Trees: Tort Liability For Injuries Involving Trees

Trees under the common law were considered natural conditions with the result that possessors of land were not liable for injuries caused trees. Professor William Prosser wrote in the first edition of the hornbook on Torts (1941) that the traditional common law rule was that the possessor of land was under no affirmative duty to make safe dangerous conditions on the land that were natural in origin. Prosser went on to say, however, that there … <Read More>


West Village Development Roundly Criticized by Area Residents

Project would entail the demolition of two former service station buildings, and the erection of a new six-story-plus penthouse corner structure with residential and commercial uses. Landmarks considered an application for a new development spanning two lots at 536 and 544 Hudson Street on July 25, 2017. The site, at the corner of Charles Street, lies within the Greenwich Village Historic District. The property’s developer is William Gottlieb Real Estate.


Downtown Far Rockaway Development Plan Clears City Planning

The City Planning Commission approved the 22-block development plan for the Far Rockaway neighborhood in Queens. On July 10, 2017, the City Planning Commission approved an application by the New York City Economic Development Corporation for the Downtown Far Rockaway Development Plan. The Development Plan includes the designation of the Downtown Far Rockaway Urban Renewal Area, the disposition of city-owned property, and zoning text and map amendments. The community planning process was led by Council … <Read More>


Self-Storage Zoning Text Amendment Considered by 27 Community Boards and Four Borough Presidents

Process underway for a zoning text amendment to require a City Planning Commission Special Permit for new self-storage facilities within the City’s industrial business zones. In May 2017, the City Planning Commission sent out for consideration, as part of the ULURP process, a proposed zoning text amendment to limit the proliferation of self-storage in Industrial Business Zones. The amendment is currently being considered by the 27 Community Boards that would be affected by the amendment.


Extensive Revisions Demanded for Canal Street Development

Developers proposed to demolish five heavily altered 19th-century structures to make way for a new 8-story-plus-penthouse residential building with retail base. On June 6, 2017, Landmarks considered an application to redevelop five lots at 312 through 322 Canal Street in the Tribeca East Historic District. The five buildings were originally constructed in the 1820s, at two-and-a-half stories, but saw repeated additions, reductions and alterations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and currently stand … <Read More>


A Better Path for East Midtown

Early in January 2017 the City of New York began the official public approval process for a proposal to rezone East Midtown Manhattan. The proposal was based in part on a report by the East Midtown Steering Committee co-chaired by the Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and the District 4 Council Member Daniel Garodnick.

The new 2017 proposal is the third proposal for rezoning East Midtown. In 2013 the Bloomberg Administration proposed to rezone East … <Read More>