BSA found that project did not qualify as an enlargement. In 1999, BSA granted the owner of 155 Norfolk Street in Brooklyn a special permit to enlarge a one-story home. The enlargement was not built pursuant to the approved plans. More than three years later, the owner submitted a different set of plans to Buildings for an as-of-right enlargement and began construction. In 2005, after resolving a series of violations, the owner obtained an alteration … <Read More>
Search Results for: Article 78
Landmarks’ designation process upheld
First Department ruled that preservation group failed to show its members were affected differently than general public. The City’s Landmarks law provides the public with the ability to nominate properties for landmark designation by submitting a Request for Evaluation form. After receiving a request, the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s Request for Evaluation Committee, which includes the Landmarks Chair, screens the nomination in order to determine whether additional consideration is appropriate.
A nomination requiring further consideration is … <Read More>
Michael B. Gerrard Discusses His Career and the Future of Climate Change Regulation
Michael B. Gerrard, director of Columbia Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law, traces his passion for environmental protection back to growing up in Charleston, West Virginia, a city dominated by major chemical manufacturing companies like Union Carbide and DuPont. As a child, he lived on the banks of the Kanawha River, where large amounts of toxic chemicals had polluted the water and air.
After graduating from Columbia University, Gerrard worked for a local environmental … <Read More>
High Court voids variance
Court of Appeals ruled BSA abused discretion in granting variance. GAC Catering Inc. purchased a single-family home at the intersection of Otis Avenue and Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island across the street from its catering business. GAC demolished the house and applied to the BSA for a use variance to build a two-story commercial photography studio to be used in conjunction with GAC’s catering hall. GAC claimed that commercial uses predominated the area, and that … <Read More>
EAS not required for NYPD command center
The NYPD to house Joint Operations Command Center in building adjoining One Police Plaza. In 2000, the New York Police Department planned to demolish a two-story building at 109 Park Row in Manhattan and replace it with a nine-story building. After September 11, 2001, the NYPD decided instead to renovate the existing building and create a $13.8 million, 22,000 sq.ft. Joint Operations Command Center. The command center would operate as a state-of-the-art crisis response situation … <Read More>
Engineer overturns ban
Engineer filed falsified documents for two addresses. The Department of Buildings filed charges against engineer Leon St. Clair Nation after discovering that he submitted a false application to alter the second floor of a building that did not have a second floor, and that he also submitted plans with altered photographs for two separate properties. Buildings specifically charged St. Clair with violating the City rules by knowingly or negligently submitting false or misleading documents to … <Read More>