Planning Commission Approves Large Retail Establishment on Broadway Against Community Disapproval

The City Planning Commission approved an application for a large retail establishment, 28,634 square feet, in the lower floors of a building in SoHo neighborhood. On July 12, 2017, the City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on an application from 462BDWY LAND, L.P.—owner of 462 Broadway in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. The application sought a special permit to modify use regulations of Section 42-14(D)(2)(b) of the Zoning Resolution to allow retail uses on portions of … <Read More>


City Planning Holds Hearing on Skyscraper East Harlem Development [UPDATE: Application Found to be Appropriate]

UPDATE: On June 21, 2017, the City Planning Commission the application from the New York City Education Construction Fund and AvalonBay Communities to redevelop a city block in East Harlem to be appropriate. The proposed development would shift the Marx Brothers Playground to the center of the block and facilitate the construction of two buildings at either end. The eastern building would rise eight stories and contain two public high school relocated from other <Read More>


Extensive Revisions Demanded for Canal Street Development

Developers proposed to demolish five heavily altered 19th-century structures to make way for a new 8-story-plus-penthouse residential building with retail base. On June 6, 2017, Landmarks considered an application to redevelop five lots at 312 through 322 Canal Street in the Tribeca East Historic District. The five buildings were originally constructed in the 1820s, at two-and-a-half stories, but saw repeated additions, reductions and alterations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and currently stand … <Read More>


City Council to Consider Higher Heating Requirements After Committee Passes Bill

Committee on Housing and Buildings voted to raise minimum heating requirements and to uncouple the requirement from outside overnight temperatures. On May 22, 2017, the City Council’s Committee on Housing and Buildings recalled and passed a bill to require owners of residential buildings to maintain a minimum temperature in dwelling units that are occupied. Current law requires a minimum temperature to be maintained during heating season which is defined as the period between October 1 … <Read More>


Comprehensive Plan for Waldorf-Astoria Renovation Approved

Plan would see some small additions, cleaning and restoration of facades, a new residential entrance, re-opening of historic interiors, and replacement of unsympathetic later elements. On April 25, 2017, Landmarks considered and approved applications to renovate the exterior and interior of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel at 301 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The 1931 Art Deco hotel’s exterior was landmarked in 1993, and continuous interiors on the first three levels were designated earlier in 2017. … <Read More>


Morningside Heights-Notable for Early 20th Century Architecture Designated

District is composed of 115 buildings between West 109th and West 199th Streets. On February 21, 2017, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the Morningside Heights Historic District, in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights neighborhood. Made up of 115 buildings, the district is characterized by its residential architecture, developed within a relatively short period of time in the early 20th century, for middle and upper class tenants. The district is bounded by West 109th Street … <Read More>