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 … <Read More>
Search Results for: Upper East Side, Manhattan
Basement apartment ruled legal; Condo’s “peace” sign ruled illegal
Buildings charged that owner unlawfully converted basement into additional rental apartment. In 2013 the Department of Buildings charged the owner of 345 W 70th Street, a multiple dwelling, with creating an illegal apartment in the basement. At the administrative hearing, Buildings submitted three I-cards for the building from 1916, 1938 and 1945. Before 1938, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development used I-cards to record the occupancy and arrangement of the buildings HPD had inspected. … <Read More>
Landmarks Leaves Only One Backlog Item Remaining After Last Meeting of 2016
Ten of thirteen items brought to a final disposition were designated by Landmarks and will proceed to City Council for ratification. On December 13, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission made its final dispositive votes on items prioritized for designation in the commission’s Backlog Initiative, with one exception. The initiative, began in 2015, sought to address the backlog of designation items that had been added to the commission’s calendar before 2001 but never brought to … <Read More>
Elected Officials Challenge Skyscraper’s Skirt of the Zoning Law
The development of a skyscraper on the Upper East Side has provoked the ire of City officials and neighborhood groups. The developer, DDG Partners, planned to construct a 524-foot skyscraper at 180 East 88th Street in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The building would be 31 stories, with 16 feet per story, and would be the tallest skyscraper north of 72nd Street. The developer is currently in the process of selling units in the skyscraper, ranging … <Read More>
Attorney General Settles with Developer for Concealing Prohibited Rent-Controlled Tenant Buyouts
Upper West Side developer must pay $540,000 dollars in settlement costs. On June 6, 2016 New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced reaching a settlement for $540,000 with 165 West 91st Street Holdings, LLC for the loss of two rent-controlled apartments in an Upper West Side building, while it was being converted into a condominium, as a result of prohibited agreements to buy-out tenancy rights. The LLC owns an apartment building at 165 … <Read More>
Alterations to Rowhouse Approved After Additions Reduced
Additions to surviving Queen Anne-style Park Avenue rowhouse scaled down after commissioners rejected previous proposal. On April 12, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to issue a certificate of appropriateness to revised proposal to alter and build additions to an 1885 rowhouse at 890 Park Avenue in the Upper East Side Historic District. The rowhouse is one of only three surviving low-rise buildings on Park Avenue. The current owners intend to revert the building … <Read More>