Rendering of BAM South project’s public plaza and tower. Image Credit: Two Trees Management.

Local Council Member Letitia James reaches agreements with developers and City to increase affordable housing, preserve nearby public library. 22 Lafayette LLC and the NYC Economic Development Corporation proposed to develop a cultural space and residential tower and plaza at 113 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. The site for development is a triangular lot bounded by Flatbush and Lafayette Avenues and Ashland Place. The lot was previously the subject of a 2007 request for proposals that sought a developer to create an underground parking garage as part of the BAM Cultural District; those original plans evolved into the current proposal. The current use of the site includes a surface parking lot and a vacant one-story building. The lot is owned by the EDC and the City, and the development would be built, managed and operated by Two Trees Management in partnership with the City.

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Opponents raised concerns about impact on Empire State Building, while the Council focused on Vornado’s participation in Minority- and Womenowned Business Enterprise program. On August 25, 2010, the City Council approved Vornado Realty Trust’s proposal to construct a commercial tower rising approximately 1,200 feet on Seventh Avenue between West 32nd and 33rd Streets in Manhattan. The site is occupied by the Hotel Pennsylvania, which Vornado plans to demolish in order to build the project, known as 15 Penn Plaza.

Vornado proposed developing a 67-story, single-tenant building or a 68-story, multi-tenant building in order to provide development flexibility. Vornado agreed to provide a host of transit improvements in exchange for a development bonus necessary to build either proposal. The proposed improvements include reopening and renovating the Gimbels/ West 33rd Street Passageway, and relocating subway entrances at West 32nd and West 33rd Streets.

During the project’s public review, Manhattan Community Board 5 opposed the project, arguing that the proposed transit improvements did not justify the tower’s size. Malkin Holdings LLC, owner of the Empire State Building, argued that the tower would negatively impact the iconic skyscraper, and asked that the proposal’s height be reduced. (more…)

Proposal would replace Hotel Pennsylvania with 2.1 million sq.ft. tower and reopen Gimbels underground passageway. On July 14, 2010, the City Planning Commission approved Vornado Realty Trust’s proposal to build a large commercial tower, known as 15 Penn Plaza, on Seventh Avenue between West 32nd and 33rd Streets in Manhattan. The site is occupied by the Hotel Pennsylvania, which Vornado would demolish in order to build its tower. Vornado proposed either a 67-story, single-tenant building option or a 68-story, multi-tenant development.

The single-tenant option would feature a 218-foot tall podium with a tapered tower reaching 1,190 feet. This building would be designed to accommodate the needs of a financial institution, including an open central space for unobstructed trading floors. It would also include 10,000 sq.ft. of ground floor retail space and a 100-space underground garage. The multi-tenant option would feature a 134-foot base, and a tapered, setback tower that would reach 1,216 feet. This option would provide 34,000 sq.ft. of ground floor retail space and additional retail space in the upper floors of its six-story base. (more…)

Vin Cipolla

Vin Cipolla, who took the reins at the Municipal Art Society as Executive Director early this year, brings a varied background in nonprofit and for-profit settings to his new endeavor. Prior to joining MAS, he was President and CEO of the National Park Foundation in Washington D.C. Bringing a national perspective and entrepreneurial experience to the venerable 116-year-old institution, Cipolla intends to maintain MAS’s relevancy and authority into the 21st century.

An eclectic resume. Cipolla grew up in the industrial town of Leominster, Massachusetts, a place he describes as “always in transition.” Educated at Clark University, Cipolla came to New York in his 20s, where he claims he found his home, and became “obsessed” with the City. (more…)

Robin Stout

I n 2005, Robin Stout was appointed President of the Moynihan Station Development Corporation, the Empire State Development Corporation’s subsidiary charged with transforming the James A. Farley Post Office Building into a new train hall named for the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Stout, a Columbia Law School graduate, spent nine years at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP before joining the ESDC as Senior Counsel to the 42nd Street Development Project in 1990. Transforming 42nd Street had Stout touring deteriorating theaters, relocating Times Square businesses, clearing condemned sites, negotiating leaseholds, and preparing for the next stage of condemnations. In addition to the 42nd Street Project, Stout also worked on the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center Expansion Project and the development of One Bryant Park. Stout has enjoyed his time at ESDC, explaining that each development site presented problems with its own solutions.

The need for expansion. Before discussing the current plans for the Moynihan Station Project, Stout provided a little history of the Penn Station site. With the help of a map depicting the layout of the rail tracks and the street grid of Manhattan’s west side, Stout explained that in 1910, the tracks were laid out directly under the original Penn Station site between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, with a portion of the platforms extending west beyond Eighth Avenue. To generate more income, the Pennsylvania Railroad encouraged the Postal Service to build across the street so it could use the platforms extending across Eighth Avenue for its “mail by rail” service. The Postal Service agreed, building the Farley Post Office, and installing vertical mail chutes to transfer mail to the tracks waiting below. (more…)