Appellate Division Upholds Homeless Shelter Siting

Court agreed DHS met their burden under the Fair Share Criteria.  In 2012 the Department of Homeless Services opened Freedom House, a 200-family homeless shelter at 316-330 West 95th Street in Manhattan’s Upper West Side on an emergency contract.  When the emergency contract expired, then-Comptroller John C. Liu declined to register the permanent contract.  A community group, Neighborhood In The Nineties, filed an Article 78 petition to enjoin the Comptroller from registering the … <Read More>


Commission Requests Revisions to Plan to Replace 19th-Century Corner Building

Applicant had previously planned to restore existing building, but engineers had determined it to be structurally unsound. On November 10 2015 the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the proposed demolition of an existing structure, and the erection of a new building at 327 Bleecker Street, in the Greenwich Village Historic District, at the corner of Christopher Street. Landmarks previously approved a plan for the alteration of the existing structure in 2012.


Council Approves Conversion of Saint Vincent’s Triangle into City Parkland with AIDS Memorial

Privately-owned open space will be converted into a new City park that includes an aptly-placed Aids memorial across the street from the former-Saint Vincent’s Hospital.  On August 13, 2015, the City Council approved West Village Residences, LLC and the Department of Parks and Recreation’s application to transfer ownership of WVR-owned open space to the City and officially map the space as City parkland.  The open space is bounded by Seventh Avenue South, West … <Read More>


BSA Renews Construction Permit in Rezoned Area

Board recognized a vested right to continue construction.  On June 16, 2015 the Board of Standards and Appeals voted to extend a construction permit to the applicant, 180 Orchard LLC, for a twenty-four story mixed commercial- and community-use building at 180 Orchard Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.  The building will contain retail on the cellar and ground floors, community space on the mezzanine and second floors, and hotel use through the remaining … <Read More>


Council Approves Conversion of Henry Street Firehouse into Community Space

Community facility will provide on-site social services and improved access to need-based financial benefits.  On August 13, 2015, the City Council adopted a resolution to rehabilitate a vacant firehouse and convert it into a community facility.  The Department of Housing Preservation and Development submitted the Urban Development Action Area Project proposal to the City Planning Commission on March 31, 2015.  The four-story firehouse is located at 269 Henry Street in the Lower East Side neighborhood … <Read More>


Chumley’s Wins Right to Reopen

Neighbors opposed the reopening of Chumley’s, a former speakeasy located on a residential block of the West Village. Chumley’s, a famous former speakeasy and literary hangout located at 86 Bedford Street in Greenwich Village, closed temporarily in 2007 in order to repair structural defects in its landmark-designated building. Chumley’s is part of the Greenwich Village Historic District. In May 2012 Chumley’s began the process to regain its liquor license and reopen. The reopened Chumley’s … <Read More>