Council Members Tony Avella and Melinda Katz secure exemption for certain one- and two-family homes from new street tree requirements. On April 30, 2008, the City Council modified the Department of City Planning’s proposals to amend the zoning requirements for street trees and yards. The proposals are designed to create green streetscapes, increase open space, and ameliorate storm water runoff problems.

Under the old zoning, property owners were required to plant street trees in a limited number of special districts and only under certain conditions, such as when there is new construction in an area. The old zoning also required only one rear yard per zoning lot, to be extended along the rear lot line. (more…)

Renovations include shifting fountain 23 feet to align with arch. On December 3, 2007, Justice Joan Madden ruled that the Parks Department could proceed with its planned renovations to Washington Square Park, finding the agency’s Environmental Assessment Statement complied with all applicable State and City environmental review statutes and adequately analyzed the renovations’ impact on natural resources, open-space, and the surrounding neighborhood’s character.

The ruling allows Parks to move forward with its plan to renovate the park, which includes expanding lawn areas, decreasing the paved area surrounding the fountain, and restoring and reconfiguring other features within the park such as its statues, pathways, and playgrounds. (more…)

DEP agrees to work with local community to address its concerns. On September 10, 2007, the City Council approved the Department of Environmental Protection’s plan to expand its water treatment plant in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. Under the plan, DEP will construct two, 130-foot tall, eggshaped digester buildings, which will convert raw sewage sludge into fertilizer. The plan also includes a 1.2-acre staging area that DEP will use for construction and then eventually transfer to the Department of Parks and Recreation as an addition to the newly-opened Barretto Point Park, which Parks built on former DEP land.

In July, the Planning Commission unanimously approved the plan, particularly expressing its approval of the addition to Barretto Point Park. 4 CityLand 106 (Aug. 15, 2007). At the Council’s public hearing, however, the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses focused primarily on the expansion’s impact on air quality.

Representatives from the Bronx Borough President’s office and Sustainable South Bronx joined local residents to argue that the current odor from the plant will only get worse if the plant expands. They urged the Council to delay approval of the expansion until they get assurances from DEP that it will work with the local community to address odor and air quality issues in a timely manner. The opposition also asked that the digester buildings be located well within the interior of the current site, away from Barretto Point Park, so that their presence would not overshadow the park. (more…)

Highbridge recreation facility joins previously-designated water tower. On August 14, 2007, Landmarks voted to designate the Highbridge Play Center and Pool in upper Manhattan as an individual City landmark. The Play Center, which opened in 1936 and features an Olympic-sized swimming pool, became the seventh WPA-funded swimming pool built under Parks Commissioner Robert Moses’ auspices to be designated. Landmarks heard testimony on the Highbridge Play Center, along with several others, on January 31, 2007. 4 CityLand 25 (March 15, 2007). The pool, renovated in 2001, accommodates more than 4,000 people and remains in active use.

Highbridge Park also features the High Bridge Water Tower, completed in 1872 and landmarked in 1967. A retaining wall surrounding the Play Center is made from a cut stone matching the water tower’s material. The Play Center was among eleven City pools opened in 1936 by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and avid swimmer Robert Moses. (more…)

Related Companies obtained Council okay for 210-space garage despite Comm. Bd. opposition. On August 22, 2007, the City Council approved Related Companies’ special permit application for a 210-space accessory parking garage to be located within a mixed-use development that Related is constructing at 450 West 17th Street, adjacent to the High Line.

The project received one of the first High Line Improvement floor area bonuses, allowing Related to increase the development’s size by 160,775 sq.ft. to 440,937 sq.ft. In exchange, Related agreed to construct public amenities for the High Line, including a public stairway, an elevator, Parks Department service facilities, and a public restroom. Related further agreed to complete construction of the amenities by the end of 2007, the anticipated completion date for a portion of the High Line park.

Related’s development, which will contain 478 luxury apartments and 17,000 sq.ft. of commercial space, including an Equinox gym, would have permitted construction of an accessory 100-space parking garage as-of-right. Instead, Related proposed to increase the number of spaces to 210 and to restrict use to the building’s occupants. To support its plan, Related pointed to the project’s traffic study, which was based on census data showing that high-income Manhattan residents have a higher incidence of car ownership. The study concluded that the development would increase parking demand to 210 spaces because of the projected high sale price of the building’s units.

Community Board 4 unanimously opposed any increase above the 100 spaces. When Related’s proposal reached the Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning & Franchises, its Chair, Council Member Tony Avella, explained that Speaker Christine Quinn supported the project since Related agreed to record a restriction on the property and install signage restricting use to the building’s residents and Equinox members. Following Avella’s comments, the subcommittee voted to approve, sending it to the Land Use Committee and the full Council, which both approved.

ULURP Process
Lead Agency: CPC,Neg.Dec.
Comm.Bd.: MN 4,Den’d, 39-0-0
Boro. Pres.: App’d
CPC: App’d, 11-0-0

Council: 450 West 17th Street Garage (Aug. 22, 2007); CPC: 450 West 17th Street Garage (C 060341 ZSM) (July 11, 2007) (Jerald Johnson, for Related). CITYADMIN