Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District approved

Opposition claimed that costs associated with designation would be too burdensome. The City Council approved Landmarks’ designation of the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District in Brooklyn. The district includes 21 buildings along Court, Montague, Remsen, Joralemon, and Livingston Streets.

Business groups and property owners, including the owners of 186 Remsen Street and the residents of 75 Livingston Street, opposed the district. At Landmarks’ public hearing in February 2011, they argued that some buildings in the … <Read More>


Commission approves Brooklyn skyscraper district

Questions raised about Planning Commission’s authority when reviewing landmark designations. On November 16, 2011, the City Planning Commission approved Landmarks’ designation of the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District in downtown Brooklyn. The district comprises 21 buildings along Court, Montague, Remsen, Joralemon, and Livingston Streets, and is within the boundaries of the Special Downtown Brooklyn District established by the City in 2001.

At Landmarks’ public hearing on the proposed district in February 2011, residents of a … <Read More>


Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District considered

Proposed Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District. Image: Courtesy of LPC.

Elected officials and business community expressed concerns about proposed twenty-building district. On December 14, 2010, Landmarks heard testimony on the proposed Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District in downtown Brooklyn. The district would include approximately twenty properties along Court, Montague, Remsen, Joralemon, and Livingston Streets. The proposed district is characterized by large commercial buildings in a range of architectural styles including the 35-story Montague-Court Building at … <Read More>


Julie Menin, Manhattan’s CB 1 Chair, Talks About One of the City’s Fastest Growing Districts

Comprised of Battery Park City, the Financial District, South Street Seaport, and Tribeca, the neighborhoods of Manhattan Community Board 1 are in the midst of a period of tremendous growth and development. New apartment buildings are bringing thousands of new residents to the district. At the same time, large redevelopment projects, such as the World Trade Center, promise to return millions of square feet of office space along with expanded retail and cultural spaces. Under … <Read More>


City Planning Data Shows Lower Storefront Vacancy Post-Pandemic

On November 15, 2024, Department of City Planning (DCP) Director Dan Garodnick released new data showing the city’s storefront vacancy rate is down to 11.1 percent. This marks the fourth straight quarter of declining vacancy.

In comparison, a survey of 24 corridors across the city during summer 2020 showed inactivity rates of over 30 percent. Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island all have borough-wide vacancy rates below nine percent, although some higher vacancy rates persist, … <Read More>


Proposed Council Bill Promotes Legislative Process Education for Community Boards, Local Entities

On October 10, 2024, the New York City Council introduced Bill Int. No. 1075-2024[1] (the “bill”) proposing to improve legislative and procedural knowledge of community boards and other local civic entities. This bill, sponsored by Nantasha Williams of District 27 and Majority Leader, Amanda Faíras of District 18, seeks to assign new responsibility to borough presidents, along with the Civic Engagement Commission (“NYC CEC”).  Established in 2018 by the Charter Revision Commission, the NYC … <Read More>