Building permit upheld despite ongoing litigation

Developer not required to submit a recorded easement or restrictive declaration ensuring rooftop access to adjoining buildings to meet open space requirements. A developer agreed to purchase 144 North 8th Street from Iqbal LLC and two affiliated entities, along with the unused development rights from Iqbal’s adjoining tax lot, to facilitate the construction of a 16-story mixed-use building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In order to meet open space requirements for the 16-story design, the developer needed … <Read More>


CPC considers Toll Brothers’ waterfront project

Toll Brothers’ proposed development, as seen from Bond St. looking south. Image:GreenbergFarrow.

Borough President believes development along Gowanus Canal may encourage DEP to initiate clean-up effort. On January 7, 2009, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on Toll Brothers’ proposed waterfront development at 363-365 Bond Street in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn. The project would be located on two full blocks along the Gowanus Canal, bounded by Carroll Street, Second Street, and Bond Street.… <Read More>


Demolition NOV dismissed

Board reverses ALJ, finds that lot was vacant when owner purchased property. 1115 Ocean Parkway LLC purchased a vacant lot in the Midwood section of Brooklyn and constructed a five-story building. An officer issued a Notice of Violation after he observed that a building had been demolished without a permit prior to the new construction. At a hearing, the owner claimed that the lot was vacant when it purchased the property, and submitted a recorded … <Read More>


Three entities fined for demolition of exterior wall

Removal of exterior wall required prior registration with DEP. 116 Third Place LLC hired a general contractor to manage demolition at 116 Third Place in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn. The general contractor hired a subcontractor, who demolished an entire exterior wall of a building. An officer discovered that the subcontractor demolished the wall without first registering with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and issued Notices of Violation to all three … <Read More>


Widespread support for proposed Queens district

Ridgewood North Historic District. Image: LPC.

Early 20th-century development in Ridgewood served as home to German community. On December 16, 2008, Landmarks held a hearing on the potential designation of a historic district in Ridgewood, Queens. The district would encompass 91 buildings built between 1908 and 1911 by developer Gustave Mathews and local architect Louis Allmendinger. Constructed by local craftsmen, the Renaissance and Romanesque Revival four-story apartment buildings, which characterize the district, feature yellow brick … <Read More>


Council Member Jessica Lappin on Landmarks, Public Siting, and Site Safety

Council Member Jessica Lappin represents Community District 5 in Manhattan, which includes parts of Midtown and the Upper East Side. She also chairs the Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses. A New York native and graduate of Stuyvesant High School and Georgetown University, Lappin was raised in a landmarked house in Gramercy Park. Well-regarded by preservation advocates, she has garnered accolades from the Friends of the Upper East Side and the Historic … <Read More>