Variance for mixed-use building approved

15-unit residential building with commercial space approved for manufacturing district. The owner of 214 25th Street, a 12,617-squarefoot lot in an M1-1D district of Sunset Park, Brooklyn with two vacant, low-rise manufacturing buildings, sought a variance to convert and enlarge one of the structures into a 15-unit, 20,656-square-foot residential building.

The owner argued that manufacturing uses were infeasible due to the buildings’ small size, cost to retrofit, lack of street access, narrow interior spaces and … <Read More>


BSA allows residential building on split-zoned lot

Variance will permit four-story residential building. Bernard Scharff, owner of three lots located at 1380 62nd Street in Borough Park, Brooklyn and split between M1-1D and R5 zoning districts, sought a variance to build a 52,000-squarefoot, six-story, 34-unit residential building, with ground floor retail and underground parking. The 16,000-square-foot site, 14,000 of which are in the manufacturing district and the remaining 2,000 in the residential district, contains a one-story hardware and lumber store.

Scharff argued … <Read More>


Housing project will have cinema and retail space

249-unit,mixed-use project will have multi-colored, patterned facade. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development sought approval for a 15-lot disposition in Central Harlem for construction of the Kalahari, a two-building, 249-unit affordable housing project with ground floor retail, restaurant, theater, and community group space. The 54,184-square-foot site, fronting West 115th and 116th Streets, was originally proposed for development in 2003, but HPD withdrew the application several days before the Council’s vote due to concerns raised … <Read More>


Council Modifies Massive Rezoning Plan for Brooklyn

Affordable housing incentive increased; new industrial protection zone proposed. The City Council’s Land Use Committee voted to modify the 183-block rezoning plan for the two-mile East River waterfront in Greenpoint and Williamsburg at a May 2, 2005 hearing attended by Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, Planning Commission Chair Amanda M. Burden, and HPD Commissioner Shaun Donovan.

The Land Use Committee had scheduled the vote at 11:00 a.m., but delayed the hearing until late afternoon to allow … <Read More>


BJ’s Warehouse withdrawn: faced Council disapproval

Related Companies withdrew its big-box retail proposal after Committee unanimously disapproved. On February 16, 2005, Related Retail Bruckner LLC withdrew its application for a special permit and map amendment to allow the development of a 130,000 sq.ft. BJ’s Warehouse Club, which was scheduled for a full Council vote that day. BJ’s had gained the unanimous approval of the Planning Commission, but faced likely defeat at the full Council meeting after its Land Use Committee unanimously … <Read More>


BSA approved residential building in Tribeca

Manufacturing and office use found infeasible on triangular-shaped lot adjacent to Holland Tunnel. The owner of 500 Canal Street, Greenwich Triangle NU, sought a variance to build a 49,060 squarefoot, eight-story residential building with ground floor retail in a Tribeca manufacturing zoning district. The 8,000 square-foot, triangular-shaped lot fronts Canal, Greenwich and Watt Streets directly adjacent to the Holland Tunnel. The site is partially developed with abandoned one and three-story buildings.

The owner argued that … <Read More>