Public parking garage approved for 110 Livingston

333-space parking garage to be located at the former Board of Education headquarters. The Planning Commission approved an application by Two Trees Management and EDC for a 333-space public parking garage to be located within the 300,000-square-foot, former Board of Education headquarters at 110 Livingston Street in Brooklyn. Two Trees plans to convert the 1925 building and construct an 88,000-square-foot addition for 308 residential units and a 6,000-square-foot community theater. Two Trees will maintain the … <Read More>


Zoning protection of natural areas tightened

Grandfather clause that had allowed removal of slopes, trees and vegetation on large lots eliminated. The City Council approved an amendment to the 1974 Special Natural Area District text that will further protect significant natural features like steep slopes, trees and vegetation in three areas of the City: Riverdale in the Bronx, Fort Trotten in Queens, and Staten Island’s Greenbelt and Shore Acres. The Planning Commission initiated work on the text amendment in 1997 at … <Read More>


BSA approves large home in natural area district

Undersized Staten Island lot can be developed if trees replanted. Owners of an undersized, 9,733 sq.ft. Staten Island lot at 380 Lighthouse Avenue sought to construct a single-family home that required variance approvals because of the small lot size and because the proposed home failed to meet rear or side-yard requirements.

The lot fell within the Special Natural Area District, a 1974 zoning control passed by the City to protect existing topography, trees, plantings and … <Read More>


Cell phone tower approved

85-foot cell phone tower disguised as flagpole. The owner of 186-05 120th Road in the R4 zoned district of Jamaica, Queens sought a special permit to construct an 85-foot wireless communications radio tower with 12 small panel antennae. The owner stated that the tower would be minimally visible over the roof line of surrounding houses, further concealed by trees, and that the mechanical equipment and wiring would be located underground and in the basement of … <Read More>


Hudson Yards Applications Approved; Sent to Council

New development potential of 26 million sq.ft. of office space and 13.6 million sq.ft. of residential; 24 acres of parks, a subway extension, and a new boulevard approved. On November 22, 2004, the Commission approved the Bloomberg Administration’s major urban planning initiative for Manhattan’s Hudson Yards, the area bounded by West 30th and West 43rd Streets, running from Seventh and Eighth Avenues to Twelfth Avenue.

The ten applications before the Commission would achieve a comprehensive … <Read More>


Developer withdraws on eve of Council vote

Tower to have been built adjacent to Brooklyn Bridge withdrawn within hours of Council’s vote. With only one day remaining in the Council’s 50-day review deadline, Two Trees Management Co., the developer of a proposed 178-foot residential tower adjacent to the Brooklyn Bridge side span, withdrew its application on October 13, 2004, the same day Council scheduled its vote.

The project was proposed for DUMBO along Water, Dock, and Front Streets, with a part of … <Read More>