A proposed restoration of 102 Greene Street would restore the missing top two floors and cast-iron facade, but remove the building’s JLWQA designation. Image credit: CityLand

Proposed renovation would restore two floors lost to fire and open loft building to non-artist tenants. On December 3, 2014 the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application for a special permit for 102 Greene Street in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District, Manhattan. The building is three stories, with the Galeria Melissa gallery on the ground floor and two apartments above. The apartments are designated as Joint Live-Work Quarters for Artists (JLWQA), though neither of the current tenants are artists.

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Not-for-profit granted variance partly because of programmatic need to provide affordable housing and hardship associated with protecting adjacent elevated subway. SoBRO Development Corporation applied to BSA for a variance to construct a ten-story, mixed-use building containing 98 dwelling units and ground floor retail. The new construction would be sited on two vacant tax lots, including one that formerly housed an automotive service station for over sixty years. Prior to its hearing before BSA, SoBRO changed its proposal to a seven-story building with 68 dwelling units, ground floor retail, and community facility space. Despite the change, SoBRO still required a variance since the property’s C8-3 zoning did not permit residential use.

SoBRO argued that the site’s triangular shape, subsurface contamination, and high water table were unique physical conditions that made as-of-right development economically unworkable. SoBRO also argued that the property’s close proximity to elevated subway tracks produced additional hardship since drilled soldier beams and a lagging wall would be required along Southern Boulevard during excavation to support the soil load. Aside from unique physical conditions, SoBRO claimed the variance was required in order to carry out its programmatic need to provide affordable housing to 68 low and moderate income families. SoBRO also pointed out that the site’s zoning allowed for an as-of-right 76,554 sq.ft. community facility building, and that its revised plan called for a smaller, 68,336 sq.ft. building. (more…)

BSA sides with owner despite strong opposition. On August 22, 2006, BSA granted a variance to Atlas Packaging Solutions Holding Corporation, the owner of a vacant, 2,500- square-foot lot at 146 Conover Street in Red Hook, Brooklyn, to allow construction of a six-unit, four-story, 5,350-square-foot residential building in a manufacturing zone (M2-1). Prior to 1980, the lot contained a residential building.

In support of the variance, Atlas argued that the site’s small size and the fact that the two adjacent lots contained residential uses made modern industrial uses unmarketable. Atlas submitted a study showing that as-of-right development would be infeasible and a survey showing no other vacant, small manufacturing sites in Red Hook with adjacent residential uses. It also offered proof of its efforts to market the site for manufacturing uses. Atlas had initially proposed a taller eight-unit building, but, upon BSA’s request, reduced the height and number of units to match adjacent buildings. BSA also directed Atlas to eliminate the cellar to avoid added construction costs. (more…)

Rendering of 35-01 Vernon Boulevard. Image Credit: NYC CPC.

On April 13, 2022, the City Planning Commission voted to approve an application that would facilitate the construction of a nine-story mixed use building at 35-01 Vernon Boulevard in Astoria, Queens. The requested rezoning area consists of the northern portion of the block with 35th Avenue to the north, Vernon Boulevard to the west and 9th Street to the east. The two-story manufacturing building currently located on the project site is home to an auto parts business that is relocating to the Bronx. (more…)

Rendering of 803 Rockaway Avenue, as seen from Newport Avenue. Image Credit: NYC CPC/Youtube

The project is a partnership between a mental health and housing non-profit and a manufacturing real estate non-profit. On October 7, 2020, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing for a mixed use-manufacturing and affordable housing development at 803 Rockaway Avenue in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The rezoning area covers nine lots on the block bounded by Riverdale Avenue to the north, Newport Avenue to the south, Rockaway Avenue to the west and Thatford Avenue to the east. The applicants of the project are the Bridge, a non-profit offering supportive housing and services for individuals with behavioral health needs, and the Greenpoint Manufacturing Design Center, a real estate non-profit developer of multi-tenant manufacturing buildings. The two applicants aim to build a mixed-use building that contains both manufacturing and residential spaces. The site is owned by the Bridge and currently features an old warehouse. (more…)