Queens residential development plan approved

Commission and Council Member Avella pleased with developer’s decision to reduce proposed number of units from 114 to 52. On October 29, 2008, the City Planning Commission approved 151-45 Sixth Road Whitestone Partners LLC’s plan to develop 52 single-family homes in the Whitestone neighborhood of Queens, just south of the East River between the Whitestone and Throgs Neck Bridges.

Whitestone Partners originally sought to develop the 12.8 acre parcel with 114 detached, semidetached, and attached … <Read More>


City and Suburban’s landmarking upheld

Physical alterations ruled irrelevant when assessing historical and cultural significance of two light-court tenements. Between 1898 and 1915, the City and Suburban Homes Company First Avenue Estate was built in Manhattan’s Upper East Side neighborhood. It consists of 15 light-court tenements, which are residential buildings configured to maximize light and air, in contrast to the tenements of the period. In April 1990, Landmarks voted to designate the Estate as a landmark site, encompassing the entire … <Read More>


Commission modifies rezoning plan for LIC’s Dutch Kills

Proposed Dutch Kills Rezoning. Rezoning Map used with permission of the New York City Department of City Planning. All rights reserved.

FAR increased for certain uses after Community Board and Borough President raised concern over proposed limits on commercial and industrial growth. On September 8, 2008, the City Planning Commission approved, with one modification, the Department of City Planning’s proposed rezoning and text amendment for the Dutch Kills area of Long Island City, Queens.

The … <Read More>


Avella lays over vote on Hospital expansion plan

Hospital seeking loading-berth waiver and access to esplanade for placement of support columns. On September 16, 2008, the City Council’s Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee held a public hearing concerning the Hospital for Special Surgery’s applications for special permits to construct a three-story addition to its East Wing building and a 12- story outpatient center atop a 21-ft. high platform over the FDR Drive between East 71st Street and the mid-block line of 72nd Street. The … <Read More>


Council OKs air rights transfer from Seagram Building

Lord Norman Foster design approved. On August 14, 2008, the City Council approved the special permit and zoning text amendment proposed by Aby Rosen, developer of a 63-story hotel and residential building at 610 Lexington Avenue, adjacent to the Seagram Building. The special permit grants a transfer of development rights from the landmarked Seagram Building, and the text amendment allows, in part, height and setback modifications by way of special permit and an accessory … <Read More>


Additional space for the Whitney Museum approved

Downtown satellite would anchor southern end of High Line. On August 11, 2008, the City Planning Commission approved the Whitney Museum’s plan to build a six-story, 175,000-sq.ft. building at 555 West Street in the West Village of Manhattan. The proposal includes 50,000 sq.ft. for new indoor exhibits, 97,400 sq.ft. for museum support facilities, and 27,600 sq.ft. for a maintenance and operational facility at the southern terminus of the High Line elevated park. The site is … <Read More>