Rule amendment would expand staff-level approval authority for some types of window and sign alterations. On March 1, 2011, Landmarks held a public hearing on proposed amendments to the rules pertaining to construction work on properties under Landmarks’ jurisdiction. Landmarks proposed the changes to streamline the application review process, codify current practices and policies, and address inconsistencies. Chair Robert B. Tierney stated that the proposal was partially intended to remove from the calendar issues that … <Read More>
Search Results for: Article 78
Lower court reversed; Piers project moves forward
First Department rules NYSDEC was not an “involved agency” in project’s environmental review. In 2008, the City’s Economic Development Corporation selected MMPI Piers LLC, a subsidiary of Vornado Realty Trust, to renovate Piers 92 and 94 along the Hudson River between West 52nd and West 55th Streets in Manhattan. The piers have been used as exhibition space and for trade shows, and Pier 92 has served as a cruise ship dock when Piers … <Read More>
Building owner denied compensation from City
Buildings vacated apartment building’s occupants before MTA started construction work nearby on the Second Avenue subway line. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, before performing certain construction work on the Second Avenue subway line, contacted Buildings regarding the building located at 1766 Second Avenue. MTA was concerned that drilling, excavation, and/or blasting for the new subway line could cause the already-leaning building to become unstable. Buildings declared the building “unsafe and an imminent peril,” and later issued … <Read More>
After judicial remand, special permit granted for residence
Second Department ordered BSA to determine whether special permit findings were met. In 2005, Alexis Lyublinskiy obtained an alteration permit to enlarge his one-story home at 136 Norfolk Street in Manhattan Beach. Initial demolition and construction work did not match building plans, and Lyublinskiy eventually demolished all but one of the original building’s walls and built a two-story house.
Buildings issued a stop-workorder after discovering that the house did not conform to the approved plans. … <Read More>
Engineer barred for two years
Licensed engineer certified altered photos and submitted misleading application to Buildings. Buildings filed charges against engineer Leon St. Clair Nation after discovering he had certified the accuracy of altered photographs and submitted a false application to alter the second floor of a building which did not have a second floor. Buildings specifically charged St. Clair Nation with violating the City’s rules by knowingly or negligently submitting false or misleading documents.
After a hearing at OATH, … <Read More>
Denial of State brownfield benefits overturned
DEC denied access to State’s brownfield cleanup program on theory that contamination did not complicate development. In 2007, a developer purchased a 17,700 sq.ft. former parking lot at 29 Flatbush Avenue in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, intending to build a 342-unit residential building. An environmental assessment of the site’s subsurface revealed the presence of lead and at least seven semi-volatile organic compounds at levels exceeding regulatory standards. In April 2008, the developer filed an application with … <Read More>