Loew’s 175th Street Theater in Manhattan’s Washington Heights. Image Credit: LPC.

Six designations sent to full Council where they were ratified; three items held over for further deliberation. On February 27, 2017, City Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting, and Maritime Uses heard testimony and voted on the items designated at the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s last meeting devoted to the backlog initiative. The designated properties were introduced to the Subcommittee by Landmarks’ Lisa Kersavage and Lauren George. The Subcommittee approved designations for six of the items, but laid over three items for further consideration in instances where the property owners objected to designation. The three items not advanced to the Land Use Committee and full Council were the Lakeman-Cortelyou House, the Loew’s 175th Street Theater, and the Protestant Reformed Dutch Church of Flushing.

Prior to hearing public testimony, Council Member Steven Matteo discussed the designation of the Lakeman-Cortleyou House in New Dorp, Staten Island. The House dates to the 17th century, with the oldest part of the building constructed of fieldstone, and possesses a gambrel roof. Commissioners at Landmarks were advised that designation would likely be overturned at the Council level, but nonetheless awarded the property landmarks status due to its antiquity and rarity. (more…)

Landmarks Preservation Commission. Credit: LPC.

Wide support voiced for designation of Coney Island pumping Station; potential extension to Douglaston Historic District and individual designation of Queens Apartment complex and religious structures proved contentious. On October 8, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held the first of four hearings meant to address the backlog of items on the Commission’s calendar added prior to 2010. Twenty-nine items were considered, in three groupings of multiple items clustered by borough. Each speaker had three minutes to testify for each batch, rather than on individual items. At the meeting, Landmark heard testimony on one batch of items in the Bronx, one in Brooklyn, and one in Queens. (more…)

Brian Cook

Brian Cook, Director of Land Use for Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, first developed an interest in land use while pursuing a degree in Metropolitan Studies from New York University. Cook stayed on to pursue a master’s degree in Public Policy with the hopes of learning how international governments shape land use policy. During his studies, however, Cook says he was “fascinated” by a course that centered on New York City’s Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP), and this led him to focus on land use at the local level. Cook secured an internship with former Borough President C. Virginia Fields. The internship developed into a job as Fields’s public policy advisor, and when Stringer took over, Cook was reassigned as a dedicated urban planner. Last July, Stringer appointed Cook to be his Director of Land Use following the departure of former director Anthony Borelli.

Adding value to ULURP. Within the land use context, Cook describes Stringer’s office as the balance between local community concerns and borough-wide obligations. By applying technical expertise, the office strives to harmonize development with neighborhood issues, always considering how to create “true benefits” for the community when reviewing a project. (more…)

Michael T. Sillerman

Land use attorney Michael T. Sillerman is often teased by his co-workers that he won’t work on a project unless there is a Pritzker Architecture Prize winner onboard. Although Sillerman doesn’t think that’s entirely true, he admits that his favorite part of being a land use attorney is how it overlaps with his love of architecture. As co-chair of Kramer Levin’s land use department, Sillerman typically spends as much time talking to architects and city planners as he does with other attorneys.

While Sillerman believes that there was “a certain serendipity” to becoming a land use attorney, the lifelong resident of the Upper West Side credits the influence of his mother, a former civic campaigner, and his early exposure to issues of public welfare and its intersection with City government. After studying reform movements in New York City politics at Cornell University and then teaching junior high school, Sillerman attended Columbia Law School. He started his legal career as a litigator at Paul,Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. A major turning point in Sillerman’s career occurred when he became the executive assistant to then- City Council President Carol Bellamy and learned the finer details of the City’s complicated land use process. (more…)

New rule requires applicants to submit Doing Business Data Form. The Department of City Planning recently enacted a rule requiring the submission of an additional disclosure form with each new ULURP and zoning text amendment application. The rule stems from Local Law 34 of 2007, the campaign finance reform law, which mandates that City agencies maintain a database of all companies, their principal officers and owners, and certain senior managers that engage in business dealings with the City. The law seeks to ensure that the City’s procurement and award processes are free of improper influence.

As of April 14, land use applicants now need to complete a Doing Business Data Form each time they file a ULURP or zoning text amendment application. Under the new law, principal officers including the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, and the Chief Operating Officer, or their functional equivalents, must all be listed. Principal Owners, defined as those who own or control ten percent of the entity, must also be listed. (more…)