Fordham expansion plan modified by Council

Fordham University expansion plan approved. Image: Cooper, Robertson & Partners. Image is for master planning purposes only and does not represent completely designed buildings.

Changes to height and bulk of buildings along Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues among modifications. The City Council modified Fordham University’s long-term master plan to expand its Lincoln Center Campus in Manhattan. Located on a superblock bounded by Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues and West 60th and 62nd Streets, the existing campus consists … <Read More>


Recalcitrant owner of Landmark agrees to $1.1M fine

Clinton, Manhattan

LPC filed action to compel owner’s repair of landmarked building. After receiving no response to a series of notices regarding the structural instability and deteriorating facade of the landmarked Windermere building at 400 West 57th Street, Landmarks filed suit to compel Toa Construction to repair its building. The action also sought $5,000 in daily civil penalties.

Two months later, a lower court ordered Toa to give Landmarks access to the building to complete … <Read More>


Conversion of rowhouses to preschool proposed

Renovation would retain only facade and sidewalls. On May 19, 2009, Landmarks heard testimony on a plan to convert two Georgian-style rowhouses, located at 43 and 45 West 86th Street in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District, into a religious preschool. The rowhouses, built in 1895 and 1896, were designed by architect John H. Duncan, designer of Grant’s Tomb in Riverside Park.

Architect Charles Platt, of the firm Platt Byard Dovell White, presented … <Read More>


Time to complete Carroll Gardens project extended

Cold weather, Christmas, and New Year holiday help justify failing to meet construction deadline. In November 2008, BSA granted a developer three months to complete construction of a five-story apartment building at 126 First Place in Carroll Gardens after the City Council’s approval of a text amendment rendered the construction noncompliant with zoning. Unable to finish construction within the three months, the developer returned to BSA, arguing that conditions outside its control made it impossible … <Read More>


Coney Island Plan Debated

Public comments focus on affordable housing and concerns over likelihood of development in the area. On May 6, 2009, the City Planning Commission heard extensive testimony regarding the comprehensive rezoning proposal for Coney Island. The proposal would establish a new Special Coney Island District to guide redevelopment and revitalization of 19 blocks bounded by Mermaid Avenue to the north, the Riegelmann Boardwalk to the south, West 24th Street to the west, and the New York … <Read More>


Outdoor advertising regulations upheld

New City regulations would substantially limit billboards near highways. Clear Channel, the owner of large billboards located near arterial highways, and Metro Fuel LLC, the owner of smaller illuminated advertising signs on building fronts and poles close to the street, sued the City, challenging its outdoor advertising restrictions. The companies claimed that the restrictions limiting the location and illumination of commercial billboards and smaller signs, as well as the strict permitting and registration procedures for … <Read More>