TransGas seeks to construct a 1,100 megawatt generating facility on land that the City intends to convert to a public park. In October 1999, Brooklyn Community Board 1 submitted plans to the Department of City Planning to rezone the Brooklyn East River waterfront in Greenpoint and Williamsburg. The rezoning was in response to the decline in manufacturing activity and the increase in residential demand in the area. The rezoning also envisioned a 28-acre park on … <Read More>
Court Decisions
City sues to save landmarked apt. bldg.
Lawsuit intended to keep 19th century landmark from falling into a state of disrepair. In 2005, Landmarks designated the Windermere Apartments, three buildings located on West 57th Street and Ninth Avenue, in order to preserve its Queen Anne-style architecture and to recognize its storied history as a residence for young, self-supporting women entering the workforce in the mid-1800s. The owners claimed that the buildings were in an “unsafe condition” and did not warrant designation; preservation … <Read More>
Court reverses variance challenge
Red Hook Chamber of Commerce sued BSA and City but failed to name owner. In 2003, BSA granted a use variance to 160 Imlay Real Estate LLC to convert a vacant six-story industrial building into 150 luxury condominiums. The Red Hook-Gowanus Chamber of Commerce then filed an Article 78 suit to annul the variance, but failed to include Imlay as a party within the allotted time.
The Supreme Court allowed the case to move forward … <Read More>
High court denies PS 64’s conversion to dorm use
Local school affiliation a requisite for building permit. In 1998, Gregg Singer purchased PS 64 from the City, subject to the restriction that the property be used for a community facility. Singer then applied to the Department of Buildings to replace the PS 64 building, located at 609 East 9th Street, with a 19-story dormitory. Buildings asked Singer to provide a lease or deed with an educational institution to prove his proposed building was … <Read More>
Court affirms dismissal of Atlantic Yards challenge
Residents argued that the project’s public uses were illegitimate. The $4 billion Atlantic Yards project calls for an 18,000-seat arena for the Nets professional basketball team, a 180- room hotel, at least 16 high-rise apartment and office buildings, and eight acres of open space. The project site includes the Atlantic Terminal Urban Renewal Area, as well as surrounding areas developed by commercial and residential structures. The project calls for the Empire State Development Corporation to … <Read More>
Court dismisses challenge to Atlantic Yards
Residents failed to show ESDC acted without rational basis. Brooklyn residents sued the Empire State Development Corporation, the MTA and the State Public Authorities Control Board, arguing that the agencies wrongfully approved the $4 billion project to redevelop the Atlantic Terminal area. The project would replace residential and commercial structures with a mixed-use development that would include an 18,000-seat arena designed by Frank Gehry for the Nets professional basketball team, a 180-room hotel, 16 high-rise … <Read More>