Sidewalk cafe permit denied

Owner of West 23rd Street restaurant sought to extend seating outside. In May 2018, Maxver LLC applied to the City Department of Consumer Affairs for consent to open an unenclosed sidewalk café outside of Calle Dao Chelsea, the Cuban-Chinese fusion restaurant that Maxver operates on Manhattan’s West 23rd Street. The application called for four tables, each seating two people. Consumer Affairs forwarded the application to Community Board No. 4, which, after a public hearing, unanimously … <Read More>


Sidewalk cafe permit denied

DCA revoked restaurant’s previous permit after discovering plan inaccuracies. On August 20, 2009, the City Council denied Spitzer’s Corner’s application for an unenclosed sidewalk cafe at the corner of Rivington and Ludlow Streets in the Lower East Side. Spitzer’s application called for eight tables and 16 chairs fronting 101 Rivington Street.

At the Council’s Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee hearing, Spitzer’s architect, Steve Wygoda, testified that in 2007 the Council approved an application for a sidewalk … <Read More>


Permit denied to developer who cheated on demolition

Developer caught on video demolishing building with mechanical excavator and without a permit. In July 2005, Isaac Katan, of Global Development, received demolition permits to dismantle the building at 182 15th Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn to make way for a new 62-unit, 11-story residential building. Buildings issued a stop-work order and then rescinded, stopping Katan’s work for almost a month from October 4th to November 11th. On November 16th, the City Council rezoned Park … <Read More>


Permit denied illegal Chelsea parking garage

Thirty-two space garage had sought special permit to continue operation. Landowner El-Ad Skyview, LLC sought Planning Commission approval for the continued operation of a 32-space public parking garage on the ground floor and cellar of an existing 12-story residential building located at 151 West 17th Street in Chelsea. The building was constructed in 2001 with an as-of-right, 10-space accessory garage, but has since been operating without a permit as a 32-space public garage. Access to … <Read More>


Vested rights denied despite DOB permit error

Developer failed to inform DOB of error and continued work without a permit. After the City voted to downzone Jamaica Hills, Queens, Hamida Realty applied to BSA, arguing that it had obtained a vested right to continue its development on two adjoining lots located at 87-30 and 87-32 167th Street, north of Hillside Avenue.

When purchased by Hamida in 2001, the two 30-foot lots were joined and contained a single home that Hamida demolished. Hamida … <Read More>


Landmarks denied permit to legalize addition

After constructing an addition without permits, the owner asked Landmarks to allow the illegal structure to be legalized and expanded. 160 East 92nd Street is a vernacular clapboard dwelling with Greek Revival and Italianate style elements. It was built in 1852-53 and was designated an individual landmark in 1988. Without Landmarks approval, Freud 92 Properties LLC, the building owner, demolished a two-story, wood frame rear yard addition and replaced it with an unarticulated, windowless, two-story … <Read More>