logo CityLand
      • Home
      • About CityLand
      • CityLand Sponsors
      • Filings & Decisions
      • Commentary
      • Archive
      • Resources
      • CityLaw
      • Current Issue

    Council Subcommittee Approves Phased Construction Plan for East Side Coastal Resiliency Project

    Flood Resiliency  •  Lower Manhattan

    Rendering of proposed flood resiliency infrastructure./Image Credit: DDC, Parks, DOT, DEP, and Mayor’s Office of Resiliency/CPC

    Despite the project’s phased construction schedule, concerns with the project still exist among elected officials and community members. On November 4, 2019, the City Council Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting, and Dispositions approved two land use applications for the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, the City’s flood protection plan for Lower Manhattan. The Project will include a system of floodgates and walls along the project area, sewage improvements, and will elevate East River Park eight feet above the flood plain to protect the Park and have it serve as a flood barrier for nearby neighborhoods. The first application is for access onto private property adjacent to the proposed flood protection infrastructure for the City to conduct inspections, maintenance, and repair of the infrastructure. The second application is for a zoning text amendment to allow higher wall heights for the proposed floodwalls and gates at Stuyvesant Cove Park.

    (read more…)

    Tags : City Council, Council Member Carlina Rivera, Council Member Keith Power, Council Member Margaret Chin, Department of Design and Construction, Department of Parks and Recreation, East River Park, East Side Coastal Resiliency, Lower Manhattan, Manhattan Community Board 3, Manhattan Community Board 6, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Mayor's Office of Resiliency
    Date:10/22/2019
    Category : City Council
    Leave a Comment

    Hearings Held on Five Potential Landmarks as Part of Greater East Midtown Plan

    Designation Hearings  •  Midtown, Manhattan
    Pershing Square in Manhattan. Image Credit: LPC

    Pershing Square in Manhattan. Image Credit: LPC

    Designations opposed by developers and hoteliers; transit advocates expressed concern that landmarking would prevent improved subway infrastructure and access. On July 19 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held hearings on the potential designations of five possible individual landmarks in the East Midtown area of Manhattan. Twelve items in total were identified by Landmarks as significant historic and architectural resources, as part of the mayoral administration’s Greater East Midtown plan. The plan to revitalize the area is intended to strengthen its position as a commercial district. The plan is expected to entail rezoning for greater density, improvements to transit and public spaces, and funding commitments for improvements and economic growth projects, in addition to the preservation of landmark-worthy fabric. Various stakeholders, including elected officials, business and real estate interests, and labor organizations are informing the plan, and a steering committee released a final report in 2015. (read more…)

    Tags : Barbara Zay, Beverly Hotel, Cristabel Gough, Graybar Building, Historic Districts Council, Hotel Lexington, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Manhattan Community Board 5, Manhattan Community Board 6, Meenakshi Srinivasan, Municipal Art Society, New York Landmarks Conservancy, Pershing Square Building, Real Estate Board of New York, Riders Alliance, Shelton Hotel, SL Green, Stu Lerner, Tara Kelly, The Society for the Architecture of the City, Vishaan Chakrabarti
    Date:08/02/2016
    Category : Landmarks Preservation Commission
    Leave a Comment

    Neighborhood Coalition Proposal is Most Comprehensive Zoning Plan Ever Submitted by a Community Group

    ULURP Application  •  Upper East Side, Manhattan
    Council member Ben Kallos with Herndon Werth, a rent-stabilized tenant who refused to sell his home to developers. Image credit: The Office of Council member Ben Kallos

    Council member Ben Kallos with Herndon Werth, a rent-stabilized tenant who refused to sell his home to developers. Image credit: The Office of Council member Ben Kallos

    The proposal would protect neighborhood aesthetics with height caps on new developments and provide additional benefits to affected communities.  On January 21, 2016, the Department of City Planning received a zoning proposal from the East River Fifties Alliance, a neighborhood coalition led by City Council members Ben Kallos and Daniel Garodnick, which is the most comprehensive residential re-zoning proposal to ever be submitted by a community group. The proposal seeks to safeguard the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan from the construction of skyscrapers.  Council members Kallos and Garodnick, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and New York State Senator Liz Krueger are also co-applicants on the proposal, which can be found here.

    (read more…)

    Tags : Council Member Ben Kallos, Council Member Daniel Garodnick, Department of City Planning, East River Fifties Alliance, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Manhattan Community Board 6, Senator Liz Krueger, Upper East Side
    Date:01/27/2016
    Category : City Planning Commission
    Leave a Comment

    At Final Backlog Hearing, Testimony Considered on Manhattan Items

    Special Hearing  •  Manhattan
    Landmarks Preservation Commission. Credit: LPC.

    Landmarks Preservation Commission. Credit: LPC.

    The proposed designation of the former Yuengling Brewery Site in East Harlem proved contentious, dividing preservationists and those who wished to see site developed.  On November 12, 2015 the Landmarks Preservation Commission held the final of four special hearings organized to address the backlog of items added to the Commission’s calendar before 2001, but never brought to a vote on designation.  The final hearing consisted of items in Manhattan, occupying Community Boards six through twelve.  Landmarks is expected to make determinations on the items in early 2016.

    (read more…)

    Tags : Bryan Cave, Council Member Ben Kallos, Council Member Mark Levine, Council Member Robert Jackson, Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, Docomomo, Docomomo Tri-State, Historic Districts Council, Janus Property, Manhattan Community Board 12, Manhattan Community Board 6, Manhattan Community Board 9, New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, New York Landmarks Conservancy, Society for the Architecture of the City, Thomas W. Lamb
    Date:11/19/2015
    Category : Landmarks Preservation Commission
    Leave a Comment

    Letter To The Editor: Shortcomings of the One Vanderbilt Proposal

    John West   •  East Midtown, Manhattan
    John West

    John West

    (Re:  Council Subcommittee Hears Testimony on One Vanderbilt, Apr. 20, 2015)

    Dear CityLand:

    At the public hearing before the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises of the Land Use Committee of the City Council last Monday, 13 April, the applicants and supporters of the proposed Vanderbilt Corridor and One Vanderbilt outnumbered those with reservations about the proposals.  They spoke for most of the four hours – the opposition, at two minutes apiece, used 15 or 20 minutes – and in spite of the insightful questions by the councilpersons, particularly Dan Garodnick, one might have gotten the impression that all was fine.

    As a counterbalance let me offer the four-minute version of the testimony I gave at the hearing.  I am a member of Community Board Six and the MultiBoard Task Force.  I am also a member of the City Club.  I believe that what I offered is consistent with their main concerns.

    (read more…)

    Tags : City Club of New York, John West, Letter to the Editor, Manhattan Community Board 6, One Vanderbilt, Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee
    Date:04/24/2015
    Category : Letter to the Editor
    (1) Comment

    City Planning Approves One Vanderbilt Project With Modifications

    Zoning Text/Map Amendment  •  East Midtown, Manhattan
    Architect's rendering of One Vanderbilt Place and Grand Central Terminal. Image credit: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates

    Architect’s rendering of One Vanderbilt Place and Grand Central Terminal. Image credit: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates

    The application seeks to rezone five blocks along Vanderbilt Avenue to permit construction of a new commercial tower.  On March 30, 2015 the City Planning Commission approved SL Green’s proposal to build One Vanderbilt, a 1,450-foot commercial tower, and establish the five-block Vanderbilt Corridor.  The building will be located on the block adjacent to Grand Central Terminal, bounded by East 42nd Street to the south, East 43rd Street to the north, Madison Avenue to the west, and Vanderbilt Avenue to the east.  The rezoning will affect the west side of Vanderbilt Avenue between East 42nd and East 47th Streets to facilitate commercial development and designate Vanderbilt Avenue between East 42nd and East 43rd Streets as a public place for pedestrian use.  As a part of the rezoning and construction proposal, SL Green will invest $210 million in transit and infrastructure improvements to Grand Central.

    (read more…)

    Tags : City Planning Commission, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Manhattan Community Board 5, Manhattan Community Board 6, One Vanderbilt, SL Green, Vanderbilt Corridor
    Date:04/08/2015
    Category : City Planning Commission
    Leave a Comment
    1. Pages:
    2. 1
    3. 2
    4. 3
    5. »

    Subscribe To Free Alerts


    Follow Us on Social Media

    twitterfacebook

    Search

    Search by Category

      City Council
      CityLaw
      City Planning Commission
      Board of Standards & Appeals
      Landmarks Preservation Commission
      Economic Development Corporation
      Housing Preservation & Development
      Administrative Decisions
      Court Decisions
      Filings and Decisions
      CityLand Profiles

    Search by Date

    © 1997-2010 New York Law School | 185 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013 | 212.431.2100 | Privacy | Terms | Code of Conduct | DMCA | Policies
     

    Loading Comments...