Owner of Crawford Clothes Building justifies tower demolition based on contract to construct new building. On April 21, 2005, Landmarks held a second public hearing on the proposed designation of the Morris Lapidus designed Crawford Clothes Building, also known as the Paterson Silk Building, at East 14th Street and University Place. At the hearing, the owner responded to accusations that the building’s central glass tower was demolished to quash Landmarks interest in its designation. See … <Read More>
New fifteen-story residential building for Ladies’Mile
Site in Ladies’ Mile Historic District currently vacant. 27 West 19th Street, LLC applied for a permit to build a 15-story stone and brick residential building on a vacant lot currently used for surface parking located at 27 West 19th Street in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District. At the April 5, 2005 public hearing, Morris Adjmi, the architect, presented a design, which had been modified slightly to address Landmarks’ concerns at the initial February 22, … <Read More>
Bedell House designated over owner’s objection
Landmarks designated nineteenth century home to prevent further destruction. On April 12, 2005, Landmarks held a public hearing and acted immediately to designate the James L. Bedell House, an 1874 single- family home located at 7484 Amboy Road in Tottenville and considered one of the best preserved Second Empire style houses on Staten Island’s South Shore. Landmarks scheduled a public hearing to consider the house for designation after the owner, John Grossi, Jr., spray painted … <Read More>
East side tower allowed to reduce plaza area
Plaza was larger than required to support the increased FAR incorporated into the 36-story building. Akam Associates, owner of 300 East 74th Street, sought to amend a 1966 variance that had granted additional floors for a 36-story mixed-use building currently standing on the site. The variance contained a plaza bonus, allowing an increase in floor area in exchange for creating a street-level public plaza. The zoning allows a maximum FAR of 10, but the building’s … <Read More>
BSA rejects owners request for rehearing
Applicant claimed new evidence of increased remediation cost. Basile Builders Group applied to BSA for a rehearing on a variance, denied in 2002, for a residential development at 2353 Cropsey Avenue in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. The original application sought to construct a four-story, 45-foot tall residential building that would have exceeded size, lot coverage and height restrictions and failed to provide sufficient open space or side yards. In its denial, BSA found that Basile failed to … <Read More>
Variance for mixed-use building approved
15-unit residential building with commercial space approved for manufacturing district. The owner of 214 25th Street, a 12,617-squarefoot lot in an M1-1D district of Sunset Park, Brooklyn with two vacant, low-rise manufacturing buildings, sought a variance to convert and enlarge one of the structures into a 15-unit, 20,656-square-foot residential building.
The owner argued that manufacturing uses were infeasible due to the buildings’ small size, cost to retrofit, lack of street access, narrow interior spaces and … <Read More>