The Council’s Land Use Committee approved the proposal after the developer agreed to provide permanently affordable on-site housing. On December 14, 2009, the City Council’s Land Use Committee modified and approved Goldman Sachs and Related Companies’ proposal to develop the Western Rail Yard site on the far west side of Midtown, Manhattan. The thirteen-acre site is bounded by West 33rd Street to the north, West 30th Street to the south, Eleventh Avenue to the east, and Twelfth Avenue to the west. The High Line runs along the site’s southern and western edges, but it is not part of the proposed project.

The approved plan will convert the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s open rail storage yard into a 5.7 million sq.ft. development that would include eight mixed-use towers, containing roughly 4,600 – 5,700 dwelling units, 5.4 acres of open space, and a new public school. The proposal included setting aside twenty percent of the project’s rental units as affordable housing. Related submitted applications to rezone the site from an M2-3 to a C6-4 district, obtain special permits to build two parking garages with a maximum of 1,600 combined spaces, and to extend the Special Hudson Yards District to include the site. (read more…)

625-space garage had been operating over capacity since approximately 2003. On July 1, 2009, the City Planning Commission approved 111 Eighth Avenue Parking LLC’s application for a special permit allowing it to continue to operate a 625-space garage on the ground floor and cellar of an office building located between West 15th and 16th Streets, and Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Chelsea. The applicant began operating the 126,677 sq.ft. garage in 1999. It reached its current 625-space capacity a few years later, exceeding the 276 spaces permitted by the building’s Certificate of Occupancy.

At the Commission’s hearing, a representative for the garage apologized for its delay in rectifying the overcapacity, claiming that it had been unfamiliar with the application process for a special permit. Another representative stated that the garage had been consulting with the community and, based on community input, agreed to provide bicycle parking and storage at the garage. (read more…)

Council limits certain uses to Two Trees’ site block. On May 20, 2009, the City Council approved Two Trees Management Company’s plan to build a 1.3 million sq.ft., S-shaped tower at 770 Eleventh Avenue in the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. The Enrique Norten-designed tower would rise in steps from approximately seven stories at Eleventh Avenue and West 54th Street to 32 stories at the project’s eastern edge. 6 CityLand 25 (March 15, 2009). Along with 900 residential units, including approximately 180 permanently affordable units, the tower would contain a 350,000 sq.ft. Mercedes Benz dealership, a 36,000 sq.ft. facility for the NYPD Mounted Unit, a 20,000 sq.ft. health club, accessory monthly parking for 175 cars, and parking space for 600–700 bicycles.

Before Council heard the matter, the City Planning Commission modified the proposal. As part of its original application, Two Trees proposed a zoning text amendment that provided an as-of-right FAR of 7.0, bonusable up to an FAR of 9.0 through inclusionary housing regulations. The Commission amended the text to allow an as-of-right FAR of 6.75 that would be bonusable to 8.55, provided that the development contained at least 1.0 FAR of commercial floor area. The change made the text consistent with standard inclusionary housing bonus regulations, which allow for 1.25 square feet of bonus floor area for every square foot of affordable housing provided. (read more…)

CB4 opposed to height and floor area of proposed “Z” shaped building. On February 4, 2009, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on Two Trees Management Co.’s plan to build a 1.3 million sq.ft. “Z” shaped tower at 770 Eleventh Avenue in Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. The Enrique Norten-designed tower would rise in steps from approximately seven stories at Eleventh Avenue and 54th Street to 32 stories at the eastern edge of the site. Along with 900 residential units, the tower would contain a 330,000 sq. ft. Mercedes-Benz dealership, a 36,000 sq.ft. facility for the NYPD Mounted Unit, a 20,000 sq.ft. health club, accessory parking for up to 225 cars, and parking space for 600 – 700 bicycles.

In order to facilitate the new development, Two Trees submitted several applications to the Department of City Planning, including a zoning map amendment to rezone the area from M1-5 to C6-3X, a special permit allowing residential and non-residential uses (the health club) on the third floor, and a zoning text amendment that would allow Two Trees to utilize an inclusionary housing bonus and include automobile showrooms and NYPD horse stables at the site. While Manhattan Community Board 4 was reviewing the applications, Two Trees presented a “consensus proposal” to the community in an effort to garner support for the project. The proposal offered, among other things, a decrease in the project’s total FAR from 9.0 to 8.55 and a one-story reduction across the entire building. Although CB4 appreciated Two Tree’s willingness to work with the community, the board felt the proposed modifications did not adequately address concerns over zoning designation and building design. CB4 recommended that the project be denied unless certain conditions were met, including changing the proposed zoning designation from C6-3X to R8A and R9A. (read more…)

Opponents disputed developer’s claim that there was insufficient parking within the vicinity of the site. On January 21, 2009, the City Planning Commission heard testimony regarding 405 West 53rd Street Development Group LLC’s special permit application for a 37-space accessory parking garage within a seven-story mixed-use development in the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen section of Manhattan. The garage would occupy portions of the cellar and ground floor of the development, which consists of approximately 83 owner-occupied units and commercial space. The site, formerly a 225-space surface public parking lot, is located at 405-427 West 53rd Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues.

Ethan Goodman of Wachtel & Masyr LLP spoke on behalf of the applicant. He explained that the unattended, self-park accessory spaces would be for the exclusive use of the residents, and would not be rented on a per-hour or other transient basis. Since accessory parking was not allowed as-of-right under current zoning, the developer needed a special permit from the Commission based partly on insufficient parking “within the vicinity” of the building. When Borough President Scott Stringer and Community Board 4 reviewed the application, they recommended denial because they believed this finding was not met. (read more…)

Community Board 4 recommended disapproval unless parking was reduced by approximately 20 spaces. On September 24, 2008, the City Planning Commission approved AG West 22nd Street Realty LLC’s special permit application to build an attended public parking garage at 133-145 West 22nd Street in Chelsea, Manhattan. The special permit, if approved by Council, would allow a maximum of 137 spaces, with 47 parking spaces and 45 two-tier stackers on portions of the first floor, cellar, and sub-cellar of AG’s proposed mixed-use development. The new 99-unit residential building, with 2,211sq.ft. of ground floor retail space, would be an as-of-right development, but a special permit would be required for the parking garage. The proposed development is roughly bounded by 22nd and 23rd Streets between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.

Community Board 4 opposed AG’s plan, in part, because it claimed that the surrounding streets would be ill-equipped to handle an increase in traffic. CB4’s letter to the Planning Commission noted that the proposed parking facility would be located on the northern midblock of West 22nd Street, a narrow street that is becoming primarily residential in character with ground floor commercial and retail uses. Also, CB4 found the facility to be at odds with the “City’s broad policy of reducing vehicle traffic in Manhattan below 110th Street,” and asked the Commission to deny AG’s application unless the number of parking spaces was reduced to 20 percent of the number of dwelling units, and a majority of those spaces were reserved for monthly parkers who live in the community. CB4 also requested that the 45 two-tier stackers be eliminated from the proposal.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer disagreed with CB4’s traffic analysis, and supported AG’s plan on the condition that the garage would be operated as it was studied in AG’s environmental assessment statement. The EAS assumed that 83 vehicles would park in the garage overnight, 17 from accessory use and 66 from the public. Stringer noted that since the EAS was completed before AG increased the proposed number of residential units from 89 to 99, AG should increase accessory use parking to 19 spaces if 99 units were constructed.

The Commission approved AG’s application 11-1, with only Commissioner Karen A. Phillips voting no. The Commission found that the garage would not create a significant adverse traffic impact since it would generate less than 50 additional vehicles per hour. The Commission also noted that a traffic study, submitted with AG’s EAS, stated that there would be “no difference in the level of service at the surrounding intersections.” Based on this finding, the Commission determined that the surrounding streets would be able to handle the increased traffic.

ULURP Process
Lead Agency: CPC,Neg.Dec.
Comm.Bd.: MN 4,Den’d, 35-5-0
Boro.Pres.: App’d
CPC: App’d, 11-1-0
Council: App’d, 51-0-1

CPC: West 22nd Street Garage (C 070261 ZSM – special permit) (September 24, 2008). CITYADMIN

CITYLAND Comment: The City Council approved the application without modification on October 23, 2008.