Diagram shows proposed additions for 51 White Street. Image Credit: NYC CPC

Building next to unique synagogue will have two additional stories and mezzanine. On November 14, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing for a special permit application for 51 White Street in Tribeca, Manhattan. The special permit would allow for the addition of two stories to the top of the building and the construction of a mezzanine between the first and second floor. The building has been vacant since 2016 but formerly had a ground floor retail tenant and twelve residential apartments on the other floors. (more…)

Developer reduced tower by 60 feet and increased community facilities. The City Council approved, without additional changes, the City Planning Commission’s resolutions adopted on July 28, 2004 to allow construction of a 29-story mixed-use building at 200 Chambers Street. The Council’s action completes the designation of the site as an Urban Development Action Area, allows the transfer of City-owned land to the City’s Economic Development Corporation, and approves a special permit to modify height and setback. In the course of the ULURP process, the developer reduced the height of the tower from 360 ft. to 300 ft., eliminated an urban plaza, committed 10,000 sq.ft. of a 40,000-square-foot community facility space to the adjacent P.S. 234, and reduced the project’s size.

The proposed development raised concerns because of the site’s history, the potential shadows on Tribeca’s Washington Market Park, and the impact of new residents on the already overcrowded P.S. 234. The site, part of an expired Urban Renewal Area Plan, had a history of failed development proposals, leaving it one of only two remaining undeveloped sites in the area. (more…)