Wednesday, February 20, 2019 from 6-8PM
New York Law School
185 West Broadway, New York, New York 10013 (more…)
Street Trees in Brooklyn. Image credit: thecityatlas.org
Trees are planted right into the backdrop of New York City. While there are only about 600,000 trees in the City, many of them occupy the sidewalks and streets in front of our homes. Given the dense population of the City, apartment buildings and houses are built right on top of each other. The trees planted on City streets and sidewalks need to be cared for otherwise, they can cause damage and problems for the surrounding residents and property owners. The Department of Parks and Recreation has procedures and guidelines for the care and maintenance of City trees. (more…)
Image credit: CityLaw
Trees under the common law were considered natural conditions with the result that possessors of land were not liable for injuries caused trees. Professor William Prosser wrote in the first edition of the hornbook on Torts (1941) that the traditional common law rule was that the possessor of land was under no affirmative duty to make safe dangerous conditions on the land that were natural in origin. Prosser went on to say, however, that there “were indications of the development of a different rule as to urban land.” Today, after many developments in the law of negligence and nuisance, coupled with statutory enactments and changes in the law of immunity, there are significant liability risks to the City for injuries caused by trees. (more…)
Speaker Quinn announced support prior to Council vote. On June 10, 2009, the City Council approved Two Trees Management Company’s mixed-use development project adjacent to the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO, Brooklyn. The project will provide the neighborhood with a 45,000 sq.ft. middle school and approximately 300 new housing units, 20 percent of which will be permanently affordable.
Residents, neighborhood associations, and community groups opposed the project. In response, the City Planning Commission reduced the project’s height and increased its distance from the Brooklyn Bridge. 6 CityLand 69 (June 15, 2009). (more…)
CB4 opposed to height and floor area of proposed “Z” shaped building. On February 4, 2009, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on Two Trees Management Co.’s plan to build a 1.3 million sq.ft. “Z” shaped tower at 770 Eleventh Avenue in Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. The Enrique Norten-designed tower would rise in steps from approximately seven stories at Eleventh Avenue and 54th Street to 32 stories at the eastern edge of the site. Along with 900 residential units, the tower would contain a 330,000 sq. ft. Mercedes-Benz dealership, a 36,000 sq.ft. facility for the NYPD Mounted Unit, a 20,000 sq.ft. health club, accessory parking for up to 225 cars, and parking space for 600 – 700 bicycles.
In order to facilitate the new development, Two Trees submitted several applications to the Department of City Planning, including a zoning map amendment to rezone the area from M1-5 to C6-3X, a special permit allowing residential and non-residential uses (the health club) on the third floor, and a zoning text amendment that would allow Two Trees to utilize an inclusionary housing bonus and include automobile showrooms and NYPD horse stables at the site. While Manhattan Community Board 4 was reviewing the applications, Two Trees presented a “consensus proposal” to the community in an effort to garner support for the project. The proposal offered, among other things, a decrease in the project’s total FAR from 9.0 to 8.55 and a one-story reduction across the entire building. Although CB4 appreciated Two Tree’s willingness to work with the community, the board felt the proposed modifications did not adequately address concerns over zoning designation and building design. CB4 recommended that the project be denied unless certain conditions were met, including changing the proposed zoning designation from C6-3X to R8A and R9A. (more…)
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