Council OK’s new design standards for public plazas

New standards and guidelines intended to improve public use. The City Council approved City Planning’s proposal to update, improve, and consolidate rules for privately owned public spaces.

Under the old zoning, a developer in parts of Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens can generate a floor area bonus of up to 20 percent if it builds an adjacent publicly-accessible open space, such as a plaza, arcade, or galleria. In practice, however, many of these privately owned public … <Read More>


Public parking garage approved for 110 Livingston

333-space parking garage to be located at the former Board of Education headquarters. The Planning Commission approved an application by Two Trees Management and EDC for a 333-space public parking garage to be located within the 300,000-square-foot, former Board of Education headquarters at 110 Livingston Street in Brooklyn. Two Trees plans to convert the 1925 building and construct an 88,000-square-foot addition for 308 residential units and a 6,000-square-foot community theater. Two Trees will maintain the … <Read More>


Residential Tower Approved to Face Brooklyn Bridge

After significant redesign, Commission approves building close to Brooklyn Bridge. Two Trees Management Company, the developer often credited with the dramatic conversion and rebirth of DUMBO, sought approval of a large project involving new construction, a building conversion, and demolition of a historic building close to the suspended side span of the Brooklyn Bridge. The City Planning Commission approved after the building’s western portion was reduced to match the height of the bridge’s roadway.… <Read More>