As director of the Department of City Planning’s Bronx Office, Carol Samol uses zoning tools to promote sustainable economic development in the Bronx. She has also participated as a leader in a broader City effort to reform the City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure’s pre-certification process.
Journey to the Bronx. Samol grew up in the upper Ohio Valley near Wheeling, West Virginia and studied English at Berea College, a small liberal arts college in Kentucky. … <Read More>
Eight-story building sharing same tax lot as Plaza Hotel was included in 1969 designation. On June 19, 2012, Landmarks approved a plan to rebuild the facade of, and build a rooftop addition to, an eight-story building at 22 Central Park South. The building was constructed in 1897, and was substantially modified and enlarged in 1909. It abuts the western wall of the individually landmarked Plaza Hotel, and was included in the 1969 landmarking … <Read More>
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s plan to grant livery cabs the right to accept street hails was derailed on June 1, 2012, when New York State Judge Arthur Engoron invoked the home rule clause of the State constitution and enjoined the City from implementing the State law passed in 2011. The State law would have allowed 30,000 liveries to accept street hails, a right currently enjoyed only by yellow cabs. Advocates for the law claimed that … <Read More>
MTA claimed that compensation for trade fixtures in building taken for transit project would constitute improper windfall payment. Three restaurant tenants in a three-story building at 194 Broadway in Lower Manhattan sought compensation for their trade fixtures after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority acquired the property through eminent domain for its Fulton Street Transit Center project. The three restaurants were separately incorporated, but were owned by the same individual … <Read More>
Bronx BID formation delayed to ensure compliance with public notice requirements. On January 3, 2012, the City Council’s Finance Committee held a public hearing triggering another 30-day objection period for the Department of Small Business Services’ plan to create the Westchester Square Business Improvement District in the Bronx. The proposed BID would be within Bronx Community Boards 10 and 11. The district, with a proposed first-year budget of $320,000, would include 90 tax lots and … <Read More>
At hearing, concerns raised about whether public notice requirements were met for proposed BID. On October 17, 2011, the City Council’s Finance Committee held a public hearing on the Department of Small Business Services’ plan to create the Westchester Square Business Improvement District in the Bronx.
The BID would be within Bronx Community Boards 10 and 11 and extend along portions of East Tremont Avenue, Williamsbridge Road, and Westchester Avenue. The district would include 90 … <Read More>