Staten Island civil court judge issued injunction against Buildings over C of O’s. In 2005, Judge Philip S. Straniere addressed a recurring issue in Staten Island where developers were failing to obtain final certificates of occupancy for new homeowners who, upon expiration of the temporary certificates, were unable to legalize their occupancy. Some of these homeowners, who had been cited by Buildings and ECB, sued the developers to compel them to obtain final certificates and … <Read More>
Court Decisions
BSA’s decision on P.S. 64 upheld
Developer’s plan to build dorm requires connection to a local school. In 1999, the City auctioned off the lot at 605 East 9th Street, containing the former P.S. 64 building, to Gregg Singer by a deed restricting it to a community facilities use under the zoning code. Singer applied for permits to construct a 19-story “college or student school dormitory” with floor plans showing units with bathrooms and kitchens. Buildings objected, asking Singer to prove … <Read More>
BSA variance overturned
Court finds record insufficient to allow commercial use on a Staten Island residential street. After purchasing a single-family house at the intersection of Otis Avenue and Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island, GAC Catering Inc. demolished the house and applied to BSA for a variance to construct a two-story photography and video studio to serve couples having weddings at its nearby catering hall. Despite the lot’s residential zoning, GAC claimed that commercial uses predominated the area … <Read More>
Court denies owner’s motion to increase appraisal
First appraisal allegedly based on flawed calculation under City’s Zoning Resolution. Malba Cove Properties, Inc. had owned a 655,188- square-foot undeveloped parcel in College Point, Queens that the City acquired by eminent domain in 1996 as part of the City’s plan to develop a waterfront park.
With the trial on the property value set to start in mid-July 2006, Malba asked the court in late May for permission to file a revised appraisal that would … <Read More>
Court enjoins Washington Square renovation
Plans sent back to Community Board, Landmarks and Art Commission. Under Parks’ plan to renovate Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, the off-center fountain would be moved 22 feet to align it with the park’s famous arch at its Fifth Avenue entrance. The new fountain would be raised to grade level, have a 45-foot high water plume, and be 23 percent smaller than its current size. Parks received approvals for renovations from Manhattan’s Community Board … <Read More>
Lawsuit alleging cancer advances
Families near Pelham Bay landfill claim infants’ cancers caused by chemicals at dump. Sanitation closed its 81-acre landfill in Pelham Bay, Bronx in 1979 following 16 years of operations and increasing complaints over odors and a yellow mist emanating from the site. In 1983, the state declared the dump an inactive hazardous waste site prompting the City to sue 15 corporations in 1985, alleging that the corporations illegally dumped hazardous chemicals. Later that year, Sanitation … <Read More>