Buildings Upheld on Crane Licenses

President of the operating engineers challenged new rules on crane operator licenses. Edwin L. Christian, President and Business Manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers, filed an article 78 petition challenging amendments to the rules of the City of New York promulgated by the Department of Buildings regarding licensing for crane operators. Christian challenged the adoption of a rule which dispensed with the requirement that, for a class A license, the applicant must have … <Read More>


Say Hello to Mandatory Inclusionary Housing!

Almost 55 percent of all renter households in New York City now pay more than 30 percent of their income towards housing costs, an increase of 11 percent since 2000. As a consequence, the City Planning Commission found that “many of the city’s neighborhoods are becoming less economically diverse, which poses a threat to the city’s economic competitiveness as well as to the opportunities available to lower-income New Yorkers.”

Mandatory Inclusionary Housing is one of … <Read More>


HDC: Proposed Legislation Would Undermine the Landmarks Preservation Commission

Since its adoption in 1965, the New York City Landmarks Law has been amended several times. In 1973, the Landmarks Preservation Commission was allowed to designate landmarks as part of its regular schedule rather than having to wait three years between designation hearings, as had previously been the case, and also gained the ability to designate publicly owned parks and publicly accessible interiors as landmarks. In 1997, the agency gained the ability to enforce the … <Read More>


Proposal to Limit Size of Banks and Other Storefronts in the Upper West Side Awaits Vote from Full Council [UPDATE: City Council Approves Proposal]

Banking group claimed proposed limitations on widths of new ground floor storefronts along Broadway, Amsterdam Avenue, and Columbus Avenue unfairly discriminate against banks. On June 21, 2012, the City Council’s Land Use Committee approved the Department of City Planning’s Upper West Side Neighborhood Retail Streets proposal. The proposal would establish two Special Enhanced Commercial Districts in Manhattan’s Upper West Side and establish limits on the widths of new and expanding ground floor retail stores, … <Read More>


Court upholds City’s approval of Columbia’s plan

Mini-storage owners unsuccessfully challenged FEIS. Columbia University proposed an expansion plan that would allow it to construct a new 17- acre campus in the Manhattanville neighborhood of West Harlem. The plan would create academic building space, university housing, as well as a contiguous below-grade facility, or “bathtub,” to support campus functions. After the City Planning Commission determined that Columbia’s plan might have a significant impact on the environment, Columbia prepared a final environmental impact statement … <Read More>


Jamaica rezoning approved with modifications

The Jamaica Plan: Proposed Zoning with City Council Modifications, subject to adoption by the City Council by September 19, 2007, used with permission of the New York City Department of City Planning. All rights reserved.

Largest rezoning undertaken by City sent back to Commission for final approval. The City Council approved, with several significant modifications, the Planning Commission’s proposal to rezone 378 blocks in Jamaica, Queens. The Council’s modifications must now go to the Planning … <Read More>