Board of Standards & Appeals

Two NoHo projects obtain BSA approval

Residential building and hotel replace former NoHo gas station sites. BSA approved two development proposals in NoHo, Manhattan for an eight-story residential building at 363 Lafayette Street and a 16-story mixed-use building, to be occupied predominantly by a hotel, one block away at 4 East 3rd Street.

Developer 363 Lafayette LLC applied to BSA to construct a 30,519-square-foot building with 17 residential units and ground-floor retail on a 5,549-square-foot, manufacturing- zoned lot fronting Great Jones, … <Read More>

Two Tribeca variances OK’d: BSA adopts Comm Bd.’s advice

Tribeca residents ask BSA to reduce the size of this development proposed for 415 Washington Street. Image Courtesy of the Office of Joseph Pell Lombardi, Architect.

Two private developers applied to BSA for variances to build residential buildings on manufacturingzoned lots in Tribeca. At 415 Washington Street, Joseph Pell Lombardi applied to construct a nine-story, 56,010-square-foot residential building with a 6.02 FAR, exceeding floor area limits and necessitating a use variance. Located within the Tribeca … <Read More>

BSA holds contentious hearing on Breezy Pt. permits

Adjacent neighbor challenges legality of new home construction on cooperative’s land. On March 20, 2007, BSA held a contentious public hearing on an appeal of demolition and new building permits to construct a single-family home in Breezy Point, Queens, located at the western end of the Rockaway Peninsula.

In the early 1900s, New Yorkers started building small, summer bungalows in Breezy Point on land owned by the state. In 1960, Breezy’s predominantly summer residents formed … <Read More>

BSA legalizes New York Sports Club in SoHo

Club opened a 16,000-square-foot location without permits. In June 2006, New York Sports Club received a Department of Buildings decision stating that the manufacturing zoning on its SoHo lot prohibited its proposed gym. Nevertheless, New York Sports Club opened the SoHo location one month later and applied to BSA to legalize the use. The gym, located at 225 Varick Street between Clarkson and West Houston Streets, is 16,741 sq.ft.

At BSA, New York Sports Club … <Read More>

Industrial building to be converted to apartments

BSA required owner to demolish rear portion of full-lot building to create needed open space. SMJ Properties LLC applied to BSA to convert and enlarge a three-story manufacturing- zoned building into two apartments totaling 3,893 sq.ft. As originally proposed, the plan maintained the existing building’s full-lot coverage, providing no rear yard or open space.

SMJ argued that the area was primarily residential and the building’s 21-foot width, its narrow staircase and the lack of an … <Read More>

Revised plan for Superior Ink site approved

Architect Robert A.M. Stern’s new design reduced needed variances. The Related Companies applied to BSA to alter its February 2006 variance approval for a 15-story, mixed-use development to replace the Superior Ink building on West Street between Bethune and West 12th Streets. 3 CityLand 8 (Feb. 2006). The design change originated from Related’s replacement of the original project architect, Charles Gwathmey, with Robert A.M. Stern.

When Related first sought approval from BSA, the site’s zoning … <Read More>