Public parking garage will be component of new as-of-right mixed-use tower. Edison Parking sought approval for a 225-space public attended parking garage to be located at 88 Leonard Street between Broadway and Church Street in Tribeca. Currently the site contains a 204-space at-grade parking lot, which Edison plans to replace with a 21-story mixed-use development with 352 residential units, retail, and medical office space to be constructed by AI & Boymelgreen. The proposed public garage … <Read More>
Bensonhurst down-zoned
Developer wins exception to down-zoning. Over the no-vote of Council Member Tony Avella, the full Council voted to down-zone 120 blocks of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, carving out one area to retain its existing zoning in response to a Bensonhurst developer’s request.
Due to residents’ concerns over large towers replacing Bensonhurst’s single-family homes, the Planning Department filed a map amendment, proposing to eliminate the R6 zoning, which dominated the area and permitted as-of-right residential towers without a … <Read More>
Sanitation’s four marine transfer stations approved
Council unable to override Mayor’s veto. The proposed sites of three marine waste transfer stations were approved after the City Council failed to get sufficient votes to override Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s veto.
The Department of Sanitation had sought separate site selection approvals through ULURP applications to construct four new marine transfer stations. The four transfer stations were a component of Mayor Bloomberg’s 20-year Solid Waste Management Plan, which at the time of the applications was … <Read More>
Signs ok’ed for Rockefeller Center’s new observation deck
Full Council approved zoning amendment granting special authority to Planning Commission Chair. On June 23, 2005, the City Council unanimously approved an amendment to the zoning resolution allowing the Chair of the Planning Commission to authorize the use of illuminated signs in lots occupied by a landmark. The amended zoning resolution applied only to the Fifth Avenue Subdistrict of the Special Midtown District, and impacts the New York Public Library, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and St. … <Read More>
General Motors Plaza renovations approved
Redesign will feature a glass cube in the center of the plaza and a more accessible public space. On June 23, 2005, the City Council approved a text amendment to the Special Midtown District allowing renovations to the General Motors building plaza, located at 767 Fifth Avenue between East 59th and East 58th Streets. The text amendment was necessary to alter the street wall and retail continuity requirements, which require that larger developments be built … <Read More>
High Line/Chelsea Rezoning Gets Go Ahead
Rezoning crafted to transform High Line into elevated open space; no mandatory affordable housing requirement set, despite community’s request. On June 23, 2005, the City Council approved the complicated rezoning and land acquisition plan for West Chelsea that has as its central goal the transformation of the High Line, an elevated rail line, into a 1.45-mile open space.
The approved rezoning impacts the area between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues from West 17th to West 30th … <Read More>