Hospital’s programmatic needs supported granting of variance. Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York University, a non-profit organization, applied to BSA for a variance to construct an 11-story research facility in Manhattan. The development site included three tax lots comprising a single zoning lot. Mt. Sinai’s Nurses’ Residence occupied one tax lot while the other two tax lots housed three hospital buildings that Mt. Sinai intended to demolish in order to construct the research building and adjacent residential building. As proposed, the research building would not comply with zoning regulations for community facility lot coverage, height and setback, sky exposure plane, and tower coverage.

Mt. Sinai claimed that it required a new research facility in order to remain competitive among similar institutions, and that floor plates of 28,000sq.ft., not including mechanical space, were required in order to construct an efficient research facility. It further claimed that the retention of the Nurses’ Residence was also necessary to meet its programmatic needs, and, as such, the Residence qualified as a unique physical condition inherent to the zoning lot which created a practical difficulty in complying with zoning requirements. Mt. Sinai provided four alternative, as-of-right site plans, but argued that none allowed for the retention of the Residence and large enough floor plates. (read more…)

EDC reissued request for development proposals after community opposed first plan. On October 18, 2006, the New York City Economic Development Corporation reissued a request for proposals for a six-acre lot in East Harlem bounded by East 125th and 127th Streets and Third and Second Avenues after the community opposed the original winning plan.

The six-acre proposed site currently contains an MTA bus storage facility, which the selected developer must move underground, as well as local businesses. The City owns 81 percent of the project site and the EDC is working on the acquisition of the remaining lots through purchases or condemnation. City Planning is currently working on its East 125th Street/River-to-River study, a planning effort aimed at generating a development framework for the entire span of 125th Street between the Harlem and Hudson Rivers. (read more…)

Facility to provide housing for low-income mentally ill. City Council approved the Planning Commission’s resolution adopted on September 8, 2004, allowing the construction of a six-story building with 50 units for low-income persons with mental illnesses. The Council’s action authorized the designation of an Urban Development Action Area and the transfer of six properties of City-owned land.

The project site, which is to be developed under the New York State office of Mental Health, is located on the north side of East 123rd Street between Park and Lexington Avenues in East Harlem. The site is part of the Park Avenue Urban Renewal Plan and comprises six City-owned properties totaling 1 0,000 sq.ft. Currently, the site contains underutilized vacant land and a vacant one-story garage, which will be demolished. (read more…)

Owner sought to legalize ‘car wash, auto-lubrication station and accessory retail building. 2 113 First Avenue, llC, owner of two lots used for auto-related uses located at 338 East 109th Street in a residential district, sought a variance to legalize the existing car wash, auto-lubrication station and accessory retail building.

In its application to BSA, 2 1 13 represented that the oddly shaped lots and residential zoning made as-of-right development infeasible and that parts of the premises have been used for auto-related purposes for over 75 years. The developer also argued that the auto uses provided an economic benefit to the neighborhood. (read more…)

Commission approves iconic design for 518-foot mixed-use development in Harlem. On September 8, 2004, the City Planning Commission approved a 493,646-square-foot mixed-use development containing 230 hotel rooms, 100 residential units, office space, retail space, and a 369-space public parking garage. To achieve the size and design, the developer, 1800 Park Avenue LLC, sought a rezoning of the project site to allow the hotel and an increased floor area as well as two special permits to allow the parking garage and modify height and setback. Marriott International would lease the hotel component.

The project site, on the west side of Park Avenue at East 125th Street, is at a vital axis point of the Central and East Harlem neighborhoods and is immediately adjacent to the MTA MetroNorth 125th Street station. The area is primarily residential with mostly four to six-story residential buildings. The tallest building is 33-stories, located at 3rd Avenue and 123rd Street. (read more…)

Water park concession awarded to Aquatic Development Group. The City’s Department of Parks & Recreation and the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation obtained approval for a 26-acre, indoor-outdoor water park on Randall’s Island. The water park will include 18.7 acres of outdoor wave pools, slides, and a circular waterway, along with a 7.25-acre glass-roofed, indoor facility that will provide the same attractions during cold weather. It will be the first urban water park in the United States. Approval of the water park required a major concession approval from the Commission pursuant to the City’s Charter §197(c) and a determination of consistency under the City and state waterfront revitalization plan.

Following Parks’ 1998 Randall’s Island master plan, which included the water park, the Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals for the water park’s construction and operation, ultimately selecting Aquatic Development Group, Inc. The project site currently contains open space, 10 baseball diamonds and a 123-space surface parking lot. The 10 diamonds will be relocated, expanded, and improved as part of the master plan. Parking for the water park and other new attractions will be accommodated by construction of a 2,800-space parking facility beneath the spans of the Triborough Bridge. Free shuttles will taxi people from the parking location to the water park and the park’s other new facilities. (read more…)