Developer had not completed hotel when City Council approved rezoning in Dutch Kills. In December 2007, Buildings issued Dutch Kills Partners LLC a permit to build a nine-story, 57-room hotel at 39-35 27th Street in the Dutch Kills section of Queens. The proposed hotel complied with the zoning requirements at the time. In October 2008, the City Council approved the Dutch Kills Rezoning, changing the site’s M1-3D zoning to M1-2/R5B, and putting the proposed 24,713 sq.ft. building nearly 14,000 sq.ft. over the maximum permitted floor area. Since Dutch Kills Partners had not completed the project’s foundation at the time of the rezoning, the permit lapsed and Buildings issued a stop-work order.

Dutch Kills Partners sought approval from BSA to finish the hotel’s construction. The developer claimed that it had completed 75 percent of the excavation and 24 percent of the foundation. It also claimed to have spent more than $800,000 of the project’s $3.8 million total budget on hard and soft costs and irrevocable contracts. Dutch Kills Partners argued that it would need to eliminate 35 hotel rooms if required to construct a complying hotel, which would result in a loss of $2 million. According to Dutch Kills Partners, a complying residential building would result in a loss of more than $1.5 million. (read more…)