Property owner claimed that a complying development was difficult because the High Line crossed the lot. Romanoff Equities applied to BSA for a variance to construct a twelve-story, 215-foot tall office building at 437 West 13th Street, a site occupied by a portion of the High Line. The original design included cantilevering a portion of the building ten feet over the High Line and using the first three floors for retail space.

Residents and preservation groups opposed the proposal, while others supported certain aspects of the application. Manhattan Community Board 2 approved the proposal but recommended that Romanoff reduce the total floor area. The City Planning Commission submitted a letter stating that it supported the height and setback waivers, but objected to the original proposal’s total floor area, the extension of retail uses above the second floor, and cantilevering any portion of the building over the High Line.

During the hearing process, Romanoff modified the proposal to a ten-story building with a two-foot cantilever that would not extend over the High Line, and agreed to use only the first two floors for retail. Romanoff still needed a variance because the project included a noncomplying retail use and exceeded the M1-5 district’s permitted floor area and minimum setback and rear yard requirements. (more…)

Court of Appeals ruled BSA abused discretion in granting variance. GAC Catering Inc. purchased a single-family home at the intersection of Otis Avenue and Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island across the street from its catering business. GAC demolished the house and applied to the BSA for a use variance to build a two-story commercial photography studio to be used in conjunction with GAC’s catering hall. GAC claimed that commercial uses predominated the area, and that it was unable to sell or lease the property as a residence due to heavy traffic on Hylan Boulevard. GAC submitted an economic feasibility study demonstrating that a development in conformity with the lot’s R3-2 zoning would not yield a reasonable rate of return.

BSA granted the variance, and a neighbor filed an Article 78 petition challenging BSA’s determination. A lower court ruled that GAC’s hardship was self-created based on its prior knowledge of the lot’s zoning and annulled the variance. It found nothing in the record to support BSA’s determination that GAC’s lot was unique in comparison to similarly sized, residentially developed adjacent lots. The court added that while the area’s mix of commercial and residential uses may indicate the unreasonableness of the current zoning, it did not prove the uniqueness of GAC’s lot. The City appealed. (more…)

Owner claimed that lot’s irregular shape and close proximity to Queensboro Bridge entrance ramp limited development choices. Royal One Real Estate LLC applied to BSA for a variance to build a 12-story, 99-unit hotel at 42-59 Crescent Street, an irregularly shaped vacant lot in Long Island City, Queens. During the hearing process, the owner modified and reduced the 35,109 sq.ft. project in order to build a 10-story building with 88 hotel units. The owner still required a variance because the project would exceed the M1-5/R7-3 zoning district’s permitted floor area by 5,493 sq.ft.

At BSA, the owner claimed the lot was inappropriate for a residential use because it is adjacent to a noisy and heavily-travelled Queensboro Bridge entrance ramp overpass. The owner argued that the 4,414 sq.ft. lot’s small size and irregular shape would limit the number of rooms per floor and submitted a study demonstrating that an as-of-right hotel development would generate a negative rate of return. The owner further argued that the site’s close proximity to below ground MTA construction created additional hardship due to the development costs needed to avoid adversely affecting the MTA construction. (more…)

Owner sought to develop a one-story building on a corner lot formerly occupied by two-story single-family home. The owner of a vacant lot at the corner of Midland Avenue and Freeborn Street in Staten Island applied for a use variance to construct a one-story commercial building. A two-story single-family home formerly occupied the 60 x 87 foot site, which consisted of two separate lots that were merged in 2008.

The owner claimed that the lot’s shallow depth and the area’s commercial nature, which included several automotive businesses and dry cleaners, constrained residential development. The owner cited Midland Avenue’s heavy traffic and the lot’s proximity to the border of a 100-year floodplain as additional conditions making an as-of-right development difficult. (more…)

School’s plans would violate street wall height requirement. The Learning Spring Elementary School, a school for high-functioning autistic children, applied to BSA for a variance to construct a new 27,492 sq.ft. elementary and middle school at 345 Second Avenue at East 20th Street to replace its current Chelsea facility. The building design called for an eight-story section at the corner of East 20th Street running along the first 42 ft. of Second Avenue. The building would then drop down to a three-story, 38-foot tall section for the last 20 ft. of lot frontage along Second Avenue, violating the minimum street wall height of 60 feet.

At BSA, Learning Spring claimed the design allowed it to keep the lower and middle school children separate and resulted in smaller classrooms, creating a more conducive learning environment for students with autism spectrum disorders. It would also maximize light and air. In addition, a 1969 easement restricted any enlargement or new building on the three-story portion of the site to a maximum height of approximately 47 feet. (more…)