Owner claimed building in danger of collapsing

Owner could not vacate tenants of 11 Essex Street. Sion Misrahi, the owner of 11 Essex Street, a five-story residential building with ground floor retail, made multiple requests to Buildings asking for an order to vacate the building to enable its repair in response to an Environmental Control Board “failure to maintain” notice. After sending engineers to investigate the building, Buildings denied the request, finding that the building did not pose an imminent danger, a … <Read More>


Owner fined for not removing unused illegal unit

Vacant illegal unit added by a previous owner. Buildings charged Jose Hernandez for maintaining an illegally converted third unit in a two-family dwelling. The cellar of Hernandez’s building was converted prior to his ownership into a separate living unit – including a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen area with a gas line – in violation of the Administrative Code. At the hearing, Hernandez acknowledged the existence of the third unit, but argued that the unit pre-existed … <Read More>


City Celebrates the Council Approval of the South Richmond Zoning Relief Plan

On November 2, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams and Department of City Planning Director Dan Garodnick celebrated the City Council passage of the South Richmond Zoning Relief plan. The relief plan will simplify zoning procedures for homeowners in the Special South Richmond Development District on Staten Island. 


City Planning Holds Public Hearing for Permanent Open Restaurants Program, Launches Design Public Engagement Process

Many residents and community board members complained of quality of life issues, including noise, trash, cigarette smoke, and loss of parking. On October 6, 2021, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing for the Permanent Open Restaurants program. The Permanent Open Restaurants program will formalize a process for restaurants to operate sidewalk or roadway cafes in a shortened process. The proposed permanent program follows the popularity of the temporary open restaurants program, which was … <Read More>


NYC Mayoral Candidates Land Use Policy Recap

The Mayoral Election will help shape the City’s land use and housing policymaking decisions. Between now and June 20th, early voting is available for the NYC Primary, in which New Yorkers will help decide who will be the next Mayor of New York City. Over the course of their campaigns, mayoral candidates have developed and shared their positions on a variety of land use and housing issues including developing affordable housing, handling the eviction and <Read More>


Coney Island Rezoning Fails Following Community Concerns

City Planning voted no in part to questions regarding alleged comments made by project attorney at Community Board hearing. On January 9, 2019, the City Planning Commission voted to disapprove a proposed rezoning of the northern portion of a block situated between Surf Avenue to the north, Reigelman Boardwalk to the south, West 22nd Street to the east, and West 23rd Street to the west, in Coney Island, Brooklyn. The rezoning would have … <Read More>