HPD obtains approval for four-story housing project with 19 studio apartments. On August 17, 2005, the City Council approved HPD’s application for the construction of a four-story, low-income housing project for the mentally ill on four vacant lots in East New York, Brooklyn. The 7,600-square-foot site, comprised of four lots at 433 – 441 DeWitt Avenue at Malta Street, is located on a residential block, containing other HPD projects, privately- owned residences and a few … <Read More>
Zoning change to allow wind turbines and heliostats
Computerized heliostats will redirect sunlight from top of new green highrise down to Teardrop Park South. The City Council approved a text amendment that allows for a new class of permitted rooftop obstructions on residential buildings in the Special Battery Park City District in Manhattan: wind turbines and heliostats, which are mirrors that redirect sunlight to spaces cast in shadow.
The Battery Park City Authority has invested $355,000 to install three heliostats, eight feet in … <Read More>
Glass tower to rise above Tribeca building
Enrique Norten-designed 12- story condo building will feature 6 stories of glass penthouses. The City Council approved a text amendment and special permits to allow the enlargement and conversion to loft dwellings of an existing building located at One York Street in Manhattan. The approved text amendment establishes a new special permit to allow loft buildings to be enlarged up to a 5 FAR within the Tribeca Mixed Use District. The development also required special … <Read More>
People v. Second Ave. Woodworking Corp.
Owner challenged the necessity of taking entire property. DEP applied to the Planning Commission to acquire a 12,500-squarefoot unimproved property used as a parking lot on Grand Street between Crosby and Lafayette Streets for the construction and maintenance of Shaft 30B of the Third Water Tunnel. After its construction, DEP proposed to use the lot as public open space. Following a public hearing, the Commission approved in April 2004.
In November 2004, the City filed … <Read More>
FDNY order must be appealed to BSA
Owner appealed FDNY order during criminal proceeding for non-compliance. After inspecting Second Avenue Woodworking Corp., located at 4902 Second Avenue in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn, a fire inspector issued a violation ordering Woodworking to close and seal two out-of-service fuel storage tanks, and to provide the Fire Department with an affidavit certifying the system was closed and sealed. Woodworking sent a letter to the Department stating that the tanks had been removed by … <Read More>
Citizen’s challenge to 72nd St. ramp closing rejected
No supplemental EIS required. Lincoln West, a 74-acre project being developed on Manhattan’s west side between West 59th and West 72nd Streets along the Henry Hudson Parkway, began its approval process in the early 1990s. The City’s 1992 FEIS for the project included the closure of the West 72nd Street ramp off the Henry Hudson Parkway and the southward extension of Riverside Drive, both of which were explained as pending later approval by DOT.
In … <Read More>