Council Member Levin concerned that project would burden existing infrastructure. On April 28, 2010, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on CPC Resources Inc.’s proposed 2.75 million sq.ft. mixed used development at the landmarked Domino Sugar plant site in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The 11.2- acre project site encompasses the former Domino plant along the East River between Grand and South 5th Streets and an upland parcel bounded by Kent and Wythe Avenues, and South 3rd and 4th Streets. (more…)

Council Member Levin concerned that project would burden existing infrastructure. On April 28, 2010, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on CPC Resources Inc.’s proposed 2.75 million sq.ft. mixed-used development at the landmarked Domino Sugar plant site in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The 11.2- acre project site encompasses the former Domino plant along the East River between Grand and South 5th Streets and an upland parcel bounded by Kent and Wythe Avenues, and South 3rd and 4th Streets. The proposal included building four towers on the Domino site and a fifth structure on the upland parcel. CPC Resources would demolish the Domino Bin building and relocate the “Domino Sugar” sign to a redeveloped Refinery Building. The buildings would feature a series of setbacks to reduce their bulk and create a tapered effect.

The project would create approximately 2,200 residential units, 30 percent of which would be affordable. It would also provide four acres of public waterfront space, 125,000 sq.ft. of retail space, 99,000 sq.ft. of office space, and more than 1,600 underground parking spaces located in four separate facilities. Four of the buildings would include ground-floor retail with residential units above. The tower built on the waterfront parcel’s northern portion would be used primarily as office space. The Refinery Building would contain more than 100,000 sq.ft. of community facility space. (more…)

Modification allows residential building to be sited at the corner of West 30th Street and Eleventh Avenue. On March 4, 2009, the City Planning Commission approved RG ERY LLC’s proposal to amend the site planning and parking regulations within Hudson Yards’ Eastern Rail Yard, also known as Subarea A1. The affected area, located within the Special Hudson Yards District, is bounded by West 33rd Street to the north, West 30th Street to the south, Tenth Avenue to the east, and Eleventh Avenue to the west.

RG, a joint venture of Related Companies and Goldman Sachs, was selected by the MTA in May 2008 to develop Subarea A1. RG submitted the application in order to facilitate construction of its proposed design, which includes hotel, residential, and ground-floor retail use at the corner of Eleventh Avenue and West 33rd Street; commercial office, residential, and retail space along Tenth Avenue; a community facility building along West 30th Street; and a residential building with groundfloor retail near the corner of Eleventh Avenue and West 30th Street. The design also allows for a maximum of 1,000 on-site accessory parking spaces, with a maximum of 350 spaces for commercial and community facility use. (more…)

Developer did not follow plans filed with Buildings. Between February and April 2002, Buildings issued C of Os for ten buildings within a multi-building residential development along 34th Avenue in Flushing, Queens. Buildings later found that the buildings were not built according to approved plans and sought to revoke the C of Os. Buildings argued that the approved plans incorrectly identified a floor as a mezzanine and that a fourth floor was inappropriately constructed as an independent dwelling unit. Buildings also found that, contrary to approved plans, interior roof access stairs were not provided and accessible exterior routes and primary entrances were not up to code. The developer also failed to comply with off-street parking regulations and minimum distances between windows and the side lot line.

Although the developer received construction permits from Buildings in March 2005 to correct objections at five of the buildings, the developer did not complete the work and the remaining five buildings had a “disapproved” status. The developer indicated that work was expected to be completed in December 2005 for the five permitted buildings, while work on the five disapproved buildings was expected to be completed by January 2006. (more…)

Even though the Supreme Court struck down race-based land use controls over a hundred years ago in Buchanan v. Warley, 245 U.S. 60 (1917) it has long been known that zoning continues to create or increase racial and economic segregation. Today communities across the U.S. are reexamining their zoning regulations to create more equal, equitable, inclusive, and resilient communities by removing requirements, limitations, or prohibitions that disproportionately and negatively impact individuals based on race or class. (more…)