Court rejected neighbors’ article 78 challenge to nine-story mixed-use building adjacent to landmarked synagogue. Congregation Shearith Israel applied to BSA for a variance to build a nine-story mixed-used building adjacent to its landmarked synagogue at the corner of West 70th Street and Central Park West in the Upper West Side-Central Park West Historic District. In addition to the synagogue, Shearith Israel owns a four-story parsonage house to the south of the synagogue along Central Park West and a four-story community house to the west of the synagogue along West 70th Street. Shearith Israel planned to demolish the community house to build the project. The proposed building’s first four floors would be occupied by community facility uses, including adult education classrooms, a Jewish day school, and a synagogue reception and banquet area. The top five floors would be developed into five market-rate condominiums.

The majority of Shearith Israel’s zoning lot is zoned R10A, but a portion of the lot along West 70th Street is zoned R8B. Shearith Israel needed the variance because the 105-foot building would violate, among other things, the zoning resolution’s maximum building height and setback regulations. Prior to applying to BSA, Shearith Israel obtained approval from Landmarks to demolish the community house and build the proposed mixed-use development.  (read more…)