Developers required to submit online diagrams for new building and alteration enlargement applications; public has 30 days to challenge Buildings’ zoning decisions. On February 2, 2009, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor for Operations Edward Skyler, and Buildings’ Commissioner Robert D. LiMandri announced changes to the City’s real estate development process. The changes, which will go into effect starting March 9, 2009, mandate that online diagrams for new building and alteration enlargement applications be submitted to Buildings for public viewing on its website.

One of the required diagrams will be a three-dimensional representation of the proposed project that must include the building height, street wall heights and setbacks, permitted obstructions, and the sky exposure plane. Another diagram will require, among other things, the zoning district(s), dimensioned zoning lot, lot coverage, street trees, yards, street widths, garages, and decks. The purpose of the diagrams is to provide the public with enough detail about the project to determine if it complies with applicable zoning regulations. New York is the first city in the nation to require online development diagrams. (more…)

Hospital for Special Surgery agrees to address traffic concerns and develop surrounding open space once construction is complete. On October 7, 2008, the City Council approved the Hospital for Special Surgery’s plan to expand over the FDR Drive. 5 CityLand133 (Oct. 15, 2008). At Council’s public hearing before the Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee, Council Member Jessica Lappin detailed the concessions that the Hospital had agreed to, and asked her colleagues to support the project.

In exchange for the Council’s support, the Hospital agreed to plant vegetation on the west side of the esplanade between East 71st and 73rd Streets, plant trees along the east side of the esplanade between East 71st and 73rd Streets, and repair fencing on the west side of the esplanade between East 70th and 78th Streets. In addressing the community’s concerns over traffic congestion, the Hospital agreed to hire a traffic/security guard to maintain positive traffic flow, shift 15 percent of deliveries from East 71st Street to a loading zone along East 70th Street, and build a storage facility where deliveries can be off-loaded and later distributed throughout the hospital. (more…)

Private owner built a fence along the Henry Street Basin. The Gowanus Industrial Park consists of 46 acres of land on the edge of the Henry Street Basin in Red Hook, as well as land under the Basin. The industrial park is adjacent to Red Hook Park, which, in addition to ball fields and a pool, has an esplanade with trees and benches overlooking the water. Prior to 2002, the esplanade had a short, decorative fence that allowed for fishing and provided a view of the water.

In 2002, however, the owners of the industrial park built a fence on the Basin’s bulkhead, running parallel with the Park’s fence and entirely blocking the view to the Basin. It claimed that the fence was necessary to prevent trespassing. The City sought an injunction ordering the fence’s removal, claiming that the industrial park did not have the requisite special permit to build the fence, the fence interfered with the City’s right to access the Basin, and that the fence constituted a nuisance. (more…)

Garage with landscaped roof garden proposed for courtyard of 19th century housing complex. On May 20, 2008, Landmarks heard testimony on a proposal by the Pinnacle Group to build a two-level garage in the courtyard of the Riverside Houses in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District. The complex was developed by philanthropist Alfred T. White in 1890 to provide attractive housing for the working classes, while giving residents maximum access to light and air. In the 1950s, a portion of the courtyard was eliminated to make way for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

Landscape architect and former Landmarks Commissioner Lee Weintraub presented the plan for the garage on behalf of Pinnacle. Under the plan, the garage would rise one story above-ground, the other level being underground. A rooftop garden featuring a lawn, trees, bluestone paths, a fountain, and a pavilion would be accessible from the complex’s second-floor apartments by a series of bridges. There would not be any apartments on the building’s ground floor, which would be used only for storage. The garage would accommodate approximately 130 vehicles, and spaces would be offered to Riverside Houses tenants at discounted rates, according to the Pinnacle’s attorney, Kenneth K. Fisher of Wolf Block. (more…)

Judge issued a temporary restraining order, thwarting the City’s plan to install a restaurant in Union Square Park. In 2004, the City announced plans for a $14 million renovation of the entire north end of Union Square Park, with the Union Square Partnership contributing $6 million for the effort.

Under the plan, the park’s pavilion would be renovated and used as a restaurant during the summer and portions of the spring and fall. Previously, the City allowed an area south of the pavilion to be used for a seasonal outdoor restaurant until the restaurant closed in 2007. The Parks Department has already begun work around the pavilion.

Neighborhood residents filed an Article 78, arguing that the City was privatizing parkland without the required approval of the State Legislature in violation of the common law doctrine of public trust and State law. The residents also argued that the project is tantamount to an amendment to the zoning resolution and, as such, subject to the City’s land use review process. Lastly, the residents argued that the project negatively impacts parkland because it calls for the removal of 15 trees and the demolition of two playgrounds. (more…)