The first CityLand issue – October 15, 2004.
Welcome to CityLand‘s second annual top ten stories of the year! We have selected the most popular and interesting stories, guest commentaries and profiles concerning NYC land use in 2013. In only our second year transitioning to an online publication, readership has dramatically increased. We look forward to continuing to provide in-depth coverage of the latest land use projects, cases, and legislation in 2014. We at CityLand thank you for your support and wish you a happy new year!
(more…)
Tobacco Warehouse at Empire Fulton Ferry State Park. Image: CityLand.
Court ruled that the National Park Service unlawfully removed warehouse and adjacent building from park boundaries. In 2001, the National Park Service awarded to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation a federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grant to help fund a cove restoration project in Empire Fulton Ferry Park in DUMBO, Brooklyn. The Park Service’s grant was contingent on the State Office of Parks agreeing that the restoration project area would be used for public outdoor recreation.
The approved boundary map of the park area included the Tobacco Warehouse building and the adjacent Empire Stores warehouse bordering the park along Water Street. The dilapidated Tobacco Warehouse has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974. The State Office of Parks stabilized the Tobacco Warehouse, removed its collapsing roof, and opened the building to the public. Empire Stores was used to house the park’s administrative offices and a public restroom. (more…)
Speaker Quinn announced support prior to Council vote. On June 10, 2009, the City Council approved Two Trees Management Company’s mixed-use development project adjacent to the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO, Brooklyn. The project will provide the neighborhood with a 45,000 sq.ft. middle school and approximately 300 new housing units, 20 percent of which will be permanently affordable.
Residents, neighborhood associations, and community groups opposed the project. In response, the City Planning Commission reduced the project’s height and increased its distance from the Brooklyn Bridge. 6 CityLand 69 (June 15, 2009). (more…)
- Two Trees’ development near Brooklyn Bridge. Image: Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP.
Despite concerns project sent to full Council. On June 4, 2009, the City Council’s Land Use Committee approved the controversial proposal by Two Trees Management Company to build a mixed-use development at 10 Dock Street, adjacent to the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO, Brooklyn. In addition to providing approximately 300 residential units, 20 percent of which would be affordable, the proposed building would provide space for a 45,000 sq.ft. public middle school, a 465- space garage, and additional ground floor retail space. 6 CityLand 43 (April 15, 2009).
The City Planning Commission modified the project to address its relationship to the bridge and surrounding historic buildings. It reduced the height of the tallest section of the building from almost 184 ft. to a maximum of 170 feet. The Commission also required a notch in the nine-story section, reducing the westernmost 50 feet to seven stories, thereby increasing the distance between the building and the bridge’s span. (more…)
Mayor Bill de Blasio. Image credit: CityLand
The program will allow for outdoor dining until October 31st. As part of the City’s efforts to reopen and protect New Yorkers during the COVID-19 pandemic, earlier this month the City announced an expansion of outdoor dining options in connection with the Open Streets program. (more…)
