Public Design Commission rejected Comptroller’s recommendation for more efficient design review process. The New York City Public Design Commission (formerly known as the Art Commission) reviews permanent works of art, architecture, and landscape architecture proposed on or over City-owned property. The Commission is composed of 11 unpaid members, eight of whom are appointed by the mayor, and includes an architect, landscape architect, painter, and sculptor, as well as representatives of the Brooklyn Museum, the … <Read More>
Search Results for: Transportation
Supplemental environmental review of Atlantic Yards ordered
Court found ESDC’s environmental analysis insufficient due to change in Atlantic Yards project, but refused to halt project. In 2006, the Empire State Development Corporation approved the general project plan for Forest City Ratner Companies’ Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn. The $4 billion project includes a sports arena and sixteen high-rise buildings. Ratner agreed to purchase air rights from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority at the beginning of the project in order to facilitate the … <Read More>
Court increases award for East Side Access properties
MTA took private land to expand Sunnyside Rail Yard for East Side Access Project. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority acquired 38-38 43rd Street and 38-40 43rd Street in Sunnyside, Queens through eminent domain. The MTA plans to use the lots to expand the Sunnyside Rail Yard for the East Side Access Project, which would connect the Long Island Rail Road directly to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. 38-38 43rd Street consisted of a two-story storage, warehouse, … <Read More>
MTA must compensate for taken trade fixtures
- Fulton Street Transit Center. Image: Mary Gillen.
MTA claimed that compensation for trade fixtures in building taken for transit project would constitute improper windfall payment. Three restaurant tenants in a three-story building at 194 Broadway in Lower Manhattan sought compensation for their trade fixtures after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority acquired the property through eminent domain for its Fulton Street Transit Center project. The three restaurants were separately incorporated, but were owned by the same individual … <Read More>
Fresh Direct granted generous tax exemption package
IDA approved $81 million in incentives to assist Fresh Direct relocation to the Bronx. On February 14, 2012, the City’s Industrial Development Agency approved financial incentives of approximately $81 million to assist Fresh Direct in relocating its headquarters and operations center from Long Island City to the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. Fresh Direct, an Internet grocery delivery service, sought assistance to build a 500,000 sq.ft. distribution facility and separate parking and maintenance facilities. … <Read More>
Kate Ascher on Our Urban Environment
Kate Ascher, head of Happold Consulting’s U.S. practice, has perhaps become better known for her popular books on how cities work. Ascher received her masters and doctorate degrees from the London School of Economics, where she focused on the interface between the public and private sectors. She previously worked for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the City’s Economic Development Corporation, and Vornado Realty Trust. Currently, Ascher teaches at Columbia University’s Graduate … <Read More>