Developer caught on video demolishing building with mechanical excavator and without a permit. In July 2005, Isaac Katan, of Global Development, received demolition permits to dismantle the building at 182 15th Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn to make way for a new 62-unit, 11-story residential building. Buildings issued a stop-work order and then rescinded, stopping Katan’s work for almost a month from October 4th to November 11th. On November 16th, the City Council rezoned Park … <Read More>
Search Results for: Zoning Resolution
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>
BSA grants permit to controversial Queens spa
Spa obtained special permit despite Council member objection over use. On July 18, 2006, BSA granted a special permit to Spa World, allowing a 49,634-square-foot, three-story spa at 11-11 131st Street in College Point, Queens. The project site’s 30,124-square-foot lot was formerly vacant and is located in a manufacturing district that contains several residential and commercial uses. The three-story facility will provide sauna, skin, and massage treatments on the first floor; hot tubs, hot pools, … <Read More>
Two Brooklyn developments grandfathered
BSA extends time to complete construction based on common law, not the zoning code. Brooklyn’s South Park Slope neighborhood was rezoned in November 2005 to prevent out-of-scale development, forcing some developers to stop work on projects that no longer conformed to the new zoning. 2 CityLand 161 (Dec. 2005). Two developers in South Park Slope, with projects at 639 Sixth Avenue and 400 15th Street, requested permission to extend their construction time, filing two applications … <Read More>
Owner wins right to complete construction
City designated lot to become part of Hudson Boulevard and city park. Affirmation Arts Ltd. received building and demolition permits in 2004 to add an additional story and mezzanine totaling 3,206 sq.ft. to the three-story building at 523 West 37th Street. In January 2005, before Affirmation finished the work, the City approved the Hudson Yards rezoning, its massive land use initiative for Manhattan’s west side.
Under the Hudson Yards rezoning, Affirmation’s lot at West 37th … <Read More>
BSA denied variance to Sheepshead Bay residence
Owner sought to enlarge one-family home. The owner of 2026 Avenue T, a 2,640-square-foot corner lot in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, sought a variance to enlarge a 3,001-square-foot residence. The existing structure, already noncomplying, is 1,020 sq.ft. larger than allowed in an R4 district.
Initially, the owner sought a special permit to enlarge the residence into the south side yard with an additional 470 sq.ft. BSA, however, ruled that the proposal was ineligible because the zoning … <Read More>