Regal Hotels chain appealed a determination that it owed transfer taxes in connection with its UN Plaza Hotel deal. In 1997 the City, the United Nations Development Corporation, and the New York City Economic Development Corporation put out a bid for proposals to purchase and operate the United Nations Plaza Hotel, currently the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel, situated within two adjacent buildings. The 39-story first tower, known as One UN Plaza and located at 787 … <Read More>
Sushi Samba fined $500 K for illegal roof structure
- Sushi Samba on Seventh Avenue South in the West Village shown with its new second story addition. Photo:Morgan Kunz.
Illegal roof space used for 5 years while case was pending. After receiving a Landmarks permit in 2000 to add a decorative wooden trellis to its roof garden, owners of Sushi Samba, a Greenwich Village restaurant made popular by Sex & The City, instead built a steel-reinforced trellis that it covered in canvas roofing, making its … <Read More>
Owner personally liable for corporate violations
Confusion existed in the closely held Limited Liability Corporation. In 2005, two tenants from 13 E. 17th Street filed a complaint with the Loft Board, claiming the building’s owner failed to install sprinklers as required and requesting fines. The tenants named Nathan Silverstein as the owner.
In Silverstein’s first letter to the Loft Board, he listed the correct owner as “13 E. 17 LLC,” but all remaining documents, including his formal response to the tenants’ … <Read More>
$3.2 million tax exemption awarded Brooklyn developer
- The Albee Street Mall on Gold Street will be razed to make way for one of the tallest buildings in downtown Brooklyn. Image courtesy of Greenberg Farrow.
Downtown Brooklyn mall to be demolished for large mixed-use retail, office, and residential center. On February 13, 2007, the New York City Industrial Development Agency, a component of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, approved financial assistance for the construction of a new 1.8-million-square-foot mixed-use development in … <Read More>
DOB stiffens rules for construction superintendents
Proposed rule would set new qualifications, registration requirements and suspension rules. The Department of Buildings proposed stiffer requirements for the designation of construction superintendents on all demolition and construction jobs.
Under the new rules, Buildings would not issue demolition or building permits without a designated construction superintendent who met certain qualifications. To qualify, the construction superintendent must be a licensed professional engineer, a registered architect or a site safety manager certified by Buildings. Alternatively, the … <Read More>
Two turn-of-the-century churches landmarked
- Designation of Harlem’s St. Aloysius Church supported unanimously by Landmarks. Photo: LPC.
The Harlem Catholic churches date from the late nineteenth, early twentieth century. On January 30, 2007, Landmarks voted to designate as individual landmarks Saint Aloysius Roman Catholic Church and the Church of All Saints Parish House and School. Landmarks first considered All Saints in 1966 and held hearings on both churches in 2004. Neither church was on the list, released in January 2007 … <Read More>