Twin adjoining buildings at 827 and 831 Broadway, Image LPC.

Attorney for owner threatened to seek demolition through a hardship application should landmarks designate the property and not permit a visible addition. At its meeting on October 17, 2017, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the possible individual landmarks designation of two twin adjoining buildings at 827 and 831 Broadway. Completed in 1867, the buildings were designed by architect Griffith Thomas for tobacco-company heir Pierre Lorillard in an Italian palazzi-inspired design. Built in marble with cast-iron piers and columns, the buildings represent a transitional period in Griffith’s career, before he fully embraced the use of cast iron. (read more…)

Council Member Margaret Chin. Image credit: NYCC/William Alatriste

Housing Committee approves six pieces of legislation from package of 21 bills on construction safety, more to follow including apprenticeship bill. On April 24, 2017, the City Council’s Committee on Housing and Buildings approved six bills from a package of 21 on which the Committee heard testimony on January 3st. For CityLand’s prior coverage of that hearing, click here. Chair of the Committee, Jumaane Williams, noted that the Committee planned on approving some of the remaining fifteen bills soon, including the controversial Intro. 1447-2017 which would require all construction workers citywide to participate in an apprenticeship program or have commensurate work experience. (read more…)

Chair of the Committee on Housing and Buildings, Council Member Jumaane Williams. Image credit: NYCC/William Alatriste

City Council Committee to hear testimony on a package of bills intended to strengthen protections for tenants subject to harassment by landlords. Since the mid-2000s and largely due to the housing bubble, predatory equity has become a metastasis on the New York City housing market. The expulsion of both rent stabilized and market-rate tenants is accomplished through means both legal, by abusing technical loopholes in State law, and illegal, by dangerous living conditions and intimidation. (read more…)

City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises hearing testimony at the August 9th hearing. Image credit: CityLand

The proposal seeks to re-zone two and a half residential blocks from solely residential to mixed-use with ground floor commercial space. On August 9, 2016, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises heard testimony on an application to re-zone residential space to provide for mixed residential and commercial space for two-and-a-half blocks on the south side of Houston Street, spanning from Norfolk Street to halfway between Clinton Street and Attorney Street, located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The City Planning Commission approved the application after holding a hearing on June 8, 2016. For CityLand’s previous coverage on the East Houston Street Rezoning, click here.

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Councilmember David Greenfield, chair of the Committee on Land Use . Image credit: William Alatriste/New York City Council

Peter Koo and David Greenfield-sponsored bill was supported by Real Estate industry and vehemently opposed by preservationists. On June 8, 2016, the full City Council voted to approve a bill amending the City’s Landmark Law following a Land Use Committee meeting on June 7.

The legislation, Introduction 775, mandates that Landmarks vote on an item for designation as an individual, interior, or scenic landmark within one year of holding a public hearing. If the Commission does not hold a vote within the 12-month time span, the item will be removed from the Commission’s calendar. The Commission may extend the time frame by another 12 months with the owner’s concurrence if there is sufficient need. For historic districts, the Commission must take action within 24 months of the district’s initial calendaring. For all items that have been calendared prior to the law’s passage, the Commission must take action within 18 months of the law’s effective date, with a provision for a further 12-month extension with the owner’s consent. (read more…)

Click here to see CityLand’s comprehensive modifications chart. Image credit: New York City Council

Full vote follows Committee approval following extensive modifications after receiving community input and testimony for months. On March 17, 2016, the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and the Committee on Land Use each voted on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposed Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Zoning for Quality and Affordability proposals. The full Council is expected to approve the proposals at today’s City Council Stated Meeting. To see CityLand‘s comprehensive chart outlining the modifications made to MIH and ZQA and approved by the Council, click here.
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