Billboard lessee claimed the Board denied its permit arbitrarily. OTR Media Group leased a billboard on the south wall of an eight-story building at the northeast corner of Tenth Avenue and West 40th Street in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. In 2012 the Department of Buildings refused OTR’s request for a permit to operate the billboard because it was within view of an arterial highway, the Lincoln Tunnel, in violation of the Zoning Resolution. On October 22, 2013 the Board of Standards and Appeals agreed with Buildings’ application of a 360-degree standard for determining whether the sign was within view of the Lincoln Tunnel, defined as whether the sign could be seen by someone standing on the highway and looking in any direction, and affirmed the denial.
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David Karnovsky argues before the Board of Standards and Appeals. Image credit: CityLand
Board rejected arguments an exterior building treatment did not qualify as an accessory sign under the Zoning Resolution. On June 16, 2015 the Board of Standards and Appeals voted to uphold a Department of Buildings’ determination that a design treatment on the north face of a parking garage in the Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan constituted an accessory sign in violation of local zoning. The design treatment, on the north face of the garage at 332 West 44th Street, incorporated the word “BRAVO!” as part of the design.
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Architect rendering of the proposed building at 505 West 43rd Street. Image credit: ODA
The fifteen-story building would be built over an open rail cut in the Special Clinton District. On March 24, 2015, the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises heard a proposal by 1818 Nadlan LLC to construct a new fifteen-story residential building at 505 West 43rd Street in the Special Clinton District of Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. The proposed building would consist of two segments, one fronting on West 43rd Street and the other fronting on West 44th Street, containing a total of 105 condominium units. Eight of the units are designated affordable, and a twenty-three space accessory parking garage is also available. The proposal requests a special permit to construct over a rail line and waivers of the height, setback, rear yard obstruction, and street line planter requirements.
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Rendering of the development proposed for 606 W 57th Street. Image Credit: TF Cornerstone.
Latest Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen proposal raised concerns about impact on the City’s infrastructure. On April 1, 2014, the City Council Land Use Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises heard TF Cornerstone’s application to construct a mixed-use building at 606 West 57th Street between Eleventh and Twelfth Avenue in the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood in Manhattan. The approximately 1.2 million sq. ft. mixed-use development would create approximately 1,027 market-rate rental units and 207 affordable units. The development will also include 42,000 sq. ft. of commercial or community facility floor area, and up to 500 parking spaces. Manhattan Community Board 4 and then Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer recommended approval of the application in December 2013. The City Planning Commission unanimously approved TF Cornerstone’s application on March 17, 2014. (read more…)
