When asked to recall projects throughout his 35-year career, land use attorney Paul Selver’s discussion becomes a vivid narrative of how the economy translates into New York City’s physical changes. Selver sees 1977 as the point when developers started looking ahead for the first time; the 1981 to 1988 development boom coincided with the economy’s exuberance and ended with the stock market crash. To Selver, his current projects, like a six-block rezoning in Coney Island, … <Read More>
Search Results for: Resolution
Council ordered to grant sidewalk cafe application
Council’s denial of permit based only on community opposition overturned. Jack Bistro, a restaurant at 80 University Place in Manhattan, applied for a sidewalk cafe permit to add outdoor seating. After a public hearing, DCA recommended approval. Community Board 2, which received the application from DCA for comment, recommended denial, citing the community’s “longstanding tradition” against outdoor seating along University Place.
When the application went to City Council, opponents reiterated that the community was against … <Read More>
Potential Sunnyside Gardens district proves divisive
Opposing sides report neighborhood friction, allegations of spying and harassment. On April 17, 2007, in front of an audience exceeding the hearing room’s capacity, Landmarks heard testimony on the potential designation of a Sunnyside Gardens Historic District. Sunnyside Gardens, a planned community built between 1924 and 1928, features a mixture of single-, double-, and multi-family dwellings arranged around large, landscaped open courtyards. Funded by a limited dividend company, the development provided high-quality housing for the … <Read More>
Botanical Garden to build 825-space parking garage
BSA approves variance for six-story parking structure. The New York Botanical Garden applied for a variance to construct a six-story, 123,600-square-foot parking garage with 825 spaces. The proposed garage, to be located on two Bronx lots adjacent to the Metro-North Botanical Garden Station along Webster Avenue, Bedford Park Boulevard and Botanical Square South, would replace an abandoned gas station and a one-story warehouse. The proposal required a variance to alter height and setback limitations, allow … <Read More>
BSA hears appeal challenging NYU dorm
- Challenge to construction of this 26-story, East 12th Street NYU dorm heard by BSA. Photo:Morgan Kunz.
East Village residents opposed lot merger needed for construction of 26-story dormitory. On April 17, 2007, BSA held a contentious hearing on New York University’s 26- story dormitory, currently under construction on East 12th Street in the East Village. In September 2006, a court refused to halt construction while residents appealed the building permit to BSA. 3 CityLand 144 … <Read More>
To David West, the Increased Sophistication of the Land Use Process Leads to Better Design
When architect David West joined Costas Kondylis and Parteners LLP in 1995, its founder suggested that he become the firm’s expert on the City’s zoning resolution. West, now a partner, shepherds the firm’s zoning analyses, responding to nearly 300 yearly requests regarding what a site’s zoning will allow and handling the firm’s appearances before BSA, Landmarks and the Planning Commission. In the past few years, he worked on the Plaza Hotel’s complicated conversion, the complex … <Read More>