Court Decisions

Court reverses order compelling Commission vote

Staten Island landowners claimed delay prejudiced their development application. The three Putter brothers owned a six-acre tract of land in the West Brighton/New Brighton section of Staten Island. Their property was located within the Special Hillsides Preservation District, which requires landowners to obtain Planning Department permission to develop their property. In 1999, the brothers submitted an application to the Planning Department to develop their site with 60 affordable townhouses.

Over the next several years the … <Read More>

Dental practice use within zoning laws

218 E. 61st Street, Manhattan. Photo: Kevin E. Schultz

Neighborhood associations claimed dental office violated restrictive covenant dating back to Civil War and current zoning laws. Two neighborhood associations in the Treadwell Farm Historic District, an area bounded by 61st and 62nd Streets and Second and Third Avenues in Manhattan, sued Jak Cohane, the owner of the bottom two stories of a four-story brownstone located at 218 East 61st Street, who leased his premises to … <Read More>

Court affirms dismissal of spot zoning claim

Lower Manhattan property owner claimed it was singled-out by down-zoning. In 2003, the City Council approved a South Street Seaport down-zoning that reduced the permitted height and mass of future development in a 10-block area of Lower Manhattan. Peck Slip Associates LLC., the owner of a surface parking lot at 250 Water Street, sued the City and City Council, claiming that the down-zoning made development impossible. It further claimed that the 2003 downzoning was inconsistent … <Read More>

Private right of action under Federal law rejected

Beachfront bungalow owner sued City agencies claiming violations of the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act. Ankor Shacaf obtained permits to demolish four bungalows and construct four homes in Far Rockaway, Queens. Shacaf erected a fence around the construction site, which obstructed a private right-of-way to the beach. Neighbor Richard George, owner of a bungalow on Beach 26th Street in Far Rockaway, sued Buildings and City Planning, claiming that the agencies violated the Coastal Zone Management … <Read More>

$2,000 fine for Columbus Ave. sidewalk café

Glass-enclosed sidewalk café @SQC on Columbus Avenue seeking legalization from Landmarks. Photo: Kevin E. Schultz.

Restaurant’s landlord built glass café enclosure without Landmarks’ approval. In 2004, the owner of a building at 270 Columbus Avenue, located within the Central Park West Historic District, sought legalization of a sidewalk glass enclosure it constructed without Landmarks’ approval. Landmarks denied legalization in July 2004, finding that it diminished the character of the block and drew attention from the … <Read More>

Court orders LPC to reevaluate significance of house

Homeowners claimed house was wrongly described in Historic District report. In December 2004, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Douglaston Hill Historic District in Queens. The Mosleys, who had purchased a home in the District in October 2004, sued Landmarks, seeking to do away with the Historic District altogether or alternatively, remove their home from the District. The Mosleys claimed that the designation of the District was arbitrary and capricious because the Commission had denied … <Read More>