Thirty of 95 backlogged items prioritized for 2016 designation votes

Some items will be removed from calendar due to political reality that designations will not be ratified by Council; others are found to be adequately protected so as to not require prioritization; others to lack significance that would merit immediate designation. On February 23, 2016, Landmarks made determinations on the disposition of 95 items added to Landmarks’ calendar before 2010, but never subjected to a vote on designation. In 2015 the commission had announced … <Read More>


BSA Vested Rights Decision Upheld by First Department

First Department recognized retroactive validation of a permit.  In 2005, the Board of Standards and Appeals denied recognition of GRA V, LLC’s common law vested right to perform work under a Department of Buildings permit on the grounds Buildings deemed the underlying permit invalid.  (See CityLand’s extensive previous coverage here.)  A common law vested right occurs when a developer performs substantial work in reliance that the underlying permit or zoning is valid.  In 2011, … <Read More>


Wide Community Opposition Voiced in Hearing on Three-Dwelling Development

Applicants sought to subdivide lot with existing home to construct to new buildings, and also build another dwelling on adjoining site. On February 17, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered an application to develop three new free-standing homes in the Fieldston Historic District. The site is composed of two lots at 4680 Fieldston Road, with one lot, to be subdivided, currently occupied by a 1918 one-family home. According to the New York Times, … <Read More>


Public Housing Committee Holds Oversight Hearing on NYCHA Private Investment

NYCHA Chairwoman Shola Olatoye answered questions on the Triboro Preservation Partners agreement.  On February 10, 2015 the City Council Committee on Public Housing held an oversight hearing on Triborough Preservation Partners, a public-private agreement between the New York City Housing Authority, L+M Development Partners, and BFC Partners. The venture was designed to rehabilitate six of NYCHA’s Section 8 properties containing nine hundred units: Bronxchester Houses, Saratoga Square, Campos Plaza, Milbank-Frawley, East 4th … <Read More>


Mayor de Blasio Delivers State of the City Address

Affordable housing issues, including rent-regulation, mandatory inclusionary zoning, and more were highlighted in the speech.  On February 3, 2015 Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered his second State Of The City address from Baruch College.  The Mayor spoke at length about the affordable housing crisis facing New York City and the programs his administration has begun or will propose to address the problem.


Mayor de Blasio’s Land Use Appointments Carousel Continues

Mayor de Blasio has re-structured the City’s land use administrative hierarchy to further his affordable housing agenda. On July 22, 2014, Mayor Bill de Blasio nominated Margery Perlmutter to serve as Chair of the Board of Standards and Appeals. This was the Mayor’s latest appointment  to City land-use positions, all of which will bear heavily on the Mayor’s expansive affordable housing agenda, a ten-year plan designed to preserve some 200,000 units of affordable housing.