Commentary: City Club of New York Opposes LPC Approval of New South Street Seaport Tower

On Tuesday, May 4, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approved by a 6-2 vote an application for a new residential tower at 250 Water Street in the South Street Seaport Historic District. This was the third time the Howard Hughes Corporation had presented the project, and this time, after the architects at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill made a few tweaks to the design, the LPC determined that the building was appropriate.


New York Law School Hosts Open Community Meeting on the Future of Tribeca Following the Pandemic

Panel welcomed small business owners, residents, and other interested parties for a discussion regarding Tribeca and the neighborhood’s ongoing economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.  On March 4th, New York Law School’s Dean Anthony Crowell published an open letter in the Tribeca Citizen that discussed the economic impact of the pandemic on the Tribeca community and NYLS’s commitment to helping the neighborhood navigate its recovery following Covid-19. Dean Crowell wrote:


DCP Launches Updated Digital Land Use Portal, Online Application Tracker

The updated portal improves transparency and public access to the land review process. On January 14, 2021, the Department of City Planning (DCP) announced that the Zoning Application Portal (ZAP) has been expanded and updated. The Zoning Application Portal allows New Yorkers to review land use applications that are within public review. 


Review denied of neighbor’s alterations

Neighbor asks the Landmark Preservation Commission to review their neighbor’s completed renovations. Richard Robbins lives in an apartment on West 103rd Street. Robbin’s next-door neighbors at 315 West 103rd Street received permission in 2008 from the Department of Buildings to enlarge their home. In 2009, Buildings ordered the neighbor to stop working on the addition, at a point when only the roof and the backyard expansion had been completed. In 2015 The Landmarks Preservation Commission … <Read More>


Flatbush Community Investment Adds Affordable Housing, Educational and Vocational Training Center

The development is on the site of a former landmark. On October 9, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Council Member Mathieu Eugene announced plans to develop affordable housing in Flatbush, Brooklyn to add approximately 130 affordable apartments. This new site would be located at 2286 Church Avenue and is the site of former Public School 90.


City Planning Commission Resumes Hearings

The full ULURP process will resume on September 14th. On August 3, 2020, the City Planning Commission resumed hearings for the first time since March 16th. Hearings had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic after Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order halting the ULURP process which allowed the City Planning Commission to cancel its meetings. While other agencies started resuming public hearings virtually in June and July, the City Planning Commission has <Read More>