William Streets in Manhattan’s Financial District. Both curb cuts are south of SDS’s recently completed … <Read More>


Large Clinton mixed-use development approved

Two Trees’ project near Clinton Park approved. Image: Two Trees Management

Council limits certain uses to Two Trees’ site block. On May 20, 2009, the City Council approved Two Trees Management Company’s plan to build a 1.3 million sq.ft., S-shaped tower at 770 Eleventh Avenue in the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. The Enrique Norten-designed tower would rise in steps from approximately seven stories at Eleventh Avenue and West 54th Street to 32 stories at … <Read More>


Court compels DEC to accept brownfield application

DEC overstepped its authority by judging application against eligibility regulations not found in Brownfield statute. HLP Properties LLC owned a 1.75 acre surface parking lot bounded by West 17th and 18th Streets between 10th and 11th Avenues in Manhattan. The lot was part of the former West 18th Street manufactured gas plant, a 19th century facility that converted coal to combustible gas for all of Manhattan north of Canal Street. The plant operated for more … <Read More>


Variance granted for Northern Boulevard site

Applicant claimed that slope, location, and soil contamination necessitated variance. Northern LLC applied to BSA for a variance to build a five-story 40-unit residential building with 63 parking spaces at 241-15 Northern Boulevard, an irregularly-shaped vacant gasoline station in Douglaston, Queens. During the hearing process, Northern modified and reduced its proposal. Northern’s fourth version called for a three-story 24-unit residential building and partial subsurface parking lot with 34 accessory parking spaces and three reservoir spaces. … <Read More>


Commission approves Solow, CB6 plans

Solow plan to include affordable housing, open space. On January 28, 2008, the Planning Commission voted to approve the development plans of Solow and Manhattan Community Board 6 for the former-Con Edison site on Manhattan’s East Side, located along First Avenue between East 35th and 41st Streets. Solow’s plan called for a mixed-use development consisting of new high-rise towers, parking facilities, and publicly accessible open space. Board 6’s plan, meanwhile, called for height, density, and … <Read More>