Image credit: Department of Buildings.
Property owner stored unregistered vehicles in residential area as part of his automotive hobby. On April 7, 2017, the Department of Buildings charged Juan Castillo, a property owner in an area zoned for residential use, with illegally operating an auto body mechanics shop in a garage on his premises, and with permitting the dead storage of vehicles. (read more…)
9 East 36th Street. Image credit: CityLaw.
Tenant sued landlord over fire in his rent-stabilized apartment that had allegedly originated from inadequate wiring. James Daly, the tenant of a rent-stabilized studio apartment located at 9 East 36th Street in Manhattan, suffered injuries from a fire that occurred on June 19, 2013. The apartment, built in the 1930s, was 700 square feet consisting of a living area, a gallery kitchen, three closets, a bathroom, and a hall connecting the gallery kitchen to the bathroom. There were a total of seven electrical outlets in the apartment; three in the living area, two in the gallery kitchen, one in the hall, and one in the bathroom. (read more…)
Amendment redefines “development” and “building” and clarifies how the terms are used in order to reflect Planning’s intent. On February 2, 2011, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s Key Terms Text Amendment. Planning proposed the 700-page text amendment to ensure that existing regulations are interpreted and applied as originally intended under the zoning resolution. The amendment redefined the terms “development” and “building” and also included a host of modifications and clarifications designed to resolve conflicts and bring regulations into accordance with the Department of Buildings’ current practices.
The need for the text overhaul stemmed from a 2010 lower court decision ruling that the term “development,” as used in the zoning resolution’s curb cut regulations, only applied to newly constructed buildings and not existing buildings as argued by Planning. Planning addressed this ambiguity as part of the residential streetscape text change when it amended the curb cut prohibition so that it applied to all buildings rather than “developments.” 7 CityLand 55 (May 15, 2010). (read more…)
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