Courtyard garage questioned

Garage with landscaped roof garden proposed for courtyard of 19th century housing complex. On May 20, 2008, Landmarks heard testimony on a proposal by the Pinnacle Group to build a two-level garage in the courtyard of the Riverside Houses in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District. The complex was developed by philanthropist Alfred T. White in 1890 to provide attractive housing for the working classes, while giving residents maximum access to light and air. In the … <Read More>


Kenneth K. Fisher Shares His Insights on Term Limits, Land Use Law, and Government

Kenneth K. Fisher was born into a political family. The son of Harold Fisher, the former Chairman of the MTA, Fisher “didn’t grow up playing golf or tennis” but rather “handing out flyers” at every election for as long as he can remember. In fact, his earliest memories consist of “campaigning for Hugh Carey and John F. Kennedy.”

After attaining his law degree from Syracuse University, Fisher joined the New York State Energy Research and … <Read More>


TransGas still pursuing Greenpoint power plant

TransGas seeks to construct a 1,100 megawatt generating facility on land that the City intends to convert to a public park. In October 1999, Brooklyn Community Board 1 submitted plans to the Department of City Planning to rezone the Brooklyn East River waterfront in Greenpoint and Williamsburg. The rezoning was in response to the decline in manufacturing activity and the increase in residential demand in the area. The rezoning also envisioned a 28-acre park on … <Read More>


BSA allows construction despite rezoning

BSA rules that foundation work was sufficiently completed prior to rezoning. In June 2007, the Department of Buildings issued the owner of 74 Grand Avenue a permit to construct a five-story, 55,000-squarefoot residential building. The proposed building, to be located between Myrtle and Park Avenues in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, complied with the zoning requirements at the time. The next month, the City rezoned portions of Fort Greene from R6 to R6B, rendering … <Read More>


EDC Submits Willets Point Redevelopment Plan

City seeks to create a Special Willets Point District; local businesses file lawsuit. On April 21, 2008, the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development began public consideration for their proposal to rezone a 61-acre area in Willets Point.

The area, roughly bounded by the Van Wyck Expressway, Roosevelt Avenue, 126th Street, and Northern Boulevard, is known as the “Iron Triangle” for its predominantly industrial … <Read More>


Loew’s Kings Theatre to get makeover

Former Loew’s Kings Theatre. Photo: Jonathan Reingold.

Request for Proposals seeks tenant for 80-year-old building in need of $70M in repairs. The New York City Economic Development Corporation is seeking proposals for a developer to lease, rehabilitate, and reuse the former Loew’s Kings Theatre at 1025 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn.

The vacant building, located between Beverly Road and Tilden Avenue, opened in 1929 as Loew’s flagship theater. The designers of the 3,195-seat, French Renaissance-style building … <Read More>