Court Decisions

Washington Square Park renovations get go-ahead

Renovations include shifting fountain 23 feet to align with arch. On December 3, 2007, Justice Joan Madden ruled that the Parks Department could proceed with its planned renovations to Washington Square Park, finding the agency’s Environmental Assessment Statement complied with all applicable State and City environmental review statutes and adequately analyzed the renovations’ impact on natural resources, open-space, and the surrounding neighborhood’s character.

The ruling allows Parks to move forward with its plan to renovate … <Read More>

Building owner to pay for FDR repairs

Building’s foundation with cracks over and along the FDR. In 1938, the Board of Estimate approved an extension of the FDR Drive from East 92nd Street down to East 49th Street. The City acquired full title to the land necessary for the extension except from East 54th to 56th Streets, where it acquired a permanent easement from the Henry Phipps estate to use the area for street purposes. The estate retained the right to erect … <Read More>

Stuy Town Tenants’ Claims Dismissed

Tenants at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village claimed that owners covered by rent regulations. Tenants of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village sued property owner PCV ST Owner LP and general partner Tishman Speyer Properties, seeking damages for rent overcharges and a declaration that rent regulation should continue as long as the property owner received J-51 tax benefits. The tenants alleged that the owner had deregulated more than 25% of the units … <Read More>

Court rejects challenge to Brooklyn rezoning

Owner claimed that City illegally spot zoned his two lots. In 2006, the City Council voted to rezone 80 blocks of Midwood, Brooklyn, including two lots on Ocean Avenue owned by Jacob Fetman. When the City Council voted on the plan, it modified the initial district proposed by City Planning for the west side of Ocean Avenue between Avenues L and M, giving the west side of that block a different zoning district than the … <Read More>

Tenants stop eviction from M-1-zoned building

Owner tries to evict tenants based on zoning while seeking to convert building to residential use. Amy Kreiling and Roy Williams leased a studio unit from Thames Realty, owner of a loft building located within a manufacturing zoning district in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Although the lease limited their use to business purposes, the tenants used the unit as their residence. Five years into the tenancy, Thames notified them that it wished to terminate the lease. When … <Read More>

First Department orders BSA to issue variance

Court affirmed power to overturn BSA even when it failed to consider all five variance factors. In 1999, George Pantelidis, owner of a townhouse in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, obtained a permit from the Department of Buildings to construct a glass-enclosed stairwell at the rear of his building. The stairwell allowed the Pantelidis family, who occupied the second and third floors of the five-story building, to move about their residence without using the public stairs.… <Read More>